Reprinted with permission from the Snyder News.

The Western Texas College outdoor track and field team traveled to Hobbs, New Mexico, Thursday to compete at the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championship. James Dadzie and Desean Boyce led the charge for the Westerners with their national championships.

Women

200-meter dash: 6. Grace Obour, 23.77.

400-meter run: 2. Grace Obour, 23.38; 11. Asia Foster, 52.26.

800-meter run (preliminaries): 18. Sancia Smith, 2:23.59.

1500-meter run: 11. Rushell Johnson, 5:04.98; 14. Teresa Gallegos, 5:08.85 (preliminaries).

400-meter hurdles: 7. Shackelia Green, 1:01.94.

3000-meter steeplechase: Rushell Johnson, DNF.

4X400 relay: 5. WTC, 3:45.62.

Men

100-meter dash: 3. James Dadzie, 10.13; 10. Sanjay Salmon, 10.27 (preliminaries).

200-meter dash; 1. Dadzie, 20.20.

400-meter run: 1. Desean Boyce, 44.85; 26. Reuel Campbell, 48.15; 33. Antonio Blair, 48.75;

800-meter run: 8. Adrian Nethersole, 1:52.63 (preliminaries).

400-meter Hurdles: 32. Jahmani Smith, 56.48.

4X100 relay: WTC, DNF.

4X400 Relay: 10. WTC, 3:11.86

Dadzie secured the national championship in the 200-meter dash, followed by Boyce, who secured the national title in the 400-meter run. Dadzie and Boyce each secured an opportunity to run at the world championships in August. Obour led the Lady Westerners with a second-place finish in the 400-meter run. Obour recorded a time of 52.26 for a razor-thin finish against first-place runner Deshana Skeete, who recorded a 52.00.

Boyce said he was not focused until he got on the blocks.

“I wasn’t really focused at one point because we had a mess up, but as soon as I got to the blocks, everything changed,” he said.

Boyce said he kept the same mindset he has had lately heading into the national championship.

“I kept the same mindset as all the other races. Nothing really changed and it led to a national championship,” he said.

Boyce said he didn’t expect to win but realized his hard work paid off.

“I wasn’t really expecting to win, but I expected to place. The time I got shocked me and showed me that my hard work paid off,” he said.

Boyce said he changed his mindset during the indoor season to help him run faster.

“During the beginning of the indoor season, it started pretty slow and I wasn’t running as fast. Eventually, I changed my mindset and started running faster. I expected myself to be in the finals but not doing as well as I did now,” he said.

Boyce said he took inspiration from teammate Dadzie’s accomplishments.

“James being ranked first was a motivation for sure. I saw him training and working and knew I could do it too,” he said.

Boyce said that Head Coach James Williams’ persistency helped him reach the national championship.

“Coach, trust us to do these things. He is very persistent and will help us reach that,” he said.

Boyce said his season is only getting started.

“My season is not over. I have a couple of championships in El Salvador in July and then I will shift focus to the world championships in August,” he said.

Dadzie credited his successful season to his coaches and teammates’ messages of support.

“It was great and I am very excited about it. This is my first time in the United States running a full track and field season. My coach took very good care of me. I had no injuries and always competed at the highest level. I am happy that I got to have a successful season thanks to my coaches and teammate’s messages of support,” he said.

Dadzie said the team tries to have fun while working towards all of their goals. “It is really great. We work, practice and have fun together as a team. No matter what we go through, we always try to have fun. No matter how difficult the workout is, we always keep in our mind that we must do this in order to reach our goals. I am really happy to know that I could help inspire,” he said.

Dadzie said he must take his chance seriously.

“It has always been my dream to run track and the best place to do it is the United States. When I got the opportunity, I was very excited. There is no time for me to waste and I need to put the work in to get the results. It has always been my dream and the chance is here, so I have to take it seriously and achieve something out of it,” he said.

Dadzie said he is focused on the world championship. “Now that college season is over for me, I am focused on the world championship,” he said.

Dadzie has his sights set higher than the national championship. “I am hoping to be a professional one day and run at the highest level. I want to be on the podium at the Olympics and the world championship,” he said.

Williams said this season was a typical one for WTC.

“This season was a typical season with the usual ups and downs with more ups. Some of them had minor things to deal with and we had to rest them. They knew the aches and pains would go away. Once we get over that, we can increase the training and get back to where we were,” he said.

Williams said it was special for him to see his runners do well because of the sacrifices they made.

“It meant a lot to me because I understood the sacrifices they make. They would get up early in the morning and go for runs. They would do it to get their fitness levels back. We would get some running and training done without complaining. They were so driven towards success and realized that hard work is always rewarded. They knew that they couldn’t reach their goals if they were lazy,” he said.