BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – The Citadel track and field teams garnered 14 All-Conference performances, 31 top-ten finishes and five broken school records in the 2019 Southern Conference Outdoor Championships.
DAY ONE
The Bulldogs got off to a great start on the first day of the SoCon Championships. The squad boasted two school records, eight top-ten performances and four cadet-athletes finished all-conference.
How the Men Scored (27 Points; 5
th Place)
- Sam Blumer took third place in pole vault with a leap of 15-1 to earn the Bulldogs six points while Devin Merrick took sixth earning the team an additional three points.
- Charlie Hatler was the next Bulldog to hit the podium, taking third in the javelin with a throw of 184-1 while Evan McDonald hit a new personal record with a mark of 174-8, earning fifth place.
- Ja'Lon Williams was one spot out of All Conference in the hammer with a personal-record toss of 168-1 to earn the number three spot on the all-time list at The Citadel. Prince Howard-Whitaker picked up a pair of points for the team after taking seventh with a mark of 151-8.
- Colin Martin took eighth in the 10,000-meter race with a PR of 32:16 to earn the No. 8 spot on the all-time list.
- Josiah Johnson qualified for the 200-meter finals by breaking the school record with a personal record of 21.15. He went on to qualify for the final in the 100m with a time of 10.32 seconds. Trey Richardson qualified for the final in the 400m with a personal-best time of 48.97 while also qualifying for the final in the 200m with a PR time of 21.87 seconds.
How the Women Scored (25 points; 4
th Place)
- Jessy Page brought home her second career medal by placing third in the hammer earning All-Conference honors with a toss of 51.15 meters.
- Freshman, Shannon Ziccarello picked up ten points for the team after taking third in her first outdoor SoCon Championship for the Bulldogs. Ziccarello threw the javelin for a mark of 123-1 feet to earn All Conference. Anna Barfield was one spot off the podium, finishing with a PR in the javelin from a toss of 119-3 feet.
- Kaeleigh Guth earned the team four points after finishing fifth in the long jump with a PR of 18-8.5 feet to break the school record.
- Samantha Engel took sixth place in the pole vault with a PR of 10-11 to earn the No. 2 spot on the all-time list.
- Casey Miller finished in eighth place in the steeplechase with a time of 12:40, earning a point for the Bulldogs.
- Lastly, Amber Opp broke her former PR in the 10k with a time of 40:43 to earn the No. 8 spot on the all-time list.
DAY TWO
Day 2 of the SoCon Championships were highlighted by three school records, five top-ten performances in school history, five conference championship performers and 10 All-Conference honorees.
How the Men Finished Sixth (74 Points)
- Josiah Johnson won his first medal of the day in the 100-meter dash for the second year in a row with a time of 10.50 seconds. Johnson later went on to take second place in the 200-meter dash while breaking the school record with a time of 21.08.
- The 4x100 team consisting Johnson, Timiebi Ogobri, Trey Richardson and Jacquary Bradford broke the school record and finished first with a time of 40.71 seconds.
- The 4x400 relay team with Johnson, Richardson, Jeremy Shipley and Stephan Kulick took third with a time of 3:16.34 earning The Citadel an additional six points.
- Richardson would finish the day with a pair of medals, sixth in the 400 meter and eighth in the 200m with a time of 22.37.
- Prince Howard-Whitaker was sixth in the discus with a toss of 144-6 feet while Ja'Lon Williams took home eighth in the shot with a toss of 46-7.5 meters.
How the Women Finished Seventh (31 Points)
- Jessy Page earned the team a pair of points with a seventh-place finish in the discus with a mark of 133-9 feet.
- Freshman Mya Dollard cleared the 5-1.25 mark to earn seventh place and add two team points.
- The 4x100 relay team of Chelsi Smalls, Tamia Burch, Jordan Neeley and Hannah Murray scored eighth with a time of 49.96 seconds to earn a point for the team.
- Kaeleigh Guth rounded out the competition for the team with a record-breaking leap of 36-8.25 feet in the triple jump.
All-Freshman Accolades
The Citadel will wait to see which cadet-athletes will qualify for NCAA East Preliminary Round hosted in Jacksonville, Florida.
