Nigerian athletes who competed in last weekend’s University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) Springtime, put up remarkable performances to set the pace at Kidd Field.
Central Arizona College Freshman, Samson Nathaniel secured his first victory since moving to the US, winning the men’s 400m in 46.86s, with Hector Ramirez and Asa Guevara following in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
This will be a morale booster for Nathaniel who recently anchored Nigeria’s 4x400m relay team to 5th place at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland.
Nathaniel also finished 5th in the 200m, which was won by compatriot, Abiola Onakoya (20.83s) who was also in action in Portland.
Onakoya thereafter competed in the 4x100m as Unattached, running the 3rd leg with his team coming 2nd with a time of 40.25s.
Fabian Edoki of South Plains College helped his team to 3rd position where he ran the 3rd leg. The quartet finished in a time of 40.73s.
The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional Field Athlete of the Year went on to win the Long Jump title at the UTEP Springtime.
Edoki went over the 8m mark for the first time in his career after taking a leap of 8.02m (+2.3) in the men’s Long Jump. However, it won’t count as a Personal Best (PB) due to the excessive tailwind.
He currently has a PB of 7.90m set last month at the South Plains College Indoor Invitational in Levelland.
