Samford Men, Western Carolina Women Win Outdoor Championships

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford men’s track and field team and the Western Carolina women’s track and field team each claimed their respective championships on Sunday at the 2015 SoCon Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

Samford totaled 244 points on the men’s side to win the SoCon Outdoor Championship for the second straight season. Western Carolina was second with 203 points and ETSU rounded out the top three with 118.5 points.

Western Carolina swept both the indoor and outdoor women’s track and field championships this year, totaling 272 points for the two-day outdoor event. Samford finished second in the women’s events with 183 points, followed by ETSU with 91 points.

Samford’s Sidney Jordan totaled 30 points to claim the men’s Most Outstanding Athlete for the meet. ETSU’s Demeteria Edgecombe and Western Carolina’s Tayla Carter tied for the women’s Most Outstanding Athlete.

Samford swept the remaining men’s awards, voted on by the league’s coaches. Brandon Hazouri was the Most Outstanding Track Athlete for the event while Sidney Jordan was the Most Outstanding Field Athlete. Carson Howe was named the Freshman of the Year and Rod Tiffin was named men’s Coach and the Year.

On the women’s side, Demeteria Edgecombe of ETSU was named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete while Western Carolina’s Alisha Bradshaw. Furman’s Allie Buchalski was named the Freshman of the Year with Western Carolina’s Danny Williamson taking women’s Coach of the Year.

Two more SoCon records would fall on day two of the championships. ETSU’s Demeteria Edgecombe established a new SoCon record in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.35, breaking the previous record of 13.70 set by Melissa Morrison from Appalachian State in 1998. Samford’s Sarah Sanford and Western Carolina’s Xaviera Bass each topped the previous record as well with times of 13.48 and 13.58, respectively.

Samford’s Keyth Fightmaster won the men’s high jump with a SoCon-record jump of 7-1.5 feet, breaking the previous record of 7-1.03 set by Charles Mack of Appalachian State in 1984.

The day started with the completion of the women’s heptathlon, as Holly Gaines of Western Carolina took first with 4,584 points. Gaines won the high jump, the 200-meter dash and the javelin throw en route to the overall win. Teammate Anne Greer finished second with 4,287 points and Samford’s Danielle Blanco came in third with 4,054.

VMI’s Quincy Murphy claimed the men’s decathlon with 6,665 points. Murphy won the 110-meter hurdles and the shot put while finishing second in three of the 10 events. ETSU’s Nathan Rivera finished second with Western Carolina’s Christian Carswell coming in third.

Western Carolina grabbed wins in both the men’s and women’s 4x100 relay events. The Catamounts recorded a time of 45.96 to take the women’s race ahead of ETSU in second (47.12) and VMI in third (47.70). In the men’s race, WCU took first place with a time of 40.62 to finish ahead of Samford in second (41.33) and ETSU in third (41.34).

The women’s high jump also went to Western Carolina as Anisia Starege jumped a height of 5-7 feet for the win. Her teammate, Xaviera Bass, took second with a jump of 5-5.75 followed by Samford’s Courtney Prengaman in third.

Samford would claim two of the three top spots in the women’s triple jump. Tiana Pisoni finished first with a mark of 39-9.25 feet, as Chenell Bryan from Western Carolina was second (37-11.50) and Samford’s Hannah Hardy came in third (37-0.25).

In the women’s discus throw, Western Carolina’s Alisha Bradshaw came in first with a throw of 146-5. ETSU’s Verena Tobis was second with a throw of 144-10 with Samford’s Kristin Brining finishing third.

Samford placed athletes in the top two spots of the men’s shot put. Sidney Jordan won the event with a throw of 53-0.75 in front of his teammate Brian Hill with a throw of 48-8. VMI’s William Condrey came in third with a throw of 47-3.50.

Furman’s Allie Buchalski won the women’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:27.41. Samford’s Karisa Nelson and UTC’s Amanda Cotter finished second and third, respectively, and were separated by less than two hundredths of a second.

Samford’s Brandon Hazouri topped the men’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:47.05. VMI’s Avery Martin was second with a 3:47.22, ahead of Samford’s Arse’ne Guillorel in third with a time of 3:47.52.

Western Carolina took the top two spots in the women’s 400-meter dash. Genevieve Emrick finished first with a time of 54.42 while teammate Corina Archie-McMillan recorded a 55.77 to finish second and The Citadel’s Tanisha Bethel came in third.

The Catamounts claimed two of the top three spots in the men’s 400-meter dash as well. Henry Kiedy won the event with a time of 47.04, ahead of Samford’s Carson Howe in second place and his Western Carolina teammate Dakota Lamont in third.

Western Carolina continued its strong day on the track with a win in both the men’s and women’s 100-meter dash. Brenden Caldwell won the men’s race with a time of 10.50 and Tayla Carter took the women’s race with a time of 11.52.

ETSU’s Edgecombe would break up the string of Western Carolina winners with her win in the women’s 100-meter hurdles but the Catamounts would take the top two spots in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Abraham Faison finished first with a time of 14.271 to edge out his teammate Marquis Bailey with a second-place time of 14.273.

Samford then took the top two spots in both the men’s and women’s 800-meter runs. Anna Irvine won the women’s event with a time of 2:11.41 with her teammate Marie DeMedicis in second with a time of 2:12.05. Furman’s Jacquelyn Crow recorded a time of 2:12.31 to finish third.

