(Newburgh, NY) - If their first-ever Track & Field competition as a varsity program is a sign of things to come for Westchester Community College, there are only big things coming for the Vikings. Facing a field of 14 schools that included 10 NCAA four-year programs, Westchester CC performed so admirably during their varsity debut that two Vikings qualified for the NJCAA National Championships in their respective events. Overall, the WCC men's team finished in 10th place on Saturday at the Mount Saint Mary College Invitational in Newburgh, New York.

Sophomore Alysha Owens (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon HS) wasted no time etching her name into the Westchester Community College record books, tying for first place in the Discuss Throw at 32.65 meters, easily surpassing the qualification point for the NJCAA National Championships. Amazingly, her incredible throw came during the final attempt of the day, an improvement of more than 4.5 meters. Owens also displayed a strong effort in the Javelin Throw and Shot Put.

On the men's side, freshman Malik Sainnoval (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood HS) also qualified for the National Championships in the Long Jump after a 6.42 meter effort that allowed him to finish in fourth place overall.
 

Also for Westchester, freshman Andy Guillame (Newark, NY/Olympic Heights Community HS) earned a 16th place finish (out of 55 competitors) in the 200-meter dash with a 24.08 finish, while freshman Randy Culcay (Ossining, NY/Ossining HS) earned a top-10 finish in the 5000 meter race. Also, the WCC 4x100 meter team of Sainnoval, Kumnai McLean (Tarrytown, NY/Irvington HS), Muhammad Ahmed (Jefferson Valley, NY/Lakeland HS), and Nestor Ortiz (Irvington, NY/Irvington HS) earned an eighth place finish.

Up next for Westchester Community College is a two-day event to be held at Queensborough Community College on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13.

Click HERE for full results from the Mount Saint Mary College Invitational.