Western Carolina men’s Track and Field clinched first place in the Southern Conference and the women’s team placed second on the campus of Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. on Apr. 26.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team clinched the 2009 SoCon Championship with a first place finish as the Citadel finished second ahead of Appalachian State to secure the victory. The relay team of Benny Davis, Thomas Funderburk, Manteo Mitchell, and Dominique Young finished with a time of 3:18.09 seconds.
In the men’s decathalon final, sophomore Sean Reardon broke the SoCon and WCU record with 6,493 points.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay team of Manteo Mitchell, Kevin Johnson, Benny Davis, and Dominique Young took first place for the fifth straight year and qualified for the NCAA regional with a time of 40.24 seconds. Senior Manteo Mitchell also placed first in the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 47.96, while freshman Benny Davis placed third with a time of 48.68.
Junior Dominique Young placed first with a time of 10.53 seconds in the 100-meter dash and Manteo Mitchell placed second at 10.71 seconds. The 200-meter dash was won by Manteo Mitchell with a time of 20.90 seconds, while Young placed second at 20.94 seconds, and Kevin Johnson finished third with a time of 21.45 seconds.
Junior Christian Bethune placed fourth in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15:05 seconds. Fellow junior Jestin Jennings placed first in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.54 seconds and sophomore Jordan Blazer placed third with a time of 54.12 seconds.
In the men’s Triple Jump event senior Daniel Joseph placed second with a jump of 14.73 meters earning eight points for the Catamounts. Sophomore Matt Evans took fifth with a jump of 13.70 meters for Western Carolina. Sophomore Matt Evans took first place in the men’s High Jump event for the second straight year with a jump of 2.10 meters.
In the men’s Discus Throw freshman Jamie Van Pelt took home first place honors throwing 48.53 meters earning ten points for the Catamounts in the event. In the men’s Shot Put event sophomore Ryan Pless finished in second place with a throw of 15.32 meters. Junior Cale McDaniel placed seventh with a throw of 14.06 meters.
Senior Manteo Mitchell and sophomore Matt Evans took home the Southern Conference Track & Field Athlete of the Month award for their outstanding display in the month of April. Mitchell was a four event winner at the Southern Conference Championships & Evans posted two first place wins at the SoCon Championships.
The Western Carolina women’s Track and Field team’s outstanding performance earned a high ranking second place, along with some Lady Catamounts of the team qualifying for the NCAA regional.
In the women’s Heptathlon final freshman Jettana Thomas took fourth with 4,416 points earning five points for the Catamounts.
In the women’s 4×100-meter relay the Catamounts took first place for the third straight year and broke last year’s SoCon record with a time of 45.51 seconds. The team consisted of freshman Emma Bowers, sophomore Felicia Paulding, sophomore Janet Carothers, and senior Aneesha Lane. The women’s team also qualified for the NCAA regional with their record-breaking time.
In the women’s 4×400-meter relay Western Carolina took first place for the third straight year with a time of 3:44.99 seconds. The team consisted of Shalyn McMichael, Janet Carothers, Felisha Garren, and Felicia Paulding.
The women’s 400-meter dash was paced by sophomore Janet Carothers who placed first with a time of 54.78 seconds. Freshman Felisha Garren placed fourth with a time of 56.09 seconds. In the women’s 4×400-meter relay Western Carolina took first place for the third straight with a time of 3:44.99 seconds. The team consisted of Shalyn McMichael, Janet Carothers, Felisha Garren, and Felicia Paulding.
In the women’s 100-meter dash sophomore Felicia Paulding took first place by .01 seconds with a time of 11.76 earning ten points for the Catamounts. Freshman Emma Bowers took third place with a time of 12.07 seconds.
In the women’s 100-meter Hurdles junior Morgan Joseph placed third with a time of 14.80 seconds. Freshman Jettana Thomas place. In the women’s 400-meter Hurdles junior Tierra Johnson placed first with a time of 1:03.54 seconds.
The NCAA Regional Championship all-day meet will take place today and tomorrow (May 29-30) in Greensboro, NC.
