March 18, 2010

2010 Shamrock Invitational Heat Sheet

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina men and women's Outdoor Track and Field teams open up the 2010 season at the Shamrock Invitational hosted by Coastal Carolina this weekend in Coway, S.C. The Catamount men will look to defend their 2009 Southern Conference Outdoor title, while the woman - which won the conference indoor title - will look to improve upon their second-place finish from last year's outdoor season.

The Catamounts will compete with 36 other teams and over 1,200 student-athletes in the event that is spread out over three days. Georgia Southern, Minnesota and Syracuse are just a few of the teams that will participate in this weekend's meet. Multiple events competition will begin on Thursday, while field and distance events will be spread over Friday and Saturday afternoon. Live coverage of the event can be found online at cfpitiming.com.

"This weekend will give us an opportunity to get back out there and be competitive," said Catamounts coach Danny Williamson. "This will give us a great chance to see where we are at and what we need to improve on."

Western Carolina returns seven all-conference selections on the women's side, while 11 honorees return on the men's side. Freshman of the Year, Jamie Van Pelt returns this season to defend his conference championship in the discus throw, while senior Matt Evans returns after a strong finish in the indoor season to defend his Most Valuable Field Performer title from a year ago.

Sophomore Emma Bowers returns after garnering Freshman of the Year honors by performing well in the sprints last season. Felicia Paulding returns to defend her Most Valuable Track Performer award after taking first place in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash.

"We have a lot of returning student-athletes with experience," said Williamson. "I think that the newcomers will complement what we have already in place. Our goal is to compete and have the opportunity to win another Southern Conference Championship."

The Catamounts return home to the Catamount Athletic Complex for the Beynon Sports Surfaces Catamount Classic on Saturday March, 27. WCU then hits the road to another beach destination for the second annual "The Mountains vs. The Beaches" combined team-scored event at UNC Wilmington which will team WCU and Appalachian State against UNCW and East Carolina on Saturday, April 3.

Western Carolina will travel to Knoxville on April 8-10 for the Sea Ray Relays before returning to the Catamount Complex for the WCU Invitational on Friday, April 16.

The Southern Conference Outdoor Championships will be hosted by Appalachian State University on April 24-25 in Boone, N.C. Western Carolina will then compete in the Orange / Purple Classic at Clemson on May 9 before wrapping up the regular season at the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 14-15.

Recaps and coverage of this weekend's events can be accessed online at CatamountSports.com.