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Spartanburg, SC -- The Southern Conference will conclude its regular season for men and women’s indoor track and field with the 2006 Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Clemson Indoor Track Facility of Clemson University in Clemson, SC, in conjunction with the Big South Conference on Friday, February 24 and Saturday, February 25.
The two-day meet will feature 17 events such as the 60-meter dash, mile run, long jump, 4 x 400 meter relay, shot put, men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon. The Appalachian State women are currently first in the Southern Conference Power Rankings with 142 points, leading Western Carolina (138.5) by a mere 3.5 points. Georgia Southern is currently third (110) with Chattanooga (90) and Elon (65.5) rounding out the top five. The Western Carolina men currently total 271.5 points, which leads second place Appalachian State (209.5) by 62 points. Davidson (40) and UNC Greensboro (34) round out the top half of the competition.
The 42nd Annual Men’s and 24th Annual Women’s Division I Indoor Track and Field NCAA Championships will be held at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track in Fayetteville, AR, on the campus of the University of Arkansas from March 10-11.
At the 2005 Championships, Appalachian State claimed the title of SoCon Men’s Indoor Track and Field Champion, making that its 14th SoCon Indoor Track and Field title, while Appalachian State’s women claimed their fifth consecutive team title at the meet held in Johnson City, TN. The Mountaineers edged defending champion Western Carolina on the men’s side by 7 points and by a 9.33-point margin on the women’s side.
Appalachian State’s Dustin Wright won the heptathlon at the 2005 meet with a score of 4581, breaking the Southern Conference record. The Mountaineers will return five individual champions from the 2005 campaign, including Wright. Joining him are sophomore Joel Gaddy, who took the Long Jump event with a distance of 7.09 meters, senior Dan Queen, who placed first in the pole vault with a score of 4.90 meters, and sophomore Mark Sturgis, who won the triple jump with a mark of 14.73 meters. Junior Anthony Greer rounds out the returning squad. Anthony won both the shot put (16.68 m) and the weight throw (17.11) earning him Outstanding Field Performer of the Year on the men’s side.
Western Carolina has two returning members. Senior Lawrence Briscoe broke the Southern Conference record in the 60-M Hurdles with a time of 8.20 in 2005 and senior Adam Puett won the mile run with a time of 4:13.48. Jeff Williams of UNC Greensboro will also return this year after winning the 800 m with a time of 1:55.36.
On the women’s side, College of Charleston’s Chakosha Lance and Georgia Southern’s Nicole Brown broke two Southern Conference records in 2005. Lance, a senior, won the weight throw with a mark of 18.32 m and Brown, a junior, won the 60-meter dash with a record time of 7.43. Brown also won the 200-meter with a time of 24.33. Both athletes return for this year’s competition and will be joined by Chattanooga’s Nettie Halcomb and Appalachian’s Brittani Williams. In Johnson City, Halcomb, a sophomore, took home first in the mile run (5:04.99), 3000 meter (10:05.70), and 5000 meter (17:20.87) events. Halcomb was also named Outstanding Track Performer of the Year for the women. Williams, a sophomore, won the shot put recording a mark of 14.39 meters.
Among the other award winners is Laura Tieszen of Western Carolina. Tieszen earned the honor of Outstanding Field Performer of the Year after winning the pentathlon with a score of 3274. Chattanooga’s Steven Kocsis was named Outstanding Track Performer of the Year on the men’s side. Kocsis won both the 3000 meter and 5000 meter events with a time of 8:21.77 and 14:41.70 respectively. Raquel Ramseur of Western Carolina was honored as the 2005 Freshman of the Year of aiding her teammates in a mile relay victory with a time of 3:46.40, a new Southern Conference record. Catamount head coach Danny Williamson was named Coach of the Year on the men’s side and Mountaineer head coach John Weaver was honored on the women’s side.