Samford men continue championship reign, Western Carolina women add to Catamounts history

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Samford’s men claimed their sixth straight SoCon Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Tuesday. Paced by Men’s Most Outstanding Athlete Cole Grande, the Bulldogs scored 238.5 points to secure the title. Grande won gold in the men’s 400m, earned silver in the 200m, and contributed to Samford’s gold‑medal performances in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Samford’s David Brown was named the Pinnacle Award winner as the student‑athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship‑winning team. Samford also claimed the Women’s Most Outstanding Athlete honor, following JT Shaw’s 26-point performance. Shaw won gold in the women’s shot put, and placed second in the hammer and discus.

Western Carolina’s women, powered by a 20‑point performance from Cymoria Thomas, claimed their first SoCon championship since 2018. Thomas swept the women’s 100m and 200m dashes to lead the Catamounts. Western Carolina’s Gaby Reeve earned the Pinnacle Award, sponsored by the Knight Commission.

Day 2 Men’s Storylines

Samford’s Arthur Chitty bested his 2025 performance by .02m to claim his second consecutive high jump gold medal.
Samford’s Carl Henry won his second gold medal in discus, his first since 2024.
Furman maintained a hold of the 1500m with Bryn Woodall becoming the third unique Paladin to win the event in three years.
Wofford’s Patrick Green became the first Terrier to win the triple jump since 2003.

Day 2 Women’s Storylines

Wofford’s Olivia Bagg won her third consecutive heptathlon gold, besting her previous gold medal performance by 72 points.
The Terriers claimed gold in the 4x1 for the sixth straight championship.
VMI’s Morgan Fraser became the first Keydet to win the event in program history.
Wofford’s Taylor Jennings-Ward set a new championship record in the 400, besting the previous record, set by Wofford’s Jasmine Jefferson, by .25 seconds.
Samford’s Jessica Edwards bested the previous record by .18 seconds to set a new meet record.
Western Carolina’s Jasmine Greene reclaimed the triple jump title after going back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.

*Italics: Meet record

Day 2 Men’s Results
1.Samford	238.5
2.Western Carolina	180.5
3.Furman	109
4.The Citadel	87.5
5.Wofford	64
6.VMI	50.5
7.ETSU	47
8.UNCG	36

Day 2 Women’s Results
1.Western Carolina	182.5
2.Samford	175.5
3.Wofford	137
4.Furman	110
5.ETSU	80.5
6.Mercer	46
7.VMI	37
8.Chattanooga	24.5
9.The Citadel	10
10.UNCG	6

Day 2 Men’s Champions
4x1	Samford – 40.17
1500m	Bryn Woodall, Furman – 3:42.91
110m Hurdles	Bradley Franklin, Samford – 13.52 *13.42 - Prelims
400m	Cole Grande, Samford – 46.35 [PB]
100m	Caleb Yeary, Samford – 10.46
800m	Zeph Carico-McLennan, Samford – 1:48.26*
400m Hurdles	Christian Roberts, Western Carolina – 52.16 [PB]
200m	Bradley Franklin, Samford – 20.79
5000m	Luke Ward, UNCG – 14:40.99 [SB]
4x4	Samford – 3:10.84
Decathlon	Gilbert Stein, Samford – 6,739
Discus	Anthony Hawkins Jr., Western Carolina – 50.25m
High Jump	Arthur Chitty, Samford – 2.15m [SB]
Shot Put	Carl Henry, Samford - 16.58m
Triple Jump	Patrick Green, Wofford – 14.86m

Day 2 Women’s Champions
4x1	Wofford – 45.36
1500m	Nysa Males, Furman – 4:22.17 [PB]
100m Hurdles	JaKayla Campbell, Wofford – 13.52
400m	Taylor Jennings-Ward, Wofford – 53.02 [PB]
100m	Cymoria Thomas, Western Carolina – 11.74 [PB]
800m	Jessica Edwards, Samford – 2:04.00
400m Hurdles	Aaliyah Mbenda, Samford – 1:00.45 [PB]
200m	Cymoria Thomas, Western Carolina – 23.88 [PB]
5000m	Sierra Bower, Furman – 17:22.54
4x4	Wofford - 3:37.83
Heptathlon	Olivia Bagg, Wofford – 4, 867
High Jump	Morgan Fraser, VMI – 1.68m
Discus	Toria Roundtree, Western Carolina – 46.57m [PB]
Triple Jump	Jasmine Greene, Western Carolina – 12.25m

Day 2 Men’s All-Freshman
1500m	Wesley Luisi, ETSU Loden Kohrman, Samford Bradley White, Western Carolina
110m Hurdles	Gage Herring, The Citadel Gilbert Stein, Samford Deonte Harris, VMI
400m	Leland Bishop, Furman Jackson Sorbello, Furman Emery Anderson, UNCG
100m	Chase Webb, Samford Jack Stubbs, Samford Ty Watkins, Samford
800m	Jack Wallace, The Citadel Wesley Luisi, ETSU Jeremiah Jones, UNCG
400m Hurdles	Kyan Sapko, The Citadel Gage Herring, The Citadel Milo Wilets, ETSU
200m	Chase Webb, Samford Ty Watkins, Samford Delton Jones, Western Carolina
5000m	Garrett Hawkins, ETSU Luke Huehn, UNCG Matthias Peterson, Western Carolina
Decathlon	Myer Daniels, The Citadel Gilbert Stein, Samford
Discus	Anthony Hawkins Jr., Western Carolina Jack Wilson, ETSU
High Jump	Josh Flack, Western Carolina Daniel Coronell, Western Carolina Vahin Middough, VMI
Shot Put	Daniel Dounian, The Citadel Anthony Hawkins Jr, Western Carolina
Triple Jump	Deonte Harris, VMI
Day 2 Women’s All-Freshman
1500m	Eliza Everett, ETSU Katherine Bannigan, Furman Bella King, Chattanooga
100m Hurdles	Kiera-Lee Abrahams, Samford Ayla Pessoa-Rollins, Wofford
400m	Jada Erwin, Western Carolina Sofia LaCorte, Wofford Carmen Pollard, Mercer
100m	TaLaya Broaders, Mercer Shaniya Shirley, Western Carolina Ayzia Jefferson, UNCG
800m	Tara Watkins, Furman Ava Dennis, Wofford Sarah Turner, Wofford
400m Hurdles	Katelyn Lemke, ETSU Kali McQuade, Samford McCrary Beaty, Western Carolina
200m	Ayzia Jefferson, UNCG Shaniya Shirley, Western Carolina Jada Erwin, Western Carolina
5000m	Madalyn Mahoney, ETSU Tessa Walter, Furman Elly Velasquez, Furman
Heptathlon	Celia Gully, Western Carolina McCrary Beaty, Western Carolina
Discus	Maddie Winchester, ETSU Gianna Ortiz, Wofford Maggie Frana, Wofford
Triple Jump	Liliana Coe, The Citadel Kyndall Brundidge, Samford Celia Gully, Western Carolina
Shot Put	Jadan Dean, The Citadel Maddie Winchester, ETSU Maggie Frana, Wofford
High Jump	Halle Carden, Chattanooga Genevieve Cummings, VMI Gracie Sutton, Western Carolina

Samford men continue championship reign, Western Carolina women add to Catamounts history

Edit