Spartanburg, SC -- The Southern Conference winter championships season kicks off this weekend with the 2007 Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Clemson University Indoor Track and Field Facility in Clemson, S.C., on Saturday, Feb. 17 and Sunday, Feb. 18.
The Championships begin on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 8:30 a.m. with the pentathlon events and will conclude on Saturday with the men’s distance medley at 8:20 p.m. Competition will continue on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 10:00 a.m. with the heptathlon events and conclude with the men’s 4x400 relay at 5:40 p.m., followed by the presentation of the team championship trophies.
The Appalachian State women are currently first in the Southern Conference power rankings with 168.5 points, leading second-place (146) Western Carolina by 22.5 points. Georgia Southern is currently third (131.5) with Chattanooga (39) and Elon (36.5) rounding out the top five. The Appalachian State men also lead the rankings with 258.5 points, while Western Carolina claims the second-place slot with 236 points. Davidson (43) and Chattanooga (33.5) round out the top half of the competition.
To date, Appalachian State’s Vonteena Knotts (long jump) and Chattanooga's Lanni Marchant (5,000 meters) have earned NCAA Provisional qualification status. The NCAA Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark. on the campus of the University of Arkansas from March 9-10.
Review of 2006 Championships
At the 2006 Championships, Western Carolina won the men’s crown for the second time in the last four years with a point total of 277. It was the third SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championship all-time for the Catamounts.
The Appalachian State women’s team won the overall team SoCon championship for the sixth year in a row with a grand total of 148.50. The 2006 title marks the 13th crown for the Mountaineer women in the 19-year history of the championship.
In her final Indoor Track and Field Championship, Chattanooga’s Shannon Wommack won her fourth 3,000-meter title after setting a new SoCon record posting a time of 9:34.10. Wommack tallied her third SoCon title in the one mile run (2003 and 2004) and set a new record with a time of 4:48.09. She also won her first-ever title in the 800-meter run. Wommack finished the championships with three titles and was named Most Outstanding Track Performer for her efforts.
College of Charleston’s Chakosha Lance grabbed her third-straight 20-pound weight throw title after throwing 19.54 meters, breaking her own SoCon record from 2005. She earned her first Most Outstanding Field Performer award for her performance.
Dan Fassinger kicked things off for the Western men, holding on long enough in the men’s one mile run to defeat teammate Adam Puett and win the event with a time of 4:18.07. Puett, who won the SoCon championship in the event the previous year, came in just behind at 4:18.16.
Western Carolina’s Lawrence Briscoe won his third straight SoCon 60-meter hurdles championship shortly thereafter. Briscoe, who is the only SoCon champion in the event in its three-year history, tallied a time of 8.05 to take the title. In the preliminaries, ASU’s Charles Derrickson set the SoCon record with a time of 7.99. Fellow freshman Josh Cox set the SoCon record in the Heptathlon with 4602 points and earned Freshman of the Year honors.
Zeb Johnson of Western Carolina grabbed his first SoCon title in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.85, besting teammate Manteo Mitchell, who came in just behind with a time of 6.91. Johnson, who was tabbed Most Outstanding Track Performer at the end of the championship, then tallied his second SoCon championship of the day by winning the men’s 200-meter dash with a time of 21.83.
The final individual title on day two for Western Carolina came through Milton Bolton, who held off teammate Johnson to win the men’s 400-meter dash for the second time in his intercollegiate career (2004) with a time of 49.32.
Appalachian State’s Mark Sturgis picked up his second SoCon championship when he won the men’s triple jump with a mark of 15.22 meters. Sturgis had picked up a SoCon title the day before in the long jump and his two crowns helped to garner him the 2006 Most Outstanding Field Performer award.
Appalachian State’s Caren Mah won her first SoCon championship in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.50 meters. Second-place finisher Jessica Clendenning of Elon equaled the mark but Mah reached the mark in the fewer number of tries.
Western Carolina finished second on the women’s side with a total of 122 points behind the efforts of sophomore Raquel Ramseur, who claimed her first SoCon women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 56.24. Ramseur then tallied her second title of the day in the 200 meter dash, with a time of 24.51 to edge out reigning champ Nicole Brown of Georgia Southern, who came in just behind at 24.54.
