SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina’s Dakota Lamont and Samford’s Tray Oates have been named the Southern Conference men’s outdoor track and field athletes of the week, respectively, while the Catamounts’ Dasha Arnaut and Simone Williams earned the respective women’s honors, the conference office announced Wednesday.
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches and included all competition from April 11-17.
Western Carolina’s Lamont earned a trio of podium finishes at the Catamount Classic presented by Catamount Travel Center on Friday and Saturday. The senior from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, set a meet and personal record in the 400-meter dash with a winning time of 46.62 seconds, the top time in the SoCon this season and 16th in the East Region. Lamont finished second in the 200-meter dash, turning in a time of 21.62 seconds, the third-best time in the league this year. He also ran the second leg on the Catamounts’ third-place 4x100-meter relay unit, which posted a conference-leading time of 41.38 seconds.
Samford’s Oates was selected for his second honor in the last three weeks after earning a win in the pole vault at the Tiger Track Classic, hosted by Auburn University on Friday and Saturday. The redshirt senior from Acworth, Georgia, cleared 5.60 meters (18 feet, 4.5 inches) in a jump-off to claim the victory and set a new facility record at Hutsell-Rosen Track. The weekly award is the fifth outdoor honor of Oates’ career, breaking a five-way tie for the league record for outdoor awards. Oates also claimed the SoCon record for indoor awards earlier this year. Oates is third on the NCAA Division I performance list this season.
Western Carolina’s Arnaut was also in action at the Catamount Classic, earning a pair of wins. The junior from Asheville, North Carolina, won the 400-meter hurdles in a conference-leading time of 1:00.51 and ran the second leg on the Catamounts’ victorious 4x100-meter relay unit, which turned in a SoCon-leading time of 46.52 seconds. Arnaut also claimed third in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.47, good for fourth on the SoCon performance list this season, and won a pair of events in the heptathlon, claiming the 100-meter hurdles in 14.49 and the 200-meter dash in 24.63, which ranks fifth in the SoCon this year.
Also competing at the Catamount Classic, Western Carolina’s Williams picked up a pair of podium finishes in the throws. The junior from Charlotte, North Carolina, won the shot put with a SoCon-leading heave of 13.87 meters (45 feet, 6.25 inches) to best the 37-woman field and added a third-place finish in the hammer with a toss of 52.51 meters (172 feet, 3 inches), good for a personal record as well as the SoCon lead. Williams also competed in the discus, finishing 13th with a throw of 34.78 meters (114 feet, 1 inch).
Also nominated for men’s track athlete of the week: Arsène Guillorel (Samford) and Jahanzib Shahbaz (VMI).
Also nominated for men’s field athlete of the week: Kevin Hires (Western Carolina).
Also nominated for women’s track athlete of the week: Bethany King (VMI).
Also nominated for women’s field athlete of the week: Sydney Campbell (Mercer) and Sarah Leckman (VMI).
2018 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
March 21 Chace Washington-Saunders, Western Carolina
March 28 Emmanuel Tait, Samford
April 4 Simeon Roberts, ETSU
April 11 Emmanuel Tait, Samford
April 18 Dakota Lamont, Western Carolina
Men’s field
March 21 Mateius Brown, Western Carolina
March 28 Ben Johnson, ETSU
April 4 Tray Oates, Samford
April 11 Conrad Heinrich, Wofford
April 18 Tray Oates, Samford
Women’s track
March 21 Hannah Steelman, Wofford
March 28 Sarah Sanford, Samford
April 4 Emma Grace Hurley, Furman
April 11 McLeod Dean, Wofford
April 18 Dasha Arnaut, Western Carolina
Women’s field
March 21 Makaila McIntyre, Western Carolina
March 28 Erin Hines, Samford
April 4 Jaelyn Warren, Western Carolina
April 11 Alyssa Whipkey, ETSU
April 18 Simone Williams, Western Carolina
-www.SoConSports.com-