Andrew
Online Reporter
WHILE not the finish they might have hoped for, the Zimbabwe duo of Chengetayi Mapaya and Tinotenda Matiyenga have refused to let the disappointment of their third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championship get the best of them.
Together with high jump wonderkid, Kudakwashe Chadenga, the Texas Christian University (TCU) duo has been on a tear in the United States of America during the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) indoor season.
While South Plains College freshman, Chadenga, capped off his debut indoor season by being crowned the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) champion earlier this month, the same could not be said for Mapaya and Matiyenga.
The two could only manage a third-place finish in the triple jump and 200-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past weekend.
Mapaya took to Instagram to express his disappointment on Monday.
“Been fighting a lot of battles, and can only be proud of the hard work I put in,” read the 23-year-old’s IG story.
“Not the result I wanted, but I have to appreciate my journey.
“From tearing my hamstring, missing out on Olympics, and grinding the whole summer to get back to 100 percent.
“Jumping with a knee bone bruise this season and doing everything in my power to just compete at NCAA Nationals is a blessing,
“I’m forever grateful but never satisfied,” he said.
Mapaya then capped it off with a vow to work even harder during the short break before the outdoor season commences.
“I’m going to work even harder and I am getting everything I pray for,” he said.
Mapaya and Matiyenga were among the four TCU athletes that qualified for the 2022 NCAA Division One Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships in Atlanta this past weekend.
Matiyenga was making a return to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200-meter race, having finished ninth overall last year with a time of 20,88 seconds and garnered Second Team All-American honours.
Most recently, the 22-year-old senior finished third in the 60m at the Big 12 Championships with a time of 6,74 seconds.
After missing out on last year’s Tokyo Olympics, Mapaya began the 2022 indoor season with a bang.
The TCU senior made a 16,95m jump that broke Ndabazihle Mdhlongwa’s Zimbabwe indoor triple jump record from 1998 (16,89m), as well as TCU’s school record.
His jump also noted a new indoor personal best for the Zimbabwe, native.
The senior’s previous best indoor jump was 16,85m at the Texas Tech Shootout that set a TCU record earlier this year.
Unfortunately, he could not translate his previous success into an NCAA Indoor title as his 16,51-meter jump could only get him a third-place finish.
Emmanuel Ihemeje (16,83m) and R’Lazon Brumfield (16,56m) of Tennessee State University won the gold and silver respectively.
In the 200m final, North Carolina’s Javonta Harding won gold with a time of 20,46 seconds, with the TCU duo of Robert Gregory (20,77s) and Matiyenga (20,84s) finishing second and third.
Online Reporter