2018-19 Conference Carolinas Men's Indoor Track & Field Preview and Athletes to Watch
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2018-19 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 eight first-place votes for their total of 80 points to be crowned the early season favorite in 2018-19 by Conference coaches.
Mount Olive won its fifth indoor title last season by posting 237 points at the championship meet.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Trevor Carr (Jr.) - Jumps
- *Tom Kalliske (So.) - Throws
- Arne Leppelsack (Fr.) - Sprints
2. Limestone College: The Saints rank second in the poll with 73 points and one first-place vote from coaches. Limestone finished runner-up at last year's indoor meet with 139 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- David Allen (So.) - Sprints
- *Ethan Morrison (Jr.) - Sprints
- *Joshua Simmons (Sr.) - Sprints
3. North Greenville University: The Crusaders racked up 65 points from Conference coaches to ranked third in the poll. NGU finished fourth last year in the Conference championship with 68 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Tevin Richardson (Jr.) - Sprints
- *JJ Sherman (Sr.) - Sprints/Jumps
4. Barton College: The Bulldogs posted 63 points and rank fourth in the preseason poll. Barton finished third at last season's championship with 72 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Micah Clemons (Jr.) - Throws
- *Larry Russell (Sr.) - Jumps
5. Southern Wesleyan University: The Warriors placed fifth after earning 47 points from Conference coaches. Southern Wesleyan turned in a fifth-place finish with 36 points at last year's Conference Championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- Javon Barmore (Sr.) - Jumps
- *Jannai Maxwell (Jr.) - Sprints
- *Thomas Williams (So.) -Sprints
6. Lees-McRae College: The Bobcats tallied 44 points and are in sixth-place to start the season. Lees-McRae finished seventh last year at the Conference Carolinas championship with 23 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Joshua Hall (Jr.) - Mid-Distance
- *Luke Rochester (Jr.) - Pole Vault
- Jason Saintizaire (Sr.) - Jumps
7. King University: The Tornado collected 37 points from coaches and are tabbed seventh in the poll. King posted a sixth-place finish last year at the indoor championship with 26 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Jaylen Foster (So.) - Jumps
- DeEric King (Fr.) - Sprints
- Adriel McPhee (Jr.) - Hurdles
8. Emmanuel College: The Lions make their preseason poll debut by collecting 34 points from Conference coaches to enter the season ranked eighth.
Athletes to Watch:
9. Belmont Abbey College: The Crusaders received 25 points and close the poll out in ninth. Belmont Abbey also finished eighth in last year's indoor championship event with 18 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- Matthew Difrancesco (Sr.) - Sprints
- Daniel Grosch (So.) - Distance
- Dominic Pautler (So.) - Jumps
*denotes 2017-18 All-Conference Carolinas selection
2018-19 Men's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
|
School (first-place votes)
|
Total
|
|
1. Mount Olive (8)
|
80
|
|
2. Limestone (1)
|
73
|
|
3. North Greenville
|
65
|
|
4. Barton
|
63
|
|
5. Southern Wesleyan
|
47
|
|
6. Lees-McRae
|
44
|
|
7. King
|
37
|
|
8. Emmanuel
|
34
|
|
9. Belmont Abbey
|
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.