UPDATE (5/10): Due to the forecast of inclement weather Friday, the field events originally scheduled for Friday will now be contested Thursday evening. A pdf of the updated schedule appears on the right side of this page.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2017 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships are set for Thursday and Friday (May 11-12). The championships will be hosted by Samford University at the Bulldogs' Track and Soccer Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. This year marks the 93^rd annual championship for the men and 31^st for the women.

Thursday's schedule will begin at 9:30 a.m. (CT) with the first five men's decathlon events and will be followed by the first four women's heptathlon events, which will begin at 10 a.m. Events are scheduled through 5:40 p.m. on Thursday with action resuming on Friday at 8:45 a.m. with the men's final five decathlon events. The championship will conclude on Friday evening with the awards ceremony commencing after the men's 4x400-meter relay race, which is set to begin at 4:35 p.m.

Western Carolina will be seeking back-to-back men's titles and its seventh overall, while the Catamount women will look to claim their third consecutive SoCon championship. Western Carolina tallied 245 points on the men's side and the women earned 255 points in Cullowhee, North Carolina, last year.

VMI's Jordan White, who won the men's hammer title (54.60 meters) and placed second in the discus throw (47.49m) and third in the men's shot put (16.21m), claimed the Heath Whittle Award, which honors the men's most outstanding athlete, as a redshirt junior in 2016.

On the women's side, Samford's Sarah Sanford and Western Carolina's Hailey Cook were tabbed Co-Most Outstanding Athletes of the 2016 outdoor championship. Sanford, a sophomore last year, won the 400-meter dash (55.32 seconds) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.06), while Cook, a junior last outdoor season, swept the throwing events, winning the shot put (14.71m), discus throw (45.36m) and hammer throw (50.88m). Cook currently leads the SoCon this season in the shot put (15.31m) and hammer throw (52.00m).

In the latest men's power rankings, which include meets through this past weekend, Western Carolina leads the league with 182 points, followed by ETSU (132) and Samford (131). The Citadel checks in at No. 4 with 86 points. Furman (82), Wofford (37) and UNCG (4) round out the group.

The women's power rankings are highlighted by Samford, which tallied 173 points, followed by defending-champion Western Carolina with 171 points. ETSU checks in third, totaling 114 points, while Furman took 86 points. VMI is fifth in the power rankings with 38 points, followed by Wofford, which notched 34 points. Mercer (24), UNCG (14), The Citadel (7) and Chattanooga (2) close out the women's squads.

The rankings are determined by the top eight times or scores that are reported by the schools for each event that will be conducted at this weekend's championships.

This year's championship is free to the public. Live results, daily recaps, photos and video highlights can be found at SoConSports.com. All times listed are Central.

2017 Men's Outdoor Track and Field Power Rankings

2017 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Power Rankings

-www.SoConSports.com-