Western Carolina sweeps Outdoor Track & Field Championships

CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina swept the Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at its own Catamount Athletic Complex on Friday, with the Catamount men wrapping up their third straight title and the women their third in four years. Two men's and two women's meet records were broken on the second day of the meet.

The Catamounts scored 214 points on the men's side to easily outdistance Samford, although the score was tight until late in the day Friday. Western Carolina put the hammer down with the title on the line, winning the last three men's events, including a podium sweep in the triple jump, taking the top two spots in the discus and erasing a 34-year-old conference record in the 4x400-meter relay. All told, WCU won six men's events, with five of the coming on the final day to lift the Catamounts from third place after Thursday's opening day.

Samford tallied 169 points to finish runner-up to the Catamounts for the second straight season. ETSU was third with 122, followed by The Citadel (110), Wofford (73), Furman (71), VMI (48) and UNCG (nine).

Western Carolina totaled 193 points to claim the women's title, knocking off defending champion Samford, which finished with 161. ETSU was third with 129, followed by Furman (120), Wofford (74), Mercer (49), VMI (46), The Citadel (30), Chattanooga (11) and UNCG (six).

The Catamounts and Samford were locked in a tight battle and tied at 145 points with three events left to score. A second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, coupled with Samford's fifth-place finish, put Western Carolina ahead to stay. Alisha Blackmon and Simone Williams finished first and third in the shot put, respectively, and freshmen Makaila McIntyre and Autumn James went 2-3 in the triple jump to slam the door on the Bulldogs.

Western Carolina's Devaniel Dale, Henry Kiedy, Chace Washington-Saunders and Dakota Lamont combined to erase a meet record that had stood since 1984. The quartet teamed up to run 3:09.06 in the 4x400-meter relay, knocking more than a second off the mark VMI had held for 34 years. The Catamounts won that relay for the eighth straight season.

Di'Joun Huitt led the podium sweep in the triple jump, as he was followed by Kevin Hires and Nicholas Lyons, while Matteius Brown and Scott Peretin were 1-2 in the discus. The title was the second in the event for Brown, who also won in 2016.

The Citadel's Malik Diggs erased one of the championship's oldest records, in the 110-meter hurdles. The Bulldog graduate student ran 14.09 to finish under the mark of 14.1 set in 1977 and equaled in 1979 and 1980.

Samford's Maggie Johnston set the first meet record of the day, surpassing her own mark from last year's meet with a toss of 48.31 meters (158 feet, 6 inches) to win her second straight discus title. She added more than a meter to her previous record.

Furman's Allie Buchalski claimed her second career title in the 1,500-meter run, clocking 4:19.44 to shave more than three seconds off the mark set by SoCon Hall of Famer Shannon Wommack of Chattanooga in 2006.

Buchalski was one of 10 double winners on Friday, as she claimed her third straight title in the 5,000-meter run to lead a Paladin podium sweep. Samford's Selena Popp earned wins in the heptathlon and high jump, defending her title in the former, and Diggs, who was part of The Citadel's winning 4x100-meter relay unit, swept the hurdles, adding a 400-meter title to his record-setting effort in the 110. Both individual titles were his second straight.

Western Carolina's Dasha Arnaut successfully defended both her 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdle titles from 2017, while the Catamounts' Brown earned wins in the shot put and discus. Wofford's McLeod Dean won the women's 100-meter and 200-meter runs and ETSU's Lamisha Simmons ran legs of ETSU's victorious 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays.

Western Carolina's Kiedy won his second career men's 400-meter dash in addition to winning the 4x400, while The Citadel's Josiah Johnson won the 100-meter dash and ran on the winning 4x100-meter relay squad. ETSU's Kyra Atkins won her third straight crown in the 100-meter hurdles and added a relay win on the 4x100.

Samford's Keyth Fightmaster earned his third high jump title Friday, clearing 2.13 meters (6 feet, 11.75 inches) to fall just two inches shy of the meet record.

