GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum men's and women's track and field teams will compete in the second annual South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday and Sunday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
All 11 SAC members will be represented in the meet, which will feature 16 men's and 16 women's events. The meet will start at 4:00 Saturday with preliminaries in the mile run, and will resume Sunday at 11 a.m.
Last year, Tusculum's men finished sixth overall and the women placed ninth in the inaugural SAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, with the Pioneers scoring in six men's and three women's individual events.
MEN
Widchard Guervil is the defending SAC champion in the 60 meters, winning gold last year with a time of 6.77 seconds. He is seeded third in the 60 meters in this year's championship meet at 6.79 seconds, and is joined in the field by Gerard Hearst and Kedar Ashford, who are tied for ninth on the performance list at 7.03 seconds, along with Gibran Williams at 7.04 seconds.
Guervil is also entered in the 200 meters with a seed time of 21.58 seconds, also third-fastest in the field. Guervil ran 22.21 in last year's SAC meet and finished in third place. Ashford is seeded seventh at 22.35 seconds, and also entered are Williams (22.90) and Malek Folston (23.09).
In the 400 meters, Althiery Leontes is the Pioneers' top seed at 51.07 seconds, placing him 12th on the conference performance list. Tyree Hilliard (52.07), Folston (52.95), Jaydon Johnson (54.14) and J'Quen Johnson (no time) are also scheduled to compete.
J'Quen Johnson will also run in the 800 meters, after being clocked at 2:00.45 this season. Kyle Stanley (2:01.14) is also entered for Tusculum. Johnson finished 15th at last year's SAC meet.
Kyler Hodges is the Pioneers' lone entry in the mile run with a time of 4:25.40 that is 12th-best in the SAC this year. Hodges will also run in the 3000 meters with a seed time of 9:06.02. Will Cronin is the Pioneers' top seed in the 3K at 8:55.18, with Carson Walls (9:30.61) and Alejandro Perez (9:35.57) also scheduled to compete.
Cronin is seeded sixth in the 5000 meters with a time of 15:19.82, more than a minute faster than his 17th-place time at last year's SAC championship. Walls (17:19.37) will also run in the event for the Pioneers.
For the first time, Tusculum has two entries in the 60-meter hurdles, as Luis Morris (8.93 seconds) will compete along with Jamire Thompson (no time).
In jumps, Guillaume Devries is seeded second in the high jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 2.10 meters (6 feet, 10 3/4 inches). In the long jump, Ashford (20 feet, 9 3/4 inches) is entered along with Thompson (20 feet, 1/4 inch), with Thompson also competing in the triple jump (40 feet, 11 3/4 inches).
In throws, Christian Sisto is seeded ninth in the shot put at 13.80 meters (45 feet, 3 1/2 inches), with Zach Lane (41 feet, 8 inches) also entered. Sisto tied for 16th last year and Lane placed 27th in the field. Evan Grooms (40 feet, 7 inches) is entered in the weight throw along with Joseph Schwarz (32 feet, 9 1/2 inches), with Grooms finishing 17th at last year's SAC meet.
Morris is entered in the pole vault and is seeded sixth in the event with a height of 3.95 meters (12 feet, 11 1/2 inches).
WOMEN
Nicole McMillen is the top seed in both the mile run and the 3000 meters. McMillen's NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 4:58.23 in the mile is nearly 2 1/2 seconds faster than the rest of the field. McMillen finished third in the mile last year at 5:15.72.
In the 3000 meters, McMillen is a second faster than the field with a time of 10:03.99. Joining McMillen in the 3000 meters are Alissa Furches, who is seeded seventh at 10:45.30, along with Brooklyn Smith (12:37.53). Furches will also run the 5000 meters, and is ninth on the SAC performance list at 18:55.68.
I'Keriah Day is the top seed in the 200 meters with a time of 25.36, and will compete along with Earthaiza Watkins (25.87 seconds), Raygene Minus (26.08), Kaