April 30, 2006
Western Carolina Men & Women Individual Finishes / Awards
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Statesboro, Ga. - Scoring a total of 206.5 points on the final day of competition, the Western Carolina men's track & field team rallied to win the 2006 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship at the Georgia Southern Track/Soccer Complex, sweeping both the indoor and outdoor seasons this year. Western's women jumped three places on Sunday to place third at the annual meet.
Western finished with 258.5 points to defeat mountain-rival - and defending champion - Appalachian State by 14 points as the Mountaineers totaled 244.5. Davidson finished third with 84 points, followed by The Citadel (77), Furman (58), Chattanooga (51), Wofford (18) and UNC Greensboro in eighth with 15 points. In the women's competition, Appalachian State won its fifth-straight SoCon title with 197.5 points, followed by Georgia Southern in second 15 points in arrears (182.5) and Western in third with 144 points. Chattanooga placed fourth with 79 points, followed by Elon (55) The Citadel (48), Furman (40), Davidson (39), College of Charleston (20), Wofford (10) and UNC Greensboro in 11th with two points.
For the Catamount men, the title is the first outdoor championship since 1999, which also marks the last time WCU swept both the indoor and outdoor meets. Overall, Western Carolina won a total of 13 individual championships - six on the women's side and seven on the men's - and captured a combined 29 podium finishes, including 11 women's and 18 men's. Each of the individual event champions earned the right to compete in the NCAA East Regional, with the top three finishers in each event earning All-Southern Conference accolades.
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"We really dug ourselves into big holes on both the men's and women's side after the first day of competition," said Williamson. "Our coaching staff really challenged the athletes on both sides to fight on Sunday and both sides did just that, with the men able to complete the comeback. It's not easy to win the conference championship during both indoor and outdoor seasons, but today is a testament to the hard work that our student-athletes put in year round."
Trailing first day leader, Appalachian State, by 45 points (97-to-52), Western swept the podium in three sprints including posting first-through-third finishes in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dash events. Sophomores Zeb Johnson and Mike Malone combined to score 69 points on the weekend, with Malone tallying a team-high 39 points between the track and jumping events. Johnson won both the 100- and 200-meter dash events, with teammates following in behind on both occasions and Malone captured the 400-meter hurdles. Puett totaled 21 points on Sunday, running the three distance events in near succession. The Huntsville, Ala., native won his third-consecutive 1,500-meter run title and placed on the podium in third in the 800-meter while just missing with a fourth-place showing in the 5,000-meter run.
In addition to the automatic qualifiers based upon winning the conference individual title, Western's men had two qualify for the NCAA regional based on performance. Freshman Manteo Mitchell captured his first career SoCon outdoor title in the 400-meter dash, edging senior teammate Milton Bolton in a regional time of 47.20. Also, Bolton teamed with Johnson, Malone, and Kevin Johnson to pass the baton in a SoCon winning and regional time of 40.58, marking the third time this season WCU has qualified in the event.
For the women, sophomore Tangelia Johnson made a case for women's track performer of the year by scoring 38 points on Sunday, including scoring her first-ever SoCon outdoor crowns by winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes and helping Western to a second in the 4x100-meter and win the 4x400-meter relays. Her classmate, Raquel Ramseur, was right behind her with 36 points scored, also running the relays and finishing second to Johnson in the 200-meter dash before winning the 400-meter event with a NCAA regional time of 54.15, her quickest time of the season.
Junior Asia Davis won the women's 400-meter hurdles on day after setting a conference record during preliminaries. The Charlotte, N.C., native ran a pair of times, both below the regional time, marking the fourth and fifth times this season she has turned a hot lap to qualify. Also recording her first SoCon outdoor championship was two-sport standout, sophomore Jessika Johnson. After posting a third-place finish a year ago, Johnson cleared 1.67m (5-5.75) to win with junior teammate Brittany Whitaker stepping on the podium in third. Whitaker also finished third in the women's heptathlon competition.
With less than a month remaining before the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., the Catamount track & field team will now turn its attention to preparations for the event. Western is scheduled to return to action on May 5 at the Orange & Purple Classic in Clemson, S.C. The Catamounts will work to improve times and marks before the regional in an attempt to improve seeding in the NCAA meet.
