Track Finishes Ninth at SoCon Championships

Friday, May 11

Cullowhee, N.C.

All Day

Chattanooga

Southern Conference

Final Results Team Scores

Abby Bateman placed seventh in the 800 meter finals at the SoCon Outdoor Championships

Photo by: GoMocs.com

5/11/2018 8:17:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field

Complete Results Team Scores Photo Gallery

By: Anne Wehunt

CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's track and field team closed out the season Friday afternoon on the final day of the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships in Cullowhee, N.C., on the Western Carolina campus with a ninth place finish.

After a near three-hour rain delay on Thursday, the sun was shining bright with temperatures in the 80s on Friday afternoon.

The Mocs' 4x100 meter relay team finished eighth, Abby Bateman was seventh in the 800 meter run and Emily Poole placed eighth in the 5K for four Chattanooga points on Day Two.

"I told the girls I was very happy with their performances," Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. "I'm not pleased with our place. We still have a long way to go, but it is better than last year. I believe we had scored single digits on one hand last year.

"This year we placed in the 10,000m and the 5000m, we qualified for the finals in the 1500m and qualified and placed in the 800 meter this year. Both of our relay teams were eighth and ninth, just right on the verge."

800m Run – Final
Abby Bateman battled her way into the 800 meter finals and finished seventh in the event Friday with a time of 2:15.86, just one day after posting a PR 2:13.91 the day before.

"Abby ran a really good race," Meyer said. "We talked about getting a good position, running about third back on the outside, lane one. She did that. She fought for that position and maintained that position and held it. In the last 300 meters when the pace really quickened, she was able to answer it."

"Last year she did not qualify for the finals. She's made so much improvement this year. We're looking forward to what she can do in the next couple of years."

1500m Run – Final
Brianna Nelson posted her second personal record in two days with a 10^th place finish in the women's 1500 meter final Friday afternoon. She covered the distance in a time of 4:43.01 beating out her time set Thursday by 1.05 seconds

"It's really hard to come back," Meyer said. "She had a PR yesterday and matched that same effort. Not only did she match it, she surpassed it."

Going into the final lap in 11^th place, she passed the runner in front and finished 10^th overall after qualifying 12^th the day before.

"Our strategy was to go to the back and see what ha"pened on the last lap," Meyer said. "She picked off a couple of girls. She's had a great season and it was a great way for her to finish the season with two PRs in two days."

5000m Run – Final
Emily Poole led a quartet of Chattanooga runners, finishing eighth in the 5000 meter final and scoring her sixth point for the Mocs. She posted a time of 18:12.83 behind six Furman distance runners and one from Samford.

Sophia Neglia covered the distance in a time of 18:52.26 followed immediately by teammate Brianna Nelson at 18:55.37 with Hannah Caldwell crossing the line at 19:16.73.

"They ran in the heat of the day," Meyer said. "It started out just like the 10,000 meter, it was very strategic. Emily showed leadership and went to the front and knew that the pace needed to be picked up.

"With eight laps to go, the Furman girls decided to drop the hammer and our girls responded. Emily hung on to the back of the lead pack as long as she could and ended up eighth and placing."

The pace picked up considerably with Furman's Allie Buchalski finishing in a time of 17:20.02.

"They ran really good races considering they had to go from 90 [second] laps to 78. That hard, hard change in pace is difficult, especially in the heat. They did well and I'm pleased with the way that they raced."

4x100m Relay Final
The women's 4x100 meter Relay team came together in one week to finish eighth at the championships, scoring for the Mocs. They ran the circle in a time of 52.41.

"We threw the relay together Monday," Meyer said. "We saw a chance to get a point. We just had to beat one team. We time trialed them and they actually beat that time by three seconds, which in the 400 is huge."

Abby Bateman led off the relay for Chattanooga followed by a strong second leg by Rebekah Hampton. That was followed by Katie Coker's turn at the 100 with Rebekah Bryant bringing it home with the final leg.

"Rebekah actually put panic into the other girls," Meyer said. "Katie Coker ran a solid third leg and Becca brought us home in the anchor leg. She is the quickest girl on our team and she did what she is supposed to do."

4x400m Relay – Final
The women's 4x400 meter relay finished ninth with a time of 4:11.88. The Mocs just missed scoring in the race by three seconds and were nearly 13 seconds ahead of UNCG.

"Katie led off for us and did really well with Ashlynd taking the baton from her for the second leg," Meyer said. "Nicole did really well on the third leg and made up a little bit of ground. Abby brought us home in 1:00 flat. It was a solid race for the girls, one of their better times for the year. You can't be disappointed with that."

Triple Jump – Final
Rebekah Hampton jumped a 34-02.75 feet in the women's triple jump and Rebekah Bryant hit a distance of 31-11.25.

"Both have been real consistent at 34 [feet], jumping year round," Meyer said. "We knew it would take a 37 to get into the finals. We're looking forward to next year when they get more time to work with Coach [Mike]
Gadson. He's done a great job with them. We just need to get them a little more refined on their technique."

Shot Put – Final
Taylor Grayson, battling a bit of injury after the hammer throw, tossed the shot 34-08.25 Friday afternoon.

"She's been consistent on her throws," Meyer said. "Being a little bit injured held her back this meet. She's made some good progress working with her coaches and we're looking forward to what she can do next year."

"As we continue to bring in better athletes and develop the kids that we have, we'll keep taking another step forward and another step forward," Meyer said.

Western Carolina swept the 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).

800m - Final

Abby Bateman

2:15.86

1500m - Final

10.

Brianna Nelson

4:43.01

5000m

8.	Emily Poole	18:12.83
16.	Sophia Neglia	18:52.26
17.	Brianna Nelson	18:55.37
20.	Hannah Caldwell	19:16.73

4x100m Relay

Bateman, Hampton, Coker, Bryant

52.41

4x400m Relay

Coker, Broling, Buehrle, Bateman

4:11.88

Triple Jump

15.	Rebekah Hampton	10.43m	34-07.75
18.	Rebekah Bryant	9.73m	31-11.25

Shot Put

15.

Taylor Grayson

10.57m

34-08.25

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

Women's Most Outstanding Athlete
Selena Popp, Samford

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

Women's All-Freshman – Day 1
10,000-meter run
Reilly Caldwell, Furman
Ariana Garcia, UNCG
Whitley Elsass, Wofford

Hammer
Symphony Buxton, ETSU
Lesleigh Tabor, Western Carolina
Jaden Finch, ETSU

Pole vault
Kinley Drummonds, Western Carolina
Tally Wilson, Samford
Jayme Claire Eubanks, Samford

Long jump
Sydney Campbell, Mercer
Makaila McIntyre, Western Carolina
Erin Willard, Western Carolina

Javelin
Megan Dunn, Wofford
Anna Barfield, The Citadel
Sydney Hawks, ETSU

3,000-meter steeplechase
Hannah Steelman, Wofford
Kristlin Gear, Furman
Casey Miller, The Citadel

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