SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU’s Matt Scarr and Ben Johnson have been named the Southern Conference men’s outdoor track and field athletes of the week, respectively, while Chattanooga’s Kennedy Thomson and Wofford’s Amber Lust claimed the respective women’s awards, the conference office announced Thursday.
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches.
ETSU’s Scarr claimed second place in the 800-meter run at the VertKlasse Meeting in High Point, North Carolina, on Saturday, turning in a personal-best time of 1:51.55 to finish just 0.36 seconds out of first. The sophomore from Wamberal, New South Wales, Australia, leads the SoCon by more than three seconds in the event this year, while his time from this weekend ranks 13th in the East Region and 22nd on the NCAA Division I performance list. The weekly honor is the second of Scarr’s career.
ETSU’s Johnson earned his second straight weekly outdoor honor with a pair of top-five finishes at the VertKlasse Meeting on Saturday. The redshirt senior from Nashville, Tennessee, took third in the hammer throw with a SoCon-leading mark of 56.76 meters (186 feet, 3 inches), which is good for 24th in the East Region. Johnson also finished fifth in the shot put with a season-best throw of 16.20 meters (53 feet, 1 3/4 inches), which also leads the SoCon. The weekly outdoor honor is the fifth of Johnson’s career, tying him with former Samford pole vaulter Tray Oates (2015-18) for the SoCon men’s record.
Chattanooga’s Thomson won the 800-meter run at the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, stopping the clock in a personal-best time of 2:09.54, which leads the SoCon by more than four seconds and is 16th in the East Region and 34th on the overall NCAA performance list. The junior from St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada, who is running her first outdoor season, finished less than a second off of the school record of 2:08.88. Thomson’s award is Chattanooga’s first outdoor weekly honor since Teghan Henderson won on April 9, 2014.
Wofford’s Lust won the heptathlon with 4,645 points at the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational in Rock Hill, South Carolina, over the weekend. The senior from Felton, Delaware, won the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, claimed second in the long jump, finished third in the 800-meter run and tied for third in the high jump to win the multi event. Her time in the 200 meters is good for fourth in the SoCon this season, while her overall point total is tops in the league and ranks third in the East Region and 20th on the NCAA performance list. She is Wofford’s first-ever female winner of the weekly outdoor field award.
2019 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
March 20 Noah Charles, ETSU
March 27 Matt Scarr, ETSU
Men’s field
March 20 Ben Johnson, ETSU
March 27 Ben Johnson, ETSU
Women’s track
March 21 Lindsey Stallworth, ETSU
March 27 Kennedy Thomson, Chattanooga
Women’s field
March 21 Simone Williams, Western Carolina
March 27 Amber Lust, Wofford
-www.SoConSports.com-