HUTCHINSON, Kan. - The defending mens and womens National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) team champions are in Kansas and are ready to defend the titles they won here last year at Gowans stadium. The championships are scheduled to begin Thursday, May 20^th and will conclude Saturday, May 22^nd.

South Plains College will look to defending NJCAA champions Kelly Closse (shot put), Shakeeri Cole (W-800), Kelsey Wilson (W-pole vault), Colleen Felix (W-javelin) and Kyron Blaise (M-triple jump) to lead the Lady Texans to a second consecutive championship, while the Texans seek their third straight title.

Current NJCAA leaders looking to assist the veteran leadership are Rondell Bartholomew (M-400), Dellon Williams (M-long jump), Jura Levy (W-100), Janelle Redhead (W-200), and Chante's Sean White (W-400 hurdles). The Texan 4x400 meter relay as well as the Lady Texan 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams also lead the NJCAA field entering the championship meet.

SPC head coach Chris Beene feels good about his teams chances over the weekend.

"I am confident this group is ready to perform well,"� says Beene. "If we do what we have done all year long then I am certain we will be happy with the results."

Stormy Smothers will get the meet going at 9 a.m. when he begins the first day of the men's decathlon competition with the 100 meter dash. He will then compete in the long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meter dash. Smothers enters the competition ranked fourth.

Closse will seek to add another championship to her resume when she competes in the women's hammer throw at 3 p.m., an event she enters the meet ranked second in. She is also entered in the shot put (Friday at 1 p.m.) and discus (Saturday at 1 p.m.).

Tallam Kipruto and Anthony Pequeno look to put the Texans on the scoreboard when they toe the line in the men's 10,000 meter run at 8:50 p.m. Kipruto and Pequeno are ranked fifth and sixth in the NJCAA, respectively.