West Texas A&M sprinter Benjamin Azamati returned to action over the weekend with an electrifying performance over 60m after he posted a time of 6.54 seconds to equal the NCAA DII record at the 2022 New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Saturday (5).
Azamati, who had clocked 6.55 secs to set a program record in the preliminaries of the event, came back for the final to match the NCAA DII 60m record by North Carolina Central’s Jason Smoots, set back in 2003.
Watch Benjamin Azamati destroys 60m field at 2022 New Mexico Collegiate Classic
He defeated Da’Marcus Fleming of LSU who ran 6.60 secs for second place, with Dorian Camel (6.62) and Kenroy Higgins (6.66) also of LSU getting third and fourth respectively.
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Azamati, a sophomore standout in Canyon, first exploded onto the scene during the indoor campaign last season with a then-personal best of 6.59 at the Washburn Open in Topeka, Kan., before advancing to win the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships 60m title last March.
The Ghana native then highlighted the outdoor campaign with a sizzling 9.97 secs at the Texas Relays and better the NCAA DII record in the 100m, while becoming the first DII athlete to break 10-seconds in the event.
Vashaun Vascianna makes impressive debut for Texas Tech
Meanwhile, Jamaican and Texas Tech’s young talented hurdler Vashaun Vascianna was impressive in his first meet as a Red Raider after he won the men’s 60m hurdles with a clocking of 7.64 seconds. His winning performance immediately pushed him in the top-3 among the best Texas Tech hurdlers with a ranking of third (tied) on the school’s all-time list.
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Also at the 2022 New Mexico Collegiate Classic over the weekend, Justin Robinson of Arizona State won the men’s 400m with a time of 46.06 to leap to fourth all-time at ASU, while Adrian Piperi of Texas heaved 21.45m to secure the top spot in the men’s Shot Put.
In the meantime, Alia Armstrong led a 1-2 finish in the women’s 60m after posting a career-best 7.16 secs to defeat teammate Favour Ofili, who also ran a lifetime best 7.17 for second place. Rhasidat Adeleke of Texas was third with 7.21, while her teammate Kevona Davis collected third place with 7.25.
Ofili returned to take the women’s 200m with a quick personal best of 22.71.
