SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina earned three of the four Southern Conference indoor track and field athlete of the week honors and Samford’s Karisa Nelson claimed her third straight track award, the conference office announced Wednesday. The Catamounts’ Victoria Solheim earned the women’s track athlete of the week award, while Chace Washington-Saunders and Trini Feggett were named the men’s indoor track and field athletes of the week, respectively.
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches and included competition held Jan. 26-27.
Samford’s Nelson competed at the Dr. Sander Invitational in New York, New York, on Saturday, collecting a pair of top-three finishes against a field of professional and collegiate athletes. Nelson was the second collegiate finisher and took third overall in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:16.20. The Brewton, Alabama, redshirt senior also took second in the mile – the event in which she won the NCAA title in 2017 – turning in a time of 4:34.81. Her mark is tops in the SoCon by nearly nine seconds and is sixth on the NCAA Division I performance list this season. The award is the fourth indoor honor of Nelson’s career, tied for second-most in SoCon history.
Western Carolina’s Solheim picked up her first weekly honor after making her career debut at the VMI Team Challenge in Lexington, Virginia, on Saturday. The freshman from Dallas, Georgia, turned in a pair of top-five finishes in the throws to help the Catamount women take second in the nine-team competition. Solheim placed third in the weight throw with a SoCon-leading mark of 17.27 meters (56 feet, 8 inches) and finished fifth in the shot put with a heave of 12.76 meters (41 feet, 10 1/2 inches), a mark good for fifth in the league so far.
On the men’s side, Washington-Saunders earned his first career indoor weekly award with a trio of podium finishes. The junior from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, finished second in the 400-meter run and third in the 200-meter dash before running the lead leg on the Catamounts’ victorious 4x400-meter relay. Washington-Saunders posted a time of 48.22 seconds in the 400m, which leads the SoCon by more than a second. His time of 21.95 in the 200m is good for second in the league behind Feggett, while he and his Catamount teammates lead the SoCon in the 4x400m with their 3:21.31 effort.
Western Carolina’s Feggett had an impressive debut meet, winning the long jump and finishing second in the 60-meter dash and the 200 meters. The freshman from Blythewood, South Carolina, won the long jump with a leap of 7.38 meters (24 feet 2 1/2 inches) on his final attempt of the day. Feggett’s first jump of the afternoon also would have won the event, as his mark of 7.34 meters (24 feet, 1 inch) was one of just six on the day of 7 meters or better. He leads the SoCon in the event by 0.38 meters (1 foot, 3 inches). Feggett’s qualifying time of 6.92 seconds in the 60m was second-best on the day and fourth-best in the league this season, while his time of 6.95 in the final was also good for a runner-up finish. His time of 21.84 seconds in the 200m leads the SoCon.
Also nominated for men’s track athlete of the week: Josiah Johnson (The Citadel), Ben Varghese (ETSU), Colin Alexander (UNCG) and Isaiah Ellis (Wofford).
Also nominated for men’s field athlete of the week: Ben Johnson (ETSU).
2018-19 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
Jan. 17 Ben Varghese, ETSU
Jan. 23 Owen Bailey, Samford
Jan. 30 Chace Washington-Saunders, Western Carolina
Men’s field
Jan. 17 Longinus Nnodim, Wofford
Jan. 23 Ben Johnson, ETSU
Jan. 30 Trini Feggett, Western Carolina
Women’s track
Jan. 17 Karisa Nelson, Samford
Jan. 23 Karisa Nelson, Samford
Jan. 30 Karisa Nelson, Samford
Women’s field
Jan. 17 Jackie Barnes, Samford
Jan. 23 Sarah Leckman, VMI
Jan. 30 Victoria Solheim, Western Carolina
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