Brandon Hazouri was tops in the men’s event, recording a time of 1:50.62, while teammate Nathan Hendershot was second with a time of 1:51.26. ETSU’s Thomas Miller finished just over two hundredths of a second back of second place with a third-place time of 1:51.48.

Samford continued its strong run with a win in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Sarah Samford placed first with a time of 1:01.35. Western Carolina’s Michaela Birek and Holly Gaines finished second and third, respectively, in that event.

ETSU then won its second track event of the day in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, as Michael Williams finished first with a time of 52.03. Abraham Faison of Western Carolina came in second with a time of 52.44 and Samford’s Marquis Barnes finished third.

In the men’s field events, Samford’s Keyth Fightmaster won the men’s high jump with a SoCon-record jump of 7-1.5 feet while teammate Javion Lee won the men’s long jump with a mark of 50-6. Sidney Jordan of Samford won both the men’s discus and shot put with marks of 155-8 and 53-0.75, respectively.

Western Carolina won the final two events of the day, taking first in both the men’s and women’s 4x400 relay events. The Catamounts recorded a 3:12.75 in the men’s race and a 3:41.83 in the women’s race.

Final Men’s Team Results
1. Samford – 244 points
2. Western Carolina – 203 points
3. ETSU – 118.5 points
4. VMI – 89 points
5. The Citadel – 67.5 points
6. Furman – 47 points
7. Chattanooga – 26.5 points
8. Wofford – 16.5 points
9. UNCG – 5 points

Final Women’s Team Results
1. Western Carolina – 272 points
2. Samford – 183 points
3. ETSU – 91 points
4. Furman – 77 points
5. VMI – 75 points
6. Chattanooga – 49 points
7. The Citadel – 40 points
8. Mercer – 17 points
9. Wofford – 12 points
10. UNCG – 3 points

 

Men’s Individual Awards

Most Outstanding Athlete
Sidney Jordan, Samford

Most Outstanding Track Performer
Brandon Hazouri, Samford

Most Outstanding Field Performer
Sidney Jordan, Samford

Freshman of the Year
Carson Howe, Samford

Coach of the Year
Rod Tiffin, Samford

 

Women’s Individual Awards

Most Outstanding Athletes
Tayla Carter, Western Carolina
Demeteria Edgecombe, ETSU

Most Outstanding Track Performer
Demeteria Edgecombe, ETSU

Most Outstanding Field Performer
Alisha Bradshaw, Western Carolina

Freshman of the Year
Allie Buchalski, Furman

Coach of the Year
Danny Williamson, Western Carolina

 

Men’s All-Freshman Team – Day 2

Decathlon
Austin Billings, Samford
Killian Carey, VMI
Jeremiah Sokol, VMI

 

Discus
Derrick Freeland, The Citadel
Mateius Brown, Western Carolina
Killian Carey, VMI

 

Shot Put
Derrick Freeland, The Citadel
Mateius Brown, Western Carolina
Logan Louzander, ETSU

 

High Jump
Keyth Fightmaster, Samford
Tanner Riddle, ETSU
Austin Billings, Samford

 

Triple Jump
Marquis Barnes, Samford
Kevin Hires, Westen Carolina

 

1,500m Run
Arse’ne Guillorel, Samford
Haydn Borghetti-Metz, ETSU
Bryan Whyms, UNCG

 

400m Run
Henry Kiedy, Western Carolina
Carson Howe, Samford
Dakota Lamont, Western Carolina

 

100m Run
Brendan Caldwell, Western Carolina
Jeff Beane, UNCG

 

110m Hurdles
Davon Guerrier, VMI

 

800m Run
Ashton Wilson, ETSU
Josh Willard, VMI
Bryan Whyms, UNCG

 

400m Hurdles        
Marquis Barnes, Samford
Drake Watson, Chattanooga
Davon Guerrier, VMI

 

200m Run
Carson Howe, Samford
Henry Kiedy, Western Carolina
Dakota Lamont, Western Carolina

 

5,000m Run
Arse’ne Guillorel, Samford
Austin Sprague, Furman
Josh Bricknell, Furman

 

Women’s All-Freshman Team – Day 2

Heptathlon
Katie Beuerlein, Wofford
Erin West, Western Carolina
Kasey Widmyer, Wofford

 

Discus
Alisha Blackmon, Western Carolina

 

Shot Put
Alisha Blackmon, Western Carolina

 

High Jump
Courtney Prengaman, Samford
Julia Logan, VMI
Carrie Neill, Samford

 

Triple Jump
Tiana Pisoni, Samford
Timia Easley, ETSU
Kennedy Smith, SMI

 

1,500m Run
Allie Buchalski, Furman
Karisa Nelson, Samford
Jacquelyn Crow, Furman

 

400m Run
Aubree Collins, ETSU
Christina Hill, VMI
Ty Harris, The Citadel

 

100m Run
Kerisha Goode, VMI
Yaa Agyepong-Wiafe, VMI
Alyiah Riley, Western Carolina

 

100m Hurdles
Sarah Sanford, Samford
Qiona Payton, Samford
Alyiah Riley, Western Carolina

 

800m Run
Jacquelyn Crow, Furman
Emma Garner, Samford
Hannah Chamblin, Chattanooga
Hannah Warren, ETSU

 

400m Hurdles
Sarah Sanford, Samford
Victoria Wicks, Samford
Nicki Smith, ETSU

 

200m Run
Carson Howe, Samford
Henry Kiedy, Western Carolina
Patrick Taylor, ETSU

 

5,000m Run
Allie Buchalski, Furman
Emma Mashburn, Furman
Emily Drouin, Chattanooga