GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's track and field teams are ready to compete at the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday, May 1-2 at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina.
The Tusculum men, who took third place at the SAC Indoor Championship in February, were sixth at last year's SAC Outdoor meet. The Pioneer women, who were ninth at last year's SAC Outdoor Championship, will aim to improve on their seventh-place result at this's year's indoor meet.
The NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championship will be held May 23-25 at Emporia, Kansas.
MEN'S PREVIEW
The Pioneers had three runners finish inside the top eight in the 100 meters at last year's championship, and all three are back this season. Sophomore Isaiah Olson is seeded third at 10.46 seconds, and will be joined by seniors Marquel Pittman and Jordan Taylor along with freshman Lansford Cunningham. Pittman, who is seeded eighth at 10.58 seconds took fifth place last season after running eighth in 2022, while Taylor took seventh and Olson eighth last year.
In the 200 meters, Taylor is seeded fourth at 21.11 seconds, with Pittman eighth at 21.48 seconds. Olson and Cunningham will also compete in the event for the Pioneers, with both ranked inside the top 12 in the conference.
Grad student Zack Nelson is seeded fifth in the 400 meters at 48.37 seconds, after finishing third in the event each of the last two seasons. He will be joined in the event by senior Dorian Craven and freshman Kayvon Pickett.
Grad student Antonio Aparicio will be on the track one more time in the 800 meters, where he is seeded third at 1:52.78. Aparicio is the only Pioneer competing in the SAC Championship for a fourth straight year, with finishes of eighth in 2021, sixth in 2022 and third last season.
Freshman Pau Valdepenas will run in both the 1500 and the steeplechase. Valdepenas is seeded eighth in the 1500 at 3:54.57 and will be running the steeple for the first time this season. Freshman Sam Shipp will do double duty in the 5000 and the 10000 meters for the Pioneers.
In hurdles, senior Jamal Cash is seeded fifth in the 110 hurdles at 14.87 seconds after finishing fifth last year, and is seeded seventh in the 400 hurdles at 55.13 seconds following his sixth-place performance last year. Sophomore Daryl Smith Jr., who was fifth in the 400 hurdles last year, is seeded fourth at 54.03 seconds. Freshman Hunter Burkey will compete in both hurdles events for the Pioneers.
Tusculum will be competitive in field events, with Smith seeded second in the triple jump (15.22 meters) and junior Joshua Stephens sixth at 14.50 meters. In the long jump, Cunningham is seeded third at 7.14 meters, with Smith and Stephens also entered. Burkey is the Pioneers' lone entrant in the high jump.
Sophomore Adrian Gumm will look to back up last year's third-place finish in the shot put, and he is the third seed this year at 15.49 meters. Sophomore Gavin Rowell and freshman Dylan Horne will also compete in the shot put, with Horne seeded third in the discus at 47.95 meters and Gumm eighth at 43.75 meters. Rowell will also compete in the discus and the javelin along with freshman Noah Girard, who is fourth in the javelin at 49.90 meters with Horne fifth at 49.79 meters. Stephens and sophomore Carlos Turner will also throw javelin for the Pioneers, with Horne also set to compete in the shot put.
In relays, the 4x100 relay of Taylor, Olson, Cunningham and Pittman is seeded second at 40.68 seconds, while the 4x400 relay of Nelson, Cunningham, Craven and Aparicio is seeded third at 3:14.32.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Sophomore Theresa Green-White is the top seed in the 100 hurdles at 13.92 seconds, and is seeded eighth in the 100 meters at 12.12 seconds. Green-White, who is also entered the in the 400 hurdles, took fifth in the 100 hurdles and sixth in the 400 hurdles at last year's championship meet.
Sophomore Kiera Taylor is seeded fourth in the 100 meters at 11.92 seconds and fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 24.79 seconds. Taylor was seventh in both events last season.
Freshman Alonda Shelton is seeded seventh in the 200 meters at 24.93 seconds, and will also compete in the 100 meters, while junior Jada Martin is entered in both the 200 and 400 and freshman McKenzie Morton is in the 400. Freshman Macey Snapp will also run in the 400 hurdles.
Sophomore Inmaculada Delgado is set to compete in both the 800 and 1500, with senior Judy Chellah to run in the 800 meters.
The Pioneer 4x100 relay of Taylor, Shelton, Green-White and freshman Kieley Smith is seeded second at 46.73 seconds, with the 4x400 quartet of Taylor, Shelton, Martin and Morton seeded fifth at 4:04.20.
In field events, freshman Caley Sosnowski is the top seed in the javelin after posting the top throw in Division II this season at 48.55 meters at the Sharonda Coleman Classic on April 13. Morton and Smith will also compete in the javelin for the Pioneers.
Junior Amber Hogan is entered in three throwing events for the Pioneers, and is seeded sixth in the hammer throw at 41.79 meters after placing sixth in the event last year. She will also compete in the discus and shot put.
Smith will compete in the heptathlon and is seeded fourth in the field of 11 competitions with 3,431 points which she earned at the Lee Invitational in March.
