2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Outdoor Track & Field Preview and Athletes to Watch
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Indoor Track & Field preseason poll has been released. University of Mount Olive enters the year as the favorite to win the Conference Carolinas Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship, according to Conference Carolinas coaches.
1. University of Mount Olive: The Trojans tallied six first-place votes for their total of 69 points to be crowned the early season favorite in 2017-18 by Conference coaches.
The Trojans return three high-caliber All-Conference Carolinas athletes in Adam Craig, Jon Dahlke and Nick Greyno. The trio should propel the Trojans to another indoor track & field crown.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Adam Craig (Sr.) - Distance
- *Jon Dahlke (Sr.) - Distance
- *Nick Greyno (Jr.) - Throws
2. Limestone College: The Saints rank second in the poll with 65 points and two first-place vote from coaches. Limestone finished runner-up at last year's indoor meet.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Naim Fareed (Sr.) - Hurdles
- Joshua Simmons (Jr.) - Sprints
3. Barton College: The Bulldogs racked up 55 points from Conference coaches to ranked third in the poll. Barton also finished third last year in the Conference championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- Micah Clemons (So.) - Throws
- Joel Lagat (Sr.) - Mid/Distance
- *Larry Russell (Jr.) - Jumps
4. Lees-McRae College: The Bobcats posted 50 points and rank fourth in the preseason poll. The preseason rank matches Lees-McRae's finish in last year's championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- Nolan Capps (So.) - Distance
- Luke Rochester (So.) - Jumps
- Austin Thompson (Jr.) - Distance
5. North Greenville University: The Crusaders placed fifth after earning 46 points from Conference coaches. NGU turned in a sixth-place finish at last year's Conference Championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- *JJ Sherman (So.) - Sprints
- Trey Stewart (So.) - Distance
T6. Southern Wesleyan University: The Warriors tallied 39 points and are tied in sixth-place with King. SWU finished seventh last year in its Conference Carolinas postseason debut.
Athletes to Watch:
- Shonquez Caldwell (So.) - Sprints
- Nick Edwards (Sr.) - Sprints
- Jannai Maxwell (So.) - Sprints
T6. King University: The Tornado collected 39 points from coaches and are tied in sixth-place with Southern Wesleyan. King posted a fifth-place finish last year at the indoor championships.
Athletes to Watch:
- *James Russell Ballowe (Sr.) - Distance
- Adriel McPhee (So.) - Hurdles
- Braidon Miller (So.) - Hammer Throw
8. Belmont Abbey College: The Crusaders received 29 points and close the poll out in eighth. Belmont Abbey also finished eighth in last year's indoor championship event.
Athletes to Watch:
- Michael Koceja (Sr.)
- *Julian Smallwood (So.)
*denotes 2017 All-Conference Carolinas selection
2018 Men's Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
|
School (first-place votes)
|
Total
|
|
1. Mount Olive (6)
|
69
|
|
2. Limestone (2)
|
65
|
|
3. Barton
|
55
|
|
4. Lees-McRae
|
50
|
|
5. North Greenville
|
46
|
|
T6. Southern Wesleyan
|
39
|
|
T6. King
|
39
|
|
8. Belmont Abbey
|
29
|
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.