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Monroe Mustangs Men’s Track and Field Opens Indoor Season with Strong Effort
TATEN ISLAND, N.Y., January 7, 2022 – Competing in an indoor season for the first time since 2020, the Monroe College Mustangs men's track and field team got the 2022 season off to a great start in Friday's Wagner College Invitational at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. Five different Mustangs earned qualification for the 2022 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, while two came out victorious in their respective events.
Mohlouwa Koos Molutsi followed up a terrific cross country season with a great start to the indoor track and field season on Friday. Molutsi won the 3,000-meter run, defeating 31 other runners with a time of 8:29.07. This time earned him his spot at the NJCAA Championship meet.
Prince Mcabelo and Wail Bourahli made their mark in the 800-meter run on Friday. In a field of 33 competitors, Mcabelo topped them all with a time of 1:54.84. Bourahli placed fourth among the field after finishing in 1:56.41. Both Mustangs set qualifying times in the event for NJCAA nationals.
Newcomer Karim Belmahdi had an impressive debut for Monroe in the mile run event. Belmahdi took second out of 40 runners with a stellar time of 4:15.64, earning another spot at the NJCAA Championships for the Mustangs.
Edward Williams will also be going to the NJCAA Championship meet his season. Williams took sixth place in the 60-meter hurdles on Friday with a qualifying time of 8.11 seconds.
Williams also competed in the 200-meter dash on Friday, finishing in 22.99 seconds in the race. Tyhir Jones was right on his tail, clocking in at 23.25 seconds.
Four Mustangs participated in the 400-meter dash at Friday's meet. Javel Best led the way for Monroe, taking fifth place overall with a time of 50.51 seconds. Matthew Paul was close behind, taking eighth at 50.93 seconds. Jones finished the race in 52.26 seconds, while Jonathan Hackshaw crossed the line in 53.11 seconds.
The Mustangs are back at it twice next weekend. The weekend begins on Friday, Jan. 14, in the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartan Invitational, once again at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. The Mustangs will also run in the Historically Black College & Universities Showcase at The Armory on Saturday, Jan. 15.
