PITTSBURG, Kan. - Roman Kuleshov and Victoria Adu claimed national titles here Saturday for Iowa Central during the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Kuleshov won the triple jump on the final leap of the event, while Adu defended her title in the weight throw.
Overall, the Triton men placed fifth and the women were sixth. South Plains won the men's title and Iowa Western the women's crown.
"We were ranked fifth and seventh respectively for the men and women, and finished fifth and sixth," said Dee Brown, Director of Track and Field at Iowa Central. "We are pleased with that. We know what we need to work on for the outdoor season now.
"We had some amazing performances by lots of individuals and we are very proud of them."
Kuleshov was the leader in the clubhouse throughout the event before the second-to-last jumper, Barton's Shakwon Coke, moved ahead of him. On his final attempt, Kuleshov went 15.72m (51-7) to claim the title.
Adu had a best throw of 18.73m (61-5.5), which was over seven feet better than runner-up Kristi Stickdorn of Monroe.
"Roman brought the intensity to regain the lead, win a national title and hit a personal-best at the same time," Brown said. "It was exciting to see Victoria repeat."
Both 4x800 relays earned silvers, as the men's quartet of Hunter Klimek, Cassius Havis, Tafari Bishop and Robin Aguilar Gonzalez went 7:46.80. That time places them fourth in school history as the same group earned the fourth-fastest distance medley time on Friday and placed fourth.
Taylor McCreedy, Shaunti Longfellow, Britney Brown and Chloe Garcia Grafing went 9:28.99 for second, as Cloud County won the 4x800 in 9:28.56. That time is the third-fastest in program history.
"Both of our relays were exceptional," Brown said. "They both earned very high places at the meet and in school history."
In the heptathlon, Nicola Paletti placed third and Aries Scott was sixth. James MacKey Jr. finished fourth in the weight throw, Yared Kidane was seventh in the 600 and eighth in the 1,000, and Christian Collins finished eighth in the high jump.
Brown picked up a third in the 800, Adeyah Brewster was fifth in the 60 hurdles and Garcia Grafing added fifth place medals in the 1,000 and mile.
Paletti is now ranked fourth in the heptathlon while Paletti and Scott are tied for eighth. Bishop (600) and Jerome Jessup (200) are ranked seventh, while Brown (800), Kidane (1,000) and Garcia Grafing (mile) all rank eighth.
Martin Lamou was named the Midwest Region men's indoor field athlete of the year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, with Jonathan Alexis earning men's assistant coach of the year.
-By Dana Becker