The Barton Community College men's track and field team produced a remarkable final-day full-squad surge Saturday to capture the 2026 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship inside Washburn University's Sneed Indoor Athletic Facility in Topeka.
Entering the final day sitting seventh in the team standings and projected for a third- or fourth-place finish, the Cougars erupted for a dominant Saturday performance to edge New Mexico Junior College by a single point, finishing with 75 points to the Thunderbirds' 74 while Iowa Central placed third with 72.
Saturday became a historic moment for Barton athletics as the women's bowling team secured its NJCAA national championship earlier in the day before the men's track and field team followed with its own title performance.
The championship marks Barton's 62nd NJCAA team title overall and the 11th indoor national championship for the men's program. The victory also continues the long-standing success of Barton's track and field and cross country programs, which have now produced 59 of the College's 62 NJCAA team championships. The finish also extended the men's program's streak to 12 consecutive seasons placing inside the top seven nationally.
The victory also adds to the coaching résumé of head coach David Schenek, who captured his sixth NJCAA national title leading Barton's men and women programs. Coincidentally, Schenek's first championship came during the 2010 season — the last time Barton's men won the indoor national title. Schenek was also honored as the meet's NJCAA Men's Coach of the Meet following the Cougars' title performance. The championship is also the second for fifth-year assistant coach Emmanuel Dixon and the first for first-year assistant Garison Breeding.
The Cougars produced 13 scoring performances and a wave of personal-best marks across the championship meet. After scoring limited points on Friday in the shot put and high jump events to sit seventh in the standings, Barton exploded into contention early Saturday behind one of the meet's most impactful events.
The Cougars piled up 19 points in the weight throw, sweeping the runner-up through fourth-place finishes as Jaylon Calder placed second with a personal-best toss of 18.65m (61-2.25), Gabe Daugherty finished third at a personal-best 18.25m (59-10.50), and Ilia Ciui added fourth with a personal-best 18.10m (59-4.75).
Calder later added another scoring performance in the shot put, placing fifth with a personal-best mark of 16.62m (54-6.50). His combined efforts produced 12 team points, the second-highest scoring total among male field event competitors at the meet.
Leading Barton's scoring charge was Chavez Penn, whose outstanding weekend produced 18 team points, tied for the second-most among all male competitors and the most among field event athletes. Penn captured the national title in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 2.15m (7-0.50), improving his own seventh-best mark in program history, before finishing runner-up in the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 15.96m (52-4.50), also moving into seventh on Barton's all-time list.
The Cougars also received a championship performance on the track as Keandro Gordon captured the national title in the 600 meters, racing to a personal-best and facility-record time of 1:16.91, the second-fastest mark in program history, missing the school record by just three hundredths of a second.
Additional track scoring came from the 400 meters where LaMont Johnson placed third in a personal-best 46.32, moving into third in program history, while Simeon Adams added an eighth-place finish with a personal-best 46.94, now seventh on Barton's all-time list.
Barton's 60m hurdle crew added valuable points as Nizer Smith finished sixth in a personal-best 8.03 and Trevoy Smith placed seventh in 8.13 as both entered the meet with limited experience in the event.
The Cougars also delivered one of the meet's most memorable relay performances as the 4x800-meter relay team of Macdonald Jansen, Keandro Gordon, Sergi Gonzalez, and Shavan Jarrett placed third in a program-record time of 7:31.84, shattering the previous school record by more than seven seconds and ranking as the fifth-fastest performance in NJCAA Indoor Championship history.
Jansen later delivered a crucial point in the 1000 meters, finishing eighth in a personal-best 2:27.34 after leading the race through the opening 600 meters before holding on down the stretch. The effort moved him into fifth on Barton's all-time list while providing a valuable late point for the Cougars heading into the meet's final event.
Closing out the championship effort, Barton's 4x400-meter relay team of Emmanuel Adams, Keandro Gordon, Simeon Adams, and LaMont Johnson placed fourth in 3:09.56 to help secure the Cougars' one-point victory.
Barton will now turn its attention to the outdoor season, opening competition March 20–21 at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Barton's NJCAA Indoor Championship Results
60m Hurdles: 6th Nizer Smith (PB 8.03), 7th Trevoy Smith (8.13 *8.09 in Prelims *1st Time in event)
200m: 19th Aragorn Straker (SB 21.51)
400m: 3rd LaMont Johnson (PB 46.32 *3rd Fastest Program History - moves up from 4th), 8th Simeon Adams (PB 46.94 *7th Fastest Program History), 17th Emmanuel Adams (PB 47.74)
600m: CHAMPION Keandro Gordon (PB and Facility Record 1:16.91 *2nd Program Fastest - missed record by .03 secs), 14th Furious Trammel (1:20.16), 16th Trevoy Smith (1:20.34)800m: 14th Shavan Jarrett (1:52.81)
1000m: 8th Macdonald Jansen (PB 2:27.34 *5th Program Fastest - moves up from 6th)
Long Jump: 9th Chavez Penn (7.25m, 23-09.50)
Triple Jump: RUNNER-UP Chavez Penn (PB 15.96m, 52-04.50 *7th Program Furthest), 19th Devon Williams (13.34m, 43-09.25)
High Jump: CHAMPION Chavez Penn (PB 2.15m, 7-00.50 *Improves his 7th Program Highest)
Shot Put: 5th Jaylon Calder (PB 16.62m, 54-06.50), 11th DeAndre Bristol (14.64m, 48-00.50)
Weight Throw: RUNNER-UP Jaylon Calder (PB 18.65m, 61-02.25 *10th Program Best), 3rd Gabe Daugherty (PB 18.25m, 59-10.50), 4th Ilia Ciui (PB 18.10m, 59-04.75)
4x400m Relay: 4th 3:09.56 (Emmanuel Adams, Keandro Gordon, Simeon Adams, and LaMont Johnson) *Already has 2nd Fastest Program History
4x800m Relay: 3rd 7:31.84 (Macdonald Jansen, Keandro Gordon, Sergi Gonzalez, and Shavan Jarrett) *PROGRAM RECORD **5th Fastest in NJCAA Championship Meet History