Western Carolina’s Tangelia Johnson claimed her first SoCon championship in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.48.
The Championships begin on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 8:30 a.m. with the pentathlon events and will conclude on Saturday with the men’s distance medley at 8:20 p.m. Competition will continue on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 10:00 a.m. with the heptathlon events and conclude with the men’s 4x400 relay at 5:40 p.m., followed by the presentation of the team championship trophies.
The Appalachian State women are currently first in the Southern Conference power rankings with 168.5 points, leading second-place (146) Western Carolina by 22.5 points. Georgia Southern is currently third (131.5) with Chattanooga (39) and Elon (36.5) rounding out the top five. The Appalachian State men also lead the rankings with 258.5 points, while Western Carolina claims the second-place slot with 236 points. Davidson (43) and Chattanooga (33.5) round out the top half of the competition.
To date, Appalachian State’s Vonteena Knotts (long jump) and Chattanooga's Lanni Marchant (5,000 meters) have earned NCAA Provisional qualification status. The NCAA Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark. on the campus of the University of Arkansas from March 9-10.
Review of 2006 Championships
At the 2006 Championships, Western Carolina won the men’s crown for the second time in the last four years with a point total of 277. It was the third SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championship all-time for the Catamounts.
The Appalachian State women’s team won the overall team SoCon championship for the sixth year in a row with a grand total of 148.50. The 2006 title marks the 13th crown for the Mountaineer women in the 19-year history of the championship.
In her final Indoor Track and Field Championship, Chattanooga’s Shannon Wommack won her fourth 3,000-meter title after setting a new SoCon record posting a time of 9:34.10. Wommack tallied her third SoCon title in the one mile run (2003 and 2004) and set a new record with a time of 4:48.09. She also won her first-ever title in the 800-meter run. Wommack finished the championships with three titles and was named Most Outstanding Track Performer for her efforts.
College of Charleston’s Chakosha Lance grabbed her third-straight 20-pound weight throw title after throwing 19.54 meters, breaking her own SoCon record from 2005. She earned her first Most Outstanding Field Performer award for her performance.
Dan Fassinger kicked things off for the Western men, holding on long enough in the men’s one mile run to defeat teammate Adam Puett and win the event with a time of 4:18.07. Puett, who won the SoCon championship in the event the previous year, came in just behind at 4:18.16.
Western Carolina’s Lawrence Briscoe won his third straight SoCon 60-meter hurdles championship shortly thereafter. Briscoe, who is the only SoCon champion in the event in its three-year history, tallied a time of 8.05 to take the title. In the preliminaries, ASU’s Charles Derrickson set the SoCon record with a time of 7.99. Fellow freshman Josh Cox set the SoCon record in the Heptathlon with 4602 points and earned Freshman of the Year honors.
Zeb Johnson of Western Carolina grabbed his first SoCon title in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.85, besting teammate Manteo Mitchell, who came in just behind with a time of 6.91. Johnson, who was tabbed Most Outstanding Track Performer at the end of the championship, then tallied his second SoCon championship of the day by winning the men’s 200-meter dash with a time of 21.83.
The final individual title on day two for Western Carolina came through Milton Bolton, who held off teammate Johnson to win the men’s 400-meter dash for the second time in his intercollegiate career (2004) with a time of 49.32.
Appalachian State’s Mark Sturgis picked up his second SoCon championship when he won the men’s triple jump with a mark of 15.22 meters. Sturgis had picked up a SoCon title the day before in the long jump and his two crowns helped to garner him the 2006 Most Outstanding Field Performer award.
Appalachian State’s Caren Mah won her first SoCon championship in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.50 meters. Second-place finisher Jessica Clendenning of Elon equaled the mark but Mah reached the mark in the fewer number of tries.
Western Carolina finished second on the women’s side with a total of 122 points behind the efforts of sophomore Raquel Ramseur, who claimed her first SoCon women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 56.24. Ramseur then tallied her second title of the day in the 200 meter dash, with a time of 24.51 to edge out reigning champ Nicole Brown of Georgia Southern, who came in just behind at 24.54.
Western Carolina’s Tangelia Johnson claimed her first SoCon championship in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.48.