Western Carolina's Peretin and Samford's Popp were honored as the meet's Most Outstanding Athletes for accumulating the most points. The Catamounts' Miles Greer and Lindsey Trotter were honored with the Pinnacle Award, which goes to the student-athletes with the highest GPAs on the championship-winning teams.

Men's results ? Final
1. Western Carolina ? 214 points
2. Samford ? 169
3. ETSU ? 122
4. The Citadel ? 110
5. Wofford ? 73
6. Furman ? 71
7. VMI ? 48
8. UNCG ? 9

Women's results ? Final
1. Western Carolina ? 193 points
2. Samford ? 161
3. ETSU ? 129
4. Furman ? 120
5. Wofford ? 74
6. Mercer ? 49
7. VMI ? 46
8. The Citadel ? 30
9. Chattanooga ? 11
10. UNCG ? 6

Men's Most Outstanding Athlete
Scott Peretin, Western Carolina

Men's Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Miles Greer, Western Carolina

Women's Most Outstanding Athlete
Selena Popp, Samford

Women's Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Lindsey Trotter, Western Carolina

Men's All-Freshman ? Day 2
Decathlon
Austin Eck, Samford
Thomas Ozburn Jr., Samford
Matthew Mudd, Western Carolina

Shot put
Mac Bennett, Western Carolina

1,500-meter run
Ben Varghese, ETSU
Matt Scarr, ETSU
Weston Clayton, UNCG

110-meter hurdles
Mike Jones, Western Carolina
Isaiah Ellis, Wofford
Jack McHugh, Samford

High jump
Matt Cahoon, Samford
Tyler Hanks, Western Carolina
Harrison Mansell, The Citadel

400-meter dash
Tate Overbay, ETSU
Daniel Rust, UNCG
Karl Barksdale, UNCG

100-meter dash
Karon Delince, ETSU
Timiebi Ogobri, The Citadel
Tyler Manigualt, Western Carolina

800-meter run
Matt Scarr, ETSU
Juan Rodriguez, UNCG
Ford McCoy, Wofford

Discus
Austin Lufkin, Wofford
Matt Cahoon, Samford
Mac Bennett, Western Carolina

400-meter hurdles
Isaiah Ellis, Wofford
Michael McMahan, Samford
Mike Jones, Western Carolina

Triple jump
Tyler Hanks, Western Carolina
Noah Osbourne, Samford

200-meter dash
Karon Delince, ETSU
John Collins, VMI
Timiebi Ogobri, The Citadel

5,000-meter run
Ben Garner, Samford
Ewan Hynes, UNCG
Jake Mazziotta, VMI

Women's All-Freshman ? Day 2
Heptathlon
Megan Dunn, Wofford
Amanda Dumar, Samford
Kendra Whitehurst, ETSU

Discus
Symphony Buxton, ETSU
Lesleigh Tabor, Western Carolina
Sandra Lopez, Wofford

High jump
Jaelyn Warren, Western Carolina
Autumn James, Western Carolina

1,500-meter run
Hannah Steelman, Wofford
Lindsey Stallworth, ETSU
Abbey Zane, Samford

100-meter hurdles
Cherrish Wright, Mercer
Jaelyn Warren, Western Carolina

400-meter dash
Dominique Delisser, Western Carolina
Aliyah Hill, ETSU
Ariana Ruffin, VMI

100-meter dash
Sydney Campbell, Mercer
Lauryn Dancy, Mercer
Marion Meadows, Mercer

Triple jump
Makaila McIntyre, Western Carolina
Autumn James, Western Carolina
Aliyah Hill, ETSU

800-meter run
Emma Kuntz, Furman
Jessica Lord, ETSU
Heather Feuchtenberger, ETSU

400-meter hurdles
Amanda Dumar, Samford

Shot put
Symphony Buxton, ETSU
Sarah Leckman, VMI
Lesleigh Tabor, Western Carolina

200-meter dash
Dominique Delisser, Western Carolina
Tessola Duncan, Mercer
Marion Meadows, Mercer

5,000-meter run
Reilly Caldwell, Furman
Abbey Zane, Samford
Anna Armfield, VMI

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