Boston, MA – The Monroe University men's indoor track and field team competed at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday with the medley relay team earning their spot at the 2025 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The team of sophomores Tinashe Bure, Siyabonga Mbatha and Banele Mkabela, and freshman Anthony Barrett achieved their goal of qualifying for nationals with a time of 10:09.52 in the medley relay.

Bure — who ran in the distance medley earlier in the day — continued his strong day by improving his spot in the NJCAA Indoor Championships qualifying rankings in the 800m. He ran a personal-best time of 1:52.47.

Mbatha also ran the 800m and clinched a personal-best time of 1:56.90, which came 0.76 seconds away from national qualification.

Sophomore Dwayne Fleming also had a strong day for the Mustangs. In his second 200m race of the season, the Antigua and Barbuda native clocked in at 21.66 — an indoor personal-best and just 0.06 seconds short of national qualification standards. Fleming also ran in the 60m and placed third overall with a time of 6.90.

In the 400m, the Mustangs shined with freshman Cleon Joseph leading the way with a personal-best time of 49.66. Sophomore Junior Grant, Barrett and freshman Abraham Saywon joined Joseph with personal-best times, clocking in at 49.97, 51.12 and 52.77, respectively. Freshman Elijah Carswell ran a time of 55.28 to round out the Mustang competitors.

The personal-bests continued with freshman Nkanyezi Ziqubu clocking in at 2:35.56 in the 1000m. Mkabela also clinched a personal-best in the mile with a time of 4:19.67.

The 4x400m team of Barrett, Grant, Saywon and Joseph ran a time of 3:24.22.

Freshman Micah McHardy ran a time of 8.17 in the 60m, while Saywon rounded out the Mustang runners with a personal-best time of 23.94 in the 200m.

On the field event side, freshman Elijah Upsher jumped a distance of 6.08m. Sophomore Joel Bennett jumped 5.37m, while McHardy gained a distance of 4.28m.

The Mustangs will have one final tune up before traveling to Lubbock, TX, for nationals. It will be the Garden State Invitational on Friday, February 21, at 7:00 pm at the Armory.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).