Western Carolina Track & Field Closes Out Season Opener at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. – Western Carolina track & field opened the indoor season on Friday highlighted by a runner-up and three third-place finishes at the Clemson Opener hosted by the Tigers. Junior Henry Stecher claimed a runner-up finish at the men's 800-meter run, while Heidi Hudson (Long Jump), Sydney Lowe (Mile Run), and Javon Brown (Triple Jump) each stood on the podium by claiming third place showings in their respective events. 

In the men's 800m, Stecher tallied the second-place finish, just missing the top spot by a little over two-tenths of a second. 

The Catamounts earned a fourth-place finish from Austin Cline in the men's shot put on Friday morning as he recorded a 15.32-meter throw, the sophomore's best mark for an indoor meet at WCU.

Sophomore Sydney Lowe had a third-place performance in the mile, finishing with a 5:38.85 on the event podium.

Heidi Hudson began her Catamount career with a 6.09-meter recording in the long jump to finish third in the event, just 0.07m off, matching the winning jump on Friday. Hudson's 6.09m puts her in a tie for second in the all-time indoor record book as the best long jump in women's program history since 1996 when Rahma Mateen posted the same mark. 

In the men's triple jump, Javon Brown had a third-place finish with a leap of 14.91-meters, and his brother Javell finished fifth at 14.55m. Javon Brown led the Catamounts in the long jump, recording a 7.06m to place fifth in the event. He posted his personal best in his indoor career with his showing on Friday, a mark he had set during the 2022 Indoor SoCon Championship. 

The Catamounts men's 4x400m team closed the season opener with a fourth-place showing, clocking a combined time of 3:23.59 on Friday night. 

On the women's side, sophomore Jasmine Greene finished fifth in the long jump with a mark of 11.74-meters on Friday afternoon, matching her personal best on the indoor side. Derica Currie finished just behind her teammate with an 11.66m performance, matching her personal best on the indoor season.

The Catamounts are off until January 12-13, 2024, when they head back to the Palmetto State for the Clemson Invite, again hosted by the Tigers. 

Keep track of everything related to Catamount track & field and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports) and Twitter (@catamounts, @catamountxctf).