Mount Olive Tabbed to Take Home Women's Indoor Track Championship; Athletes to Watch Named
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive women's indoor track & field team has been tabbed the favorite to take home the 2016-17 Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship, the Conference office announced today.
The Trojans collected 90 points and nine first-place votes from conference coaches. Mount Olive scored 186 points to win the 2015-16 indoor track & field championship.
Limestone College tallied 78 points to place second in the poll, while newcomer Southern Wesleyan University posted 68 points and notched the final first-place vote to enter the season in third. The Saints scored 127.33 points to finish second at last year's indoor track & field championship.
North Greenville's 67 points secured a fourth-place preseason ranking, while King University's 51 points narrowly beat out Barton College's 50 for fifth and sixth, respectively.
Converse College registered a preseason seventh ranking with 47 points. Belmont Abbey College garnered 33 points for eighth and beat Lees-McRae College's 32 points earned them a ninth-place finish in the poll. Closing out the poll is Pfeiffer University in 10th with 24 points.
The 2016-17 Conference Carolinas indoor track & field season kicks off Dec. 3, 2016, with the Conference Carolinas Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held on Feb. 19, 2017.
2016-17 Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
|
School (first-place votes)
|
Total
|
|
1. Mount Olive (9)
|
90
|
|
2. Limestone
|
78
|
|
3. Southern Wesleyan (1)
|
68
|
|
4. North Greenville
|
67
|
|
5. King
|
51
|
|
6. Barton
|
50
|
|
7. Converse
|
47
|
|
8. Belmont Abbey
|
33
|
|
9. Lees-McRae
|
32
|
| 10. Pfeiffer |
24 |
2016-17 Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes to Watch:
Sprints/Distance (Year):
Sharon Kiptoo (Jr.) - Barton
Heather Cuddington (Sr.) - Barton
Jayvona McDaniel (Sr.) - Barton
Elizabeth Thierfelder (Sr.) - Belmont Abbey
Hannah Zenker (Fr.) - Belmont Abbey
Rhabbi Hager (Fr.) - Converse (Hurdles)
Amari McFadden (So.) - King
Kaitlyn Gearing (Jr.) - Lees-McRae
Erin Bingham (Sr.) - Lees-McRae (Hurdles)
Kaliyah Andrews (Jr.) - Limestone
Madison Fulford (Sr.) - Limestone
Alexis McNeil (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Leah Austin (So.) - North Greenville
Jazmine Miller (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Jayde Kemp (Jr.) - Pfeiffer
Skylar Julian (So.) - Southern Wesleyan (Hurdles)
Brandi Jackson (Jr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Amy Barton (Jr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Jumps (Year):
Sequoya Davis (Jr.) - Converse
Amani McFadden (So.) - King
Zawadi Brown (So.) - Limestone
Tunisia Prince (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Shekinah Wilder (So.) - North Greenville
Throws (Year):
Natalie Nelson (So.) - Belmont Abbey
Taylor Grayson (Fr.) - King
Kayla Powell (Sr.) - Lees-McRae
Khadijah Kale (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Tracy Oyugi (So.) - North Greenville
Alison Webb (Jr.) - Pfeiffer
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.