2018-19 Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Preview and Athletes to Watch
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2018-19 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 nine first-place votes and a total of 90 points to be named the favorite in 2018-19 by Conference coaches.
Mount Olive will be looking to keep its Conference Carolinas Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship streak alive this season. The Trojans captured their fifth-straight title in 2017-18 after tallying 236 points at the championship meet.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Malak Kafi (Jr.) - Hurdles/Jumps
- *Candise Lockett (So.) - Throws
- *Sydney McCoy (Jr.) - Sprints
2. Southern Wesleyan University: The Warriors rank second in the poll with 80 points and one first-place vote from coaches. SWU finished second in last year's championship with 116 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- Chyna Campbell (So.) - Hurdles
- *Skylar Julian (Sr.) - Hurdles
- *Jami Lewis (Jr.) - Sprints
3. Limestone College: The Saints collected 75 points to enter the year ranked third. Limestone posted a third-place finish at last season's indoor championship with 93.5 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Zawadi Brown (Jr.) - Sprints
- *Ly'Ric Bolden (So.) - Sprints
- Skyler Gadsden (So.) - Throws
4. North Greenville University: The Crusaders are preseason ranked fourth after racking up 64 points. NGU turned in a fourth-place finish at the indoor championship last year with 47.5 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Millie Klefsas (So.) - Pole Vault
- Hope Whisman (Jr.) - Distance
- *Shekinah Wilder (Sr.) - Jumps/Sprints
5. Converse College: The Valkyries received 56 points from Conference coaches to rank fifth in the poll. Converse posted 35 points and finished fifth at last year's conference championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- Breyanna Brown (So.)
- Serenity Hunt (So.)
- Shakura Wesley (Jr.)
6. Barton College: The Bulldogs tallied 49 points and are in sixth-place to open 2018-19. Barton finished in sixth-place with 31 points at last year's Conference Carolinas indoor championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Janae Cunningham (Jr.) - Throws
- *Jasmine Watson (So.) - Hurdles
t7. King University: The Tornado was tied for seventh after collecting 34 points from Conference coaches. King notched a ninth-place finish in 2017-18 at the indoor championship with 17 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- Kirstin Barton (Jr.) - Distance
- Whitney Christian (Fr.) - Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps
- Larynn Clopton (Fr.) - Jumps
t7. Lees-McRae College: The Bobcats received 34 points and enter the season tied for seventh. Lees-McRae tied for seventh in last year's Conference Championship with 19 points.
Athletes to Watch:
- Brittney Augustin (Fr.) - Sprints/Hurdles
- Natalie Donahue (Fr.) - Pole Vault
- Jordyn Halverson (Sr.) - Distance
9. Belmont Abbey College: The Crusaders garnered 32 points from Conference coaches to enter the season ranked ninth. Belmont Abbey also finished tied in seventh with 19 points at the 2017-18 championship.
Athletes to Watch:
- *Annie Hetzel (Jr.) - Distance
- *Maya McQune (Jr.) - Sprints
- *Julia Otranto (Sr.) - Distance
10. Emmanuel College: The Lions make their preseason poll debut by collecting 26 points from Conference coaches to enter the season ranked 10th.
Athletes to Watch:
- Kristin Stephens (Fr.)
- Alisha Wright (Jr.) - Sprints/Hurdles
*denotes 2017-18 All-Conference Carolinas selection
2018-19 Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
|
School (first-place votes)
|
Total
|
|
1. Mount Olive (9)
|
90
|
|
2. Southern Wesleyan (1)
|
80
|
|
3. Limestone
|
75
|
|
4. North Greenville
|
64
|
|
5. Converse
|
56
|
|
6. Barton
|
49
|
|
t7. King
|
34
|
|
t7. Lees-McRae
|
34
|
|
9. Belmont Abbey
|
32
|
|
10. Emmanuel
|
26
|
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.