TOPEKA, Kan., March 3, 2023 – A pair of third-place finishes highlighted the opening day of the 2023 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Washburn University for the Monroe College Mustangs men's track and field team on Friday. The Mustangs stand in eighth place overall after the first day's events.
 
The men's distance medley relay was the first competition for the Mustang men of the weekend. The foursome of Kgaogelo Moloisi, Jaheim Dotson, Prince Mcabelo and Karim Belmahdi ran a time of 9:51.96, claiming third place overall in the race. Their time, as well as the first- and second-place times, all surpassed the previous facility record time of 9:52.30.
 
Belmahdi was back at it later in the evening, competing in the 3,000-meter run. He crossed the line in 8:14.25, taking home another third-place finish for the day. Last year, Belmahdi took fifth place in the 3000m with a time of 8:23.93.
 
Prince Mcabelo closed out the day in the preliminaries of the 1,000-meter run event. He ran a time of 2:27.65, placing him sixth overall to earn qualification for Saturday's finals.
 
Less than an hour after participating in the distance medley relay, Moloisi then competed in the 5,000-meter run. He finished the race in 15:31.34.
 
Dotson and Kiron O'Garro later ran in the prelims of the 400-meter dash. Dotson clocked a time of 49.98 seconds, while crossed the line in 59.75 seconds.
 
Wayne Stephenson represented the Mustangs in the prelims of the 800-meter run in the evening. He logged a time of 2:00.85.
 
Day 2 of the 2023 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships gets underway on Saturday, March 4, beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST. The Mustang men's first competition of the day will be the 4x800m relay set for 1:45 p.m. EST. Monroe will also be represented in the mile run at 3:20 p.m. EST, the 1000m finals at 4:45 p.m. EST, and the 4x400m relay at 5:10 p.m. EST.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 11 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).