2017-18 Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Preview and Athletes to Watch
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2017 Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field preseason poll has been released. University of Mount Olive will enter the season as the favorite to win the Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship, according to Conference Carolinas coaches.
1. University of Mount Olive: The Trojans nabbed eight first-place votes and a total of 80 points to be named the favorite in 2017-18 by Conference coaches.
Mount Olive will be looking its Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship streak alive this season. With reigning Track Athlete and Freshman of the Year Leah Hanle returning, the Trojans should have a good chance to win another title.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Leah Hanle (So.) - Distance
- Ayanna King (Sr.) - Sprints
- *Taylor Moncrief (So.) - Jumps
2. Southern Wesleyan University: The Warriors rank second in the poll with 72 points and one first-place vote from coaches.
SWU finished second in last year's Indoor Track & Field Championships and return All-Conference Carolinas athletes Amy Barton, Morgan Haney and Jami Lewis this season.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Amy Barton (Sr.) - Sprints
- *Morgan Haney (Sr.) - Sprints
- *Jami Lewis (So.) - Sprints
3. Limestone College: The Saints collected 67 points to enter the year ranked third. Limestone posted a third-place finish at last season's indoor championships.
Athletes to Watch:
- Zawadi Brown (Jr.) - Sprints
- Ly'Ric Bolden (So.) - Sprints
4. Barton College: The Bulldogs are preseason ranked fourth after racking up 58 points. Barton turned in a fourth-place finish at the indoor championships last year.
Athletes to Watch:
- Janae Cunningham (So.) - Throws
- *Sharon Kiptoo (Sr.) - Mid/Distance
- Jasmine Watson (Fr.) - Hurdles/Sprints
5. North Greenville University: The Crusaders received 51 points from Conference coaches to debut at fifth in the 2017-18 poll.
NGU returns All-Conference Carolinas athlete Shekinah Wilder and will look to improve on its fifth-place finish in last year's championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- Kaleigh Roach (Jr.) - Distance
- *Shekinah Wilder (Jr.) - Jumps/Sprints
6. King University: The Tornado tallied 43 points and are in sixth-place to open 2017. King tied for fifth place last year in its Conference Carolinas indoor championships.
Athletes to Watch:
- Neyasha Honorable (So.) - 200m & 400m
- Ebony Jones (So.) - Long Jump
- Hannah Kusmierz (So.) - Distance
7. Lees-McRae College: The Bobcats were tabbed seventh after collecting 37 points from Conference coaches. Lees-McRae notched a seventh-place finish in 2016-17 at the indoor championships.
Athletes to Watch:
- Makayla Estep (Sr.) Mid/Hurdles
- *Kaitlyn Gearing (Sr.) - Sprints/Hurdles/Throws/Jumps
- Rebeckah Goras (So.) - Jumps
8. Belmont Abbey College: The Crusaders received 35 points and enter the season ranked eighth. Belmont Abbey also finished eighth in last year's Conference Championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Julia Otranto (Jr.) - Distance
- Hannah Zenker (So.) - Distance
9. Converse College: The Valkyries garnered 25 points from Conference coaches to enter the season ranked ninth. Converse finished ninth in the 2016-17 championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- Hannah Asselin (So.) - Pole Vault
- Jamie Connelly (Fr.) - Distance
- Dasia Sanders (Fr.) - Hurdles
*denotes 2016-17 All-Conference Carolinas selection
2017-18 Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
|
School (first-place votes)
|
Total
|
|
1. Mount Olive (8)
|
80
|
|
2. Southern Wesleyan (1)
|
72
|
|
3. Limestone
|
67
|
|
4. Barton
|
58
|
|
5. North Greenville
|
51
|
|
6. King
|
43
|
|
7. Lees-McRae
|
37
|
|
8. Belmont Abbey
|
35
|
|
9. Converse College
|
25
|
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 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, 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.