Dec. 5, 2002
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina indoor track and field teams look to get back on top this year as both the men's and women's teams hope to move up in the SoCon standings from last year's second place finishes. Although they came just a few points shy last season, they are looking toward a veteran team, mixed with new talent, to take them all the way to a championship this year.
Head coach Danny Williamson said about the upcoming season, "This will be a very tough task for us to improve on last year as many teams will be fielding very competitive squads, including Appalachian's men's and women's teams, VMI's men's team and Chattanooga's and Georgia Southern's women's teams."
WCU's men's team will field one of its deepest teams in years, which should be an advantage for the Catamounts this season. Although a young team, Williamson said the team will not let that be a downfall for them.
"This will be the first time in years that we feel that we can put quality athletes in every event," Williamson said. "And then we have more quality athletes to back them up."
The Cats will be looking for leadership from seniors Caleb Bailey, Jeb Hall and Jesse Norman. The three are joined by veteran athletes in juniors T. Alford, Justin Davis, Seajae Hartness, Nick McNeil, Bola Oyegunwa, Eddie Vick and Ben Watkins, as well as sophomores Milton Bolton and Darius Bryson. All of these have been great competitors for Western and have proven themselves in the past in the SoCon and will provide that leadership for the rest of the team.
Western's women's team will also be deep in most areas this season. The Lady Cats should be especially strong in the areas of sprints, horizontal jumps, pole vault, throws and the middle distances. In the hurdles and distance events, WCU has a couple of high quality athletes, coupled with some unproven and untested talent.
The women will be relying on those that have won several championships before to lead those young athletes that are hungry to be a part of this winning team. That leadership will come from seniors Cedea Bowden, Quiletta Dunston, Ashelyn Little, Tricia Shepard and Kinetta Williams. They are joined by juniors Dana Anglin, Benetta Boyd, Melanie Cooper, Kamata Potts, Alissa Short, Becky Signoretti, Michelle Velez and Kiley Wright and sophomores Leslie Martin, Tonya Edmonds, Laura Tieszen and Jennifer Spivey.
WCU is set to open its indoor season this Saturday, Dec. 7, at the ASU Opener in Boone, N.C., in the George Holmes Convocation Center.
"This will be a good early season indicator for our teams to show how they have progressed in their training so far this season," said WCU head coach Danny Williamson. "We look to have several outstanding performances, and hope that when the meet is over on Saturday, all of our athletes that had the opportunity to compete will feel very good and confident about the results that they posted for the day."
WCU will be without Michelle Velez and Kiley Wright who are still recovering from minor injuries.
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