April 21, 2006
Complete Catamount Classic Results in PDF Form
Cullowhee, N.C. - Using the 2006 Catamount Classic as its final tune-up prior to the annual Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which are scheduled for next weekend in Statesboro, Ga., the Western Carolina men and women's track & field teams performed well, garnering first place honors in 24 of 38 events on the day.
King College led from start to finish, taking home first place in both the men's and women's Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championships which were held as a part of the Catamount Classic. On the women's side, King dominated, recording 191 of 309 total points to claim the team title. Milligan College was in second with 59 points, followed by Virginia Intermont College (44), Brevard College (13) and Union College (2) in fifth. In the men's competition, it was again the King, scoring 171 points to win over second place Virginia Intermont College with 83 points. Union finished third with 56 points, followed by Milligan (22) and Brevard (6).
Highlighting the competition for the Catamounts was senior Lawrence Briscoe. The Charlotte, N.C., native broke his own Catamount Athletic Complex record in the 110-meter hurdles, negotiating the straightaway and obstacles in 14.42, four one-hundredths quicker than the old mark, 14.46, which he set at last season's SoCon Championships. In the 400-meter hurdle event, Briscoe took home first place, setting a WCU seasonal best in the process. He ran 53.65 which was nearly three-quarters of a second faster than the previous top time of 54.36.
Combined on the day, the Catamounts turned in 13 individual seasonal bests, with two marks replacing the WCU seasonal best. In addition to Briscoe's time in the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Jessie Wilson edged classmate Melissa Cabe to win first in the women's pole vault competition and set a seasonal best at the same time. Wilson and Cabe each cleared 3.19 meters (10-5.50) to place one-two in the event.
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On the men's side, junior Ashten Bennett posted two seasonal bests. His first came in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing third with a time of 56.40 with his other mark coming in the shot put where he finished fourth with a distance of 10.80 meters (35-5.25). Sophomore Chris Page also improved upon his best distance of the season in the shot, winning the event with an individual best of 13.62 meters (44-8.25). In the men's 3,000-meter Steeplechase, junior Dylan Hermelee won the event with a season's best of 10:16.89, improving on his previous best by over 45 seconds. Rounding out WCU's individual season bests were junior Ryan Fussell, who finished fourth in the men's javelin with a distance of 52.49 meters (172-2) and senior Christian Benson, the runner-up in the men's pole vault after clearing his best height of the season, 4.24 meters (13-11.0).
Senior Lawrence Briscoe broke his own Catamount Athletic Complex record in the 110-meter hurdles on Friday afternoon.  |
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In the Appalachian Athletic Conference women's championship, King College was led by the duo of Anndrea Lowe and Judy Johnson. Lowe recorded six podium finishes on the day, including a trio of first place finishes and also three in third to account for 36 total points. The freshman from Big Stone Gap, Va., posted AAC first place finishes in the high jump and the 100-meter hurdles and won the overall event in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Johnson, a freshman from Knoxville, Tenn., accounted for 30 total points with three AAC first place finishes, including an overall first-place run in the 400-meter dash and a third overall in the 200-meter dash.
The Tornado men received a total of 82 points from four individuals, led by 26 points from freshman Josh Cloyd, 24 from senior Justin Seaver, 18 by freshman Jamaal Parker, and 14 from freshman Joel Surber. Cloyd and Parker each won overall championships as Cloyd won the men's long jump competition for his only first place finish, while the latter won the triple jump. Seaver captured three AAC first-place finishes to lead the KC squad.
In addition to the aforementioned, several student-athletes from the Appalachian Athletic Conference took home individual Catamount Classic titles. On the women's side, Milligan's Kortney Goulds won the overall title in both the women's 800- and 1,500-meter runs while Virginia Intermont's Ondrej Puskae also won two titles in the men's 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs. In addition to Puskae, VIC student-athletes Matt Neff (men's 800) and Teresa Ayers (women's 5,000) also won overall event titles. Emily Hulse of Brevard outran the competition to win the women's 3,000-meter Steeple chase. And finally, King College won the men's 4x400-meter relay while Milligan took home top honor in the women's 4x400 event.
Western returns to action on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30 in Statesboro, Ga., for the 2006 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Catamount men are the defending indoor conference champions and were the runner-ups in last year's outdoor meet which was held in Cullowhee. WCU's women finished third in the annual outdoor championship a year ago and were the runners-up back during the indoor season.
Additional Information about the 2006 Catamount Classic
Appalachian Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships Cullowhee, N.C. - Catamount Athletic Complex Friday, April 21, 2006Women's Championship 1. King College 191 pts 2. Milligan College 59 pts 3. Virginia Intermont 44 pts 4. Brevard College 13 pts 5. Union College 2 pts
Men's Championship 1. King College 171 pts 2. Virginia Intermont 83 pts 3. Union College 56 pts 4. Milligan College 22 pts 5. Brevard College 6 pts
