Championship information page
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Samford’s men and women lead the Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships after Monday’s first day of competition at Western Carolina’s Catamount Athletic Complex. Two meet records were set on the first day of the meet.
Samford’s women, who have won three straight SoCon outdoor crowns, totaled 81.5 points and won three of the six individual titles handed out on Monday, with Hannah Daffin, Erin Long and Brittany Bishop all successfully defending titles. ETSU followed in second with 35 points, with Wofford in third with 32.
On the men’s side, two-time defending champion Samford accumulated 67 points on the strength of three wins of its own, with Jed Sisco winning his third straight pole vault title and Tripp Marcus and Edwin Rainey winning the first of their careers. Furman’s men are second with 40 points and host Western Carolina is third with 33.
Bishop broke the meet record in the pole vault for the second straight year, clearing 4.06 meters Monday to erase her old mark of 4.01m. Freshman Lindsey Havens joined her on the podium in third, while ETSU’s Diana Romero-Barba finished second.
Long won her third straight title in the javelin, finishing more than 10 meters ahead of runner-up and sister Emorie Long with her toss of 50.68 meters.
Daffin claimed her second straight title in the hammer throw, claiming the crown with her toss of 54.15 meters.
Also claiming women’s title Monday were VMI’s Eleyah Armstrong in the long jump, ETSU’s Chanelle Kruger in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Chattanooga’s Lesley Green in the 10,000-meter run. Armstrong’s leap of 5.98 meters was good for the Keydets’ first win in the event since 2015, while Kruger’s title was the Bucs’ first-ever SoCon women’s title in the steeplechase, which she won with a time of 10:53.54. Green won UTC’s first 10K title since 2016, finishing more than 47 seconds ahead of runner up and defending champion Emily Little of Furman with her time of 35:09.66.
Furman’s Carson Williams won the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:46.56, with he and Cameron Ponder (8:49.54) both coming in under Ponder’s meet record of 8:49.66 from 2021.
Sisco continued his dominance in the pole vault with her third straight crown, winning with a height of 5.20 meters to lead a podium sweep for Samford. Walker Smith and Carter Ellis finished second and third, respectively.
Marcus became the third different Bulldog in as many years to win the javelin, doing with a throw of 67.51 meters, and Rainey claimed Samford’s second straight title in the long jump, with 2022 champion Ty Kimberlin finishing second.
UNCG’s Dylan Christopher won his second straight title in the 10,000-meter run, becoming the first Spartan man to win multiple outdoor SoCon titles. Christopher crossed the finish line in 31:36.09, just edging out ETSU’s Evan Guzman, who crossed 0.21 seconds behind him.
VMI’s Andrew Granger picked up the first men’s title of the day, unleashing a toss of 57.62 meters to win the hammer throw by more than seven meters. The Citadel claimed the other two podium spots, with Reggie Reynolds and Solomon Ghosh finishing in second and third, respectively.
Samford’s Titus Moore matched his own meet record in the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles with his wind-aided time of 13.97 seconds, but the 2.1 m/s tailwind made the time ineligible for the record.
With half the decathlon in the books, Samford’s Kimberlin, the two-time defending champion in the event, leads with 3,984 points after winning all five events Monday – the 100-meter run, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump and the 400-meter run.
With four of the heptathlon events complete, Wofford’s Netanya Linares leads with 3,125 points after winning the 100-meter dash, high jump and 200-meter dash.
The SoCon Championships resume Tuesday with the resumption of decathlon at 12 p.m. and the heptathlon at 12:15. Live results, daily recaps and photos can be found at SoConSports.com. Day two will air on ESPN+ starting at 3:30 p.m.
Men’s results – Day 1
1. Samford – 67 points
2. Furman – 40
3. Western Carolina – 33
4. VMI – 28
5. The Citadel – 26
6. ETSU – 23
7. UNCG – 11
8. Wofford – 6
Women’s results – Day 1
1. Samford – 81.5 points
2. ETSU – 35
3. Wofford – 32
4. The Citadel – 24
5. Chattanooga – 16
6. Furman – 15
7. Western Carolina – 13.5
8. VMI – 10
9. Mercer – 7
10. UNCG – 0
Day 1 champions
Men: Hammer throw Andrew Granger, VMI (57.62 meters);
long jump Edwin Rainey, Samford (7.27 meters);
pole vault Jed Sisco, Samford (5.20 meters);
javelin Tripp Marcus, Samford (67.51 meters);
3,000-meter steeplechase Carson Williams, Furman (8:46.56*);
10,000-meter run Dylan Christopher, UNCG (31:36.09).
Women: Hammer throw Hannah Daffin, Samford (54.15 meters);
long jump Eleyah Armstrong, VMI (5.98 meters);
pole vault Brittany Bishop, Samford (4.06m*);
javelin Erin Long, Samford, (50.68 meters);
3,000-meter steeplechase Chanelle Kruger, ETSU (10:53.54);
10,000-meter run Lesley Green, Chattanooga (35:09.66).
* meet record
Men’s All-Freshman – Day 1
Men’s hammer throw
Jacob Thomas, Western Carolina
Dominick Dale, Western Carolina
Quin Goodson, Wofford
Men’s long jump
Noah Straley, Western Carolina
Nathan Williams, Western Carolina
Men’s pole vault
Carter Ellis, Samford
Ethan Fulford, ETSU
Men’s javelin
Jackson Livingston, Western Carolina
Grayson Eady, Samford
Quin Goodson, Wofford
Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase
Nate Hillis, ETSU
Abdul-Rahman Jaber, ETSU
Ben Kenner, ETSU
Men’s 10,000-meter run
Andrew McGinnis, Samford
Owen Sharnas, The Citadel
Luke Taylor, Furman
Women’s All-Freshman – Day 1
Women’s hammer throw
Claire Harrison, Samford
Toria Roundtree, Western Carolina
Hannah Kunkle, Wofford
Women’s long jump
Jasmine Greene, Western Carolina
Brooklyn Kirksey, Samford
Anaya Young, ETSU
Women’s pole vault
Lindsey Havens, Samford
Hannah Pettyjohn, Samford
Taylor Hill, VMI
Women’s javelin
Sadie Grove, The Citadel
Taylor Stingel, Wofford
Sam Barnes, The Citadel
Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase
Chanelle Kruger, ETSU
Izelle Kruger, ETSU
10,000-meter run
Emma Jones, Furman
Sophie Beach, ETSU
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