Storm Lake, IA – The No. 2 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Track & Field squad secured five National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 11 titles at the conference championships this weekend. As a team, the Warriors placed third overall with 144 points.
Sophomore All-American Tate Joens (Cedar Rapids, IA/Cedar Rapids Prairie) put together one of the most dominant performances in school history with a pair of individual region championships. Joens captured both the shot put and weight throw titles for his third and fourth career individual championship.
The two-time Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Field Athlete of the Year, Joens shattered the meet record in the men's shot put with a personal-best mark of 18.04 meters, more than a half meter improvement from his previous top performance to clinch the title. Joens tossed a mark of 18.99 meters in the weight throw to sweep the two events for the Warriors.
Freshman Domictress Robinson (Jacksonville, FL/Jean Ribault), the reigning NJCAA and ICCAC Athlete of the Week, brought home the individual 60m dash title for the Warriors with a time of 6.79, just .02 off of his previous personal best mark this season. Robinson cruised to a first-place finish in the prelims before holding off the field for the program's first 60m indoor title since Aurel Tchanbi in 2022.
As a team, the Warriors captured three of the top-five finishes in the event as Damor Miller (Kingston, Jamaica) took home a third-place showing while Izaiah Loveless (Iowa City, IA/Iowa City West) placed fifth overall.
Freshma Raynier Galvez (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County) continued to leave his mark on the track during his rookie campaign with a championship performance in the men's 600m run. Galvez posted a time of 1:20.22 to take top honors for the Warriors.
Indian Hills has now captured three consecutive indoor NJCAA Region 11 600m championships as Galvez joins Warrior alums Terrick Johnson (2024) and Tyrice Taylor (2023).
Fellow teammate Ainsley Brown (Portland, Jamaica) placed third overall in the 600m for the Warriors with a mark of 1:20.93 in a tightly-contested race.
The men's 4x400m relay squad captured the title to close out the day on Saturday. Galvez closed out the final leg of the race while teammates Justin Gray (Memphis, TN/Southwind), Supreme Muhammad (Rockford, IL/Winnebago), and Nichalas Power (Riverton City, Jamaica) sparked the Warriors early to finish with a time of 3:16.64.
The Warriors continued an unprecedented run in the 4x400m relay event as the program has now claimed five consecutive indoor region championships.
Sophomore All-American Triston Miller (Columbus Junction, IA/Columbus Junction) claimed a second-place showing in the men's high jump, nearly posting a personal-best mark with a height of 2.04m. Miller added a third-place performance in the men's pole vault with a new school record mark of 3.65.
Sophomore Cayde de Waal (Brakpan, South Africa/Hoërskool Oosterlig) took home a runner-up finish in the men's 1,000m run with a time of 2:28.61.
Loveless added an individual third-place performance in the men's 200m dash with a time of 22.31 followed closely by teammates Michael Mcgee (Brandon, FL/Bloomingdale) who placed fourth overall with a time of 22.35.
Along with Joens, the Warrior throwers put together a number of impressive performances. The top-ranked shot put and weight throw program in the nation, Indian Hills saw a second-place showing in the shot put from Kaden Banks (Onalaska, WI/Holmen) with a personal-best mark of 17.31m while sophomore Michael Etuma (Iowa City, IA/Iowa City) placed third overall in the weight throw with a mark of 17.10m.
Gray clocked a time of 48.54 in the men's 400m dash to take home a third-place finish for the Warriors.
Indian Hills will now turn its attention to the upcoming NJCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championship. The Warriors will look to defend their national title March 7-8 in Lubbock, TX.
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