Hinds CC Advances Multiple Athletes to Finals at NJCAA Indoor Championships

Hinds Community College made a strong showing on the opening day of the NJCAA Indoor Championships, qualifying numerous athletes for Saturday’s finals through prelims and automatic bids, according to a team release.

Queen Usunobun led the women’s team, posting the fastest preliminary time of 54.03 seconds in the 400-meter dash, securing the top seed. She is the defending national champion in that event. Usunobun also advanced in the 200 meters with a time of 23.90 seconds, placing fifth overall, and will compete in both finals.

Canelia Hope qualified for the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.53 seconds, earning seventh place overall. Akaree Roberts advanced to the 600-meter final after finishing fifth in the preliminaries with a time of 1:34.20. The women’s team also secured spots in the 4×400-meter relay final with a seed time of 3:45.08.

On the men’s side, Jayval Wright led qualifiers in the 60 meters with a time of 6.64 seconds, followed by Raheem Pinnock in 6.65 seconds and Curtis Coleman III in 6.70 seconds. Wright and Pinnock also advanced in the 200 meters, qualifying second and fourth, respectively. Matthew Sullivan secured a spot in the 60-meter hurdles final with a time of 7.91 seconds.

Hinds will also have athletes competing in events they did not participate in during prelims, including Demetrius Taite Jr. in the men’s triple jump, which is scheduled for Saturday morning. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team and the women’s 4×400-meter relay team will also compete in finals, with seed times of 3:15.38 and 3:45.08, respectively.

Day two of the championships will feature finals for multiple athletes across sprints, hurdles, middle-distance, jumps, and relays, providing Hinds with numerous opportunities to earn points and improve its team standings, the release added.

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