April 25, 2008

CATAMOUNT TRACKS 2008 SOCON OUTDOOR TRACK PREVIEW PODCAST

MITCHELL BLOG

2008 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship Information

2008 SoCon Track & Field Schedule of Events 

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina Men's and Women's Track & Field teams will welcome athletes from all Southern Conference schools to Cullowhee this weekend when they host the 2008 Men's and Women's SoCon Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The meet will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, at the Catamount Athletic Complex.

WCU will be looking to repeat their wins from the 2008 SoCon Indoor Championships, when both the men and women took home the overall team titles. They also took home a number of the individual awards, including Coach of the Year, and both the men's and women's Most Valuable Performer.

The Catamount men will shoot for their third consecutive outdoor team title, having taken home the top honors in both 2006 at Georgia Southern and 2007 at Appalachian State. They are one of just three schools to have won a championship since 1978. The women, who have captured four of the 12 championships held, finished third last year and will be searching for their first win since their three-straight top finishes from 1999-2001.

The championships begin on Saturday, April 26 at 9:00 a.m. with the decathlon events and will conclude on Saturday with the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 6:35 p.m. Competition will continue on Sunday, April 27 at 9:30 a.m. with the decathlon and heptathlon events and will conclude with the men's 4x400-meter relay at 5:40 p.m., followed by the presentation of the team championship trophies.

Five Western Carolina student-athletes have qualified for the NCAA Regionals including Zeb Johnson (100-meters, 200-meters and 400-meters), Dominique Young (100-meters and 200-meters), Manteo Mitchell (200-meters and 400-meters), Matt Evans (high jump and javelin), Daniel Joseph (long jump) and the men's 4x400-meter and 4x100-meter relay teams. Patrick Morgan of Furman has a regional qualifying mark in the 1,500-meters and Appalachian State's Joel Gaddy (long jump) and Wes Kiser (hammer throw) also have regional qualifying marks.

Tangelia Johnson (100-meters) and Raquel Ramseur (200-meters) of Western Carolina both have registered regional qualifying marks as well as the women's 4x400-meter and 4x100-meter relay teams for the Catamounts. Georgia Southern's Lynndsey Hyter posted an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the long jump and triple jump. Hyter is joined by fellow Eagles teammates Shaunta Hamilton and Demetrise Anthony, both in the triple jump as NCAA Regional qualifiers.

In addition to their bevy of qualifying marks, WCU athletes hold a total of 16 of the top performances in the entire Southern Conference this season. Both the men and women have captured eight top marks apiece, including sweeps in both relay events and the 100-meters, 200-meters, and 400-meters.

Fans will be able to follow all the live results via the Southern Conference's live stats page, which can be found on the conference's homepage, www.SoConSports.com.