Outdoor Track & Field Championship page
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2016 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships are set for Thursday and Friday at the Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, N.C., and will be hosted by Western Carolina University. The event will mark the 93rd edition of the men's championship and the 30th instance of the women's championship.
Samford is the two-time defending champion on the men’s side, while host Western Carolina is the defending champion on the women’s side and has won two of the last three championship meets.
Thursday’s events will begin at 8:30 a.m. with the men’s 10,000-meter run, followed by the women’s 10,000 meters at 9:15. Events are scheduled throughout the day, with the last one, the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final, beginning at 6:55 p.m. The championship meet resumes Friday at 9 a.m. with the decathlon, followed by the heptathlon at 10. The final events of the day will be the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relays, starting at 5:25 and 5:40 p.m., respectively, with the awards ceremony closing things out at 6 p.m.
Last season saw Samford win its second straight men’s title, as the Bulldogs totaled 244 points to easily outdistance Western Carolina (203). Samford swept the individual awards, with Rod Tiffin claiming his third straight SoCon Coach of the Year honor; Sidney Jordan taking the Most Outstanding Athlete and Most Outstanding Field Performer awards; Brandon Hazouri earning Most Outstanding Track Performer; and Carson Howe being named Freshman of the Year.
This year’s squad is led by sophomore Arsène Guillorel, who won the SoCon Cross Country Championship en route to earning Runner of the Year honors. The Pontchateau, France, native also earned Most Outstanding Track Performer honors after this season’s Indoor Track and Field Championships, which saw the Bulldogs post a runner-up finish to Western Carolina.
Other notables in this year’s outdoor field include Western Carolina sophomore Henry Kiedy, a two-time SoCon Track Athlete of the Week who holds the top times in the conference in the 200 meters and 400 meters this season, and Citadel senior Capers Williamson, a three-time field athlete of the week and two-time field athlete of the month who leads the league by more than 46 feet in the javelin.
Western Carolina ran away with last year’s women’s outdoor crown, piling up 272 points to runner-up Samford’s 183. The Catamounts’ Danny Williamson was named the SoCon Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career, while Tayla Carter shared Most Outstanding Athlete honors and Alisha Bradshaw was named Most Outstanding Field Performer.
Carter will attempt to cap her illustrious career with her fourth consecutive 100-meter and 200-meter dash titles, as the senior has won the events in each of the past three seasons. She also helped the Catamounts win the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays last season.
Carter will get help in her quest for a third outdoor team title from junior Hailey Cook, the reigning shot put champion who owns the top marks in the league this season in the shot put and discus.
Standing in WCU’s way of a team repeat will be Samford, the reigning indoor champion. The deep Bulldogs have seen five different women earn SoCon Athlete of the Week honors this season in Karisa Nelson, Sarah Sanford and Kimberly Ruch on the track and Selena Popp and Tatiana Taylor in the field. Sanford leads the league in the 400-meter run, 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles this year, while Nelson, the SoCon Track Athlete of the Month for April, leads the conference in the 1,500 meters and is second in the 800 meters.
Furman’s Allie Buchalski, last year’s SoCon Freshman of the Year and the reigning cross country Runner of the Year and indoor Most Outstanding Athlete and Most Outstanding Track Performer, enters the outdoor championship with the top SoCon marks in the 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
ETSU’s Ashley Kessler, the field athlete of the month for March and a two-time field athlete of the week, holds the top spot in the pole vault.
Among current SoCon schools, VMI leads the way with 14 men’s championships, followed by Western Carolina with five, The Citadel and Furman with three each and Samford with two. Western Carolina boasts eight women’s titles, while ETSU (1996) and Samford (2014) have one each.
All 10 league schools field women’s teams, while The Citadel, ETSU, Furman, UNCG, Samford, VMI, Western Carolina and Wofford have men’s teams.
This year’s championship is free to the public. Live results, daily recaps, daily photos and video highlights can be found at SoConSports.com.
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