Mount Olive Named Favorite to Win Men's Indoor Track Championship; Athletes to Watch Named
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive was picked to capture the 2016-17 Conference Carolinas Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship, the Conference office announced today.
The Trojans registered 78 points, including six first-place votes, to narrowly finish ahead of defending Conference Carolinas champion Limestone College. Mount Olive finished as runner-up in last year's indoor track & field championship after posting 185 points.
The Saints come in second in the preseason poll with 73 points and two first-place votes. Limestone will look to win its second straight conference title after scoring 196 points at last year's championship meet to take home the title.
Rounding out the top three is North Greenville University with 63 points, while Barton College will enter the season as the fourth favorite with 54 points.
First-year full member Southern Wesleyan University was tabbed fifth with 50 points, but garnered a first-place vote from coaches. Lees-McRae College earned 48 points for a sixth-place finish and King University turned in 45 points to take seventh in the poll.
Closing out the poll is Belmont Abbey College in eighth with 31 points and Pfeiffer University in ninth with 26 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 Men's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
|
School (first-place votes)
|
Total
|
|
1. Mount Olive (6)
|
78
|
|
2. Limestone (2)
|
73
|
|
3. North Greenville
|
63
|
|
4. Barton
|
54
|
|
5. Southern Wesleyan (1)
|
50
|
|
6. Lees-McRae
|
48
|
|
7. King
|
45
|
|
8. Belmont Abbey
|
31
|
| 9. Pfeiffer |
26 |
2016-17 Conference Carolinas Men's Indoor Track & Field Athletes to Watch:
Sprints/Distance (Year):
Aaron Jones (Jr.) - Barton
Nihgel Scott (So.) - Barton
Semaj Street (Sr.) - Barton
Alex Abolos (So.) - Belmont Abbey
Thomas Eichorn (So.) - Belmont Abbey
Chris Thomas (Jr.) - King
Cody McNeely (Sr.) - Lees-McRae
Marquett Simmons, Jr. (Jr.) - Limestone
Marshawn Scott (Sr.) - Limestone
Joshua Simmons (So.) - Limestone (Hurdles)
Cedric Thomas (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Tre' Black (Jr.) - North Greenville
Cody Kelly (So.) - Pfeiffer
Jhante McMillan (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan (Hurdles)
Marquise Jackson (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Rico Holland (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Jumps (Year):
Larry Russell (So.) - Barton
Vincent Okot (Sr.) - King
Christian Lloyd (Sr.) - Lees-McRae (Pole Vault)
Anthony Edwards (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Terry Davis (Sr.) - North Greenville
Kyle Joiner (So.) - North Greenville (Pole Vault)
Throws (Year):
Julian Smallwood (Fr.) - Belmont Abbey
Daryn Hughes (Fr.) - King
Nick Greyno (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Matt Chavers (Jr.) - Pfeiffer
Brad Depue (Sr.) - 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.