Hill College freshman runner qualifies for 800-meter run at NJCAA Track and Field Championships May 14-16 in Hobbs, New Mexico

Hill College freshman Beyon Prins qualified for the NJCAA Track and Field Championships 800-meter run after a school record-setting performance April 17 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.

Prins (Capetown, South Africa) recorded a time of 1:52.69 in California to beat the Nationals qualifying time of 1:53.28 after a ferocious sprint in the final 50 meters of his heat where he placed second by only a meter.

“He [Prins] made up ground on the final turn and passed six runners in the final 70 meters,” Hill College Head Track Coach Greg Lautenslager said. “He has an amazing sprint finish that should serve him well for nationals.”

Prins also beat his own school record of 1:53.93, which he set at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos on April 2. Former Hill College student-athlete Jose Alfonso held the previous record at 1:55.18 from that meet in 2024.

Prins’ record set off a rally of personal bests from Hill College runners this month.

Ricky Santos ran 15:49.94 in his debut 5,000m at the Bobcat Invitational and then ran a seven-second 1,500m personal best in winning his heat at the Warhawk Classic April 11 in Abilene. His time of 4:07.71 was the fourth best overall time in the meet.

Also, Miguel Sanchez finished second to Santos in that race with a personal best time of 4:12.71, nine days after placing sixth in his debut 10,000m with a time of 33:31.30.

Samuel Pepe ran 34:03.22 at the Bobcat Invitational and then ran a 1,500m personal best of 4:20.74 at the Bill Schmidt Invitational in Denton.

Saul Lopez won his 1,500m heat by eight seconds at the Bill Schmidt Invitational with a time of 4:20.04.

Max Austin finished second in his 5,000m debut at the Nelson University Invitational in Waxahachie (16:45.78) and improved to 15:51.35 two weeks later at the Bobcat Invitational.

Caden Floyd ran 16:03.50 at the Bobcat Invitational in his first 5,000m event.

For the Hill College women’s team, Elaina McCulloch ran a four-second personal best of 2:32.13, winning her heat at the J.G. Gonzales Invitational in San Antonio on April 3.

Hill College concluded its regular season meets with the Rice Invitational on April 25.

The NJCAA Track and Field Championships will be May 14-16 in Hobbs, New Mexico.

“It has been a great month of racing,” Lautenslager said. “We are peaking at the right time and look forward to more personal bests at Rice.”

For more information on the Hill College track program, please visit https://hillcollegeathletics.com.