SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG’s Joe Thoma and The Citadel’s Stephen Kraeling have been named the Southern Conference men’s indoor track and field athletes of the week, respectively, while The Citadel’s Mecca Jackson and Blythe Hehmeyer earned the respective awards on the women’s side, the conference office announced Wednesday.
 
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches and included all competition from Feb. 15-21. They are the final selections of the indoor season.
 
UNCG’s Thoma won the 3,000-meter run at the JDL DMR Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday. The graduate student from Whippany, New Jersey, posted a personal-best time of 8:34.58 to top the 26-man field for his first win this season, with his converted time of 8:28.67 good for 10^th in the SoCon this season. The weekly award is the first of Thoma’s career.
 
The Citadel’s Kraeling competed at the USC Indoor Open in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday. The senior from Guyton, Georgia, took third place in the high jump, clearing 1.95 meters, a mark that ranks third in the SoCon this season. The weekly award is the second of Kraeling’s career and comes nearly a year to the day after his previous selection on Feb. 23, 2022.
 
Also competing at the USC Indoor Open, The Citadel’s Jackson took ninth overall and sixth among collegiate competition in the 200-meter dash in a personal-best and school-record time of 25.04 seconds, taking 0.50 seconds off the previous program mark, which was set in 2006. The junior from Sandersville, Georgia, ranks fourth in the event in the SoCon this season. The weekly award is the first of her career.
 
The Citadel’s Hehmeyer also set a program record at the USC Indoor Open, surpassing her own mark in the pole vault. The graduate student from Montville, New Jersey, finished fifth overall and second among collegiate competitors, clearing 3.55 meters. Her mark ranks seventh in the SoCon this season. The weekly award is the first of her career.
 
The league now turns its attention to the SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will take place this Saturday and Sunday at the VMI Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington, Virginia.
 
2022-23 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
Jan. 18            Phelani Maduwa, ETSU
Jan. 25            Matthew Smith, Furman
Feb. 1             Matthew Smith, Furman
Feb. 8             Carson Williams, Furman
Feb. 15           Carson Williams, Furman
Feb. 22           Joe Thoma, UNCG
 
Men’s field
Jan. 18            Keyandre Midgett, VMI
Jan. 25            Ty Kimberlin, Samford
Feb. 1             Keyandre Midgett, VMI
Feb. 8             Noah Straley, Western Carolina
Feb. 15           Jed Sisco, Samford
Feb. 22           Stephen Kraeling, The Citadel
 
Women’s track
Jan. 18            Kaylie Armitage, Furman
Jan. 25            Megan Marvin, Furman
Feb. 1             Megan Marvin, Furman
Feb. 8             Nytrinitey Jenkins, Western Carolina
Feb. 15           Jenna Mulhern, Furman
Feb. 22           Mecca Jackson, The Citadel
 
Women’s field
Jan. 18            Brittany Bishop, Samford
Jan. 25            Imani Boyd, Western Carolina
Feb. 1             Eleyah Armstrong, VMI
Feb. 8             Hannah Daffin, Samford
Feb. 15           Dorsey Parker, Samford
Feb. 22           Blythe Hehmeyer, The Citadel