SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG’s Dylan Christopher and VMI’s Andrew Granger have been named the Southern Conference men’s outdoor track and field athletes of the week, respectively, while ETSU’s Genevieve Schwarz and Samford’s Erin Long 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 outdoor competition to date.
 
UNCG’s Christopher ran at the 49er Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday, finishing fourth out of 86 runners in the 1,500-meter run. The graduate student from Hendersonville, North Carolina, turned in a personal-best time of 3:51.52, which is just 0.48 seconds off the SoCon lead in the event on the young season. His time ranks 25^th on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List and 35^th on the combined NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
VMI’s Granger competed at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, last week, taking fourth in the hammer throw on Thursday with a personal-best toss of 55.23 meters, which leads the SoCon this season by more than seven meters. Granger, a junior from Marietta, Georgia, also took 27th in the discus with a throw of 37.08, which ranks fourth in the SoCon, and took 25th in the shot put with a heave of 12.46 meters, which is good for eighth in the league.
 
Competing at the 49er Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina, ETSU’s Schwarz successfully defended her 2022 titles in both the 1,500-meter run and 800-meter run, posting the top times in the conference so far in both events. On Friday, Schwarz won her third straight 1,500m title at the 49er Classic, turning in a time of 4:30.90 to top the 81-woman field. The following day, the senior from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, won her second straight 800m title at the 49er Classic, finishing atop the 68-woman field with a time of 2:10.92. Her 800m time ranks 13^th on the 2023 NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List and her 1,500m time ranks 22^nd. Those times rank 23^rd and 42^nd, respectively, on the combined NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
Samford’s Long competed at the Falcon Classic in Montevallo, Alabama, on Saturday, opening her outdoor season with a win in the javelin throw, topping 26 other competitors. The junior from Pelham, Alabama, unleashed a toss of 48.52 meters, which leads the SoCon this season by a whopping 7.44 meters. Her mark ranks eighth on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List and 21^st on the combined NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
2023 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
March 23         Dylan Christopher, UNCG
 
Men’s field
March 23         Andrew Granger, VMI
 
Women’s track
March 23         Genevieve Schwarz, ETSU
 
Women’s field
March 23         Erin Long, Samford