GALVEZ WINS GOLD, WARRIORS PLACE 4TH
May 18, 2026
Hobbs, NM – For the third consecutive year, the Indian Hills Men’s Track & Field squad brought home a top-five finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championship. The Warriors placed fourth overall at the Ross Black Field of Champions in Hobbs, NM.
The Warriors were led by sophomore Raynier Galvez (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County) who brought home his second consecutive NJCAA DI Men’s Outdoor Track 800-meter national championship. The sophomore standout, who was tapped as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Regio Track Athlete of the Year, crossed the line in 1:49.35 to take home the gold.
In total, the Warriors produced All-American honors in 14 separate events, including two relay events. Indian Hills boasted three national runner-up honors and a total of seven top-five performances to finish with 60 team points.
The Warriors continued an unprecedented run at the national championships with its third consecutive outdoor top-five finish. Indian Hills placed fifth in 2024, fourth in 2025, and fourth in 2026 in addition to the program’s indoor national title in 2024.
Along with Galvez’s dominant showing in the 800m, the sophomore powered the 4x800m relay squad to a silver medal with a time of 7:18.73. The mark proved to be a new national meet record, along with an Indian Hills school record, but the Warriors were edged by Iowa Central by just 0.46 seconds.
The Warriors produced a second relay silver medal with a runner-up finish in the 4x100m relay. The quartet of James Kokuro (Joliet, IL/Joliet West), Damor Miller (Kingston, Jamaica/Excelsior), Izaiah Loveless (Iowa City, IA/Iowa City West), and Hector Benjamin (Kingston, Jamaica/Jamaica College) secured the second-place showing with a time of 39.33.
Sophomore Devonni Ferguson (Gouyave, Grenada/Grenada Boys’ Secondary) brought home a silver medal in the 400m dash with a time of 46.41, the best showing in the event for the Warriors since Kenny Bednarek captured the national championship in 2019.
Miller and Benjamin both starred for the Warriors in the sprint events. Miller captured a bronze medal in the 200m dash with a time of 20.15. Miller also finished 10th overall in the 100m dash for the Warriors. Benjamin wowed the crowd in the 100m dash with a preliminary time of 10.05, the second-fastest in school history, before placing sixth overall in the finals with a time of 10.09 to earn All-American honors. Benjamin also earned All-American honors in the 200m dash with an eighth place finish.
Yverson Alexandre (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) placed fifth overall in the 110m hurdles with a new school record time of 13.85 to earn a spot on the podium. Alexandre becomes the highest individual finisher in the event for the Warriors. Dayton LaMar (Denmark, IA/Fort Madison) also earned All-American honors with a fifth-place showing and a school record mark of 7.48 in the men’s long jump.
Joseph McDonald Jr. (Kingston, NY/Kingston) secured a spot on the All-American squad with a sixth-place finish in the high jump, clearing a mark of 2.02.
Kameron Hall (Tallahassee, FL/Rickards) took home All-American honors in the 400m hurdles, just the second individual in program history to do so, with a seventh-place finish in a time of 52.22 while both Kemarrio Bygrave (Kingston, Jamaica/Jamaica College) and Kohlby Newsom (Winfield, IA/Winfield Mt. Union) earned All-American honors in the 800m and 1,500m events, respectively.
Galvez, the 2026 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, capped an unprecedented career at Indian Hills that now features three national titles, 10 All-American honors, five school records, and a multitude of conference, regional, and national accolades.
The 14 separate All-American honors are the most for a Warrior squad at the NJCAA Outdoor National Championships in program history.
New Mexico Junior College took the team title with 97 points followed by South Plains College (TX) and Iowa Central Community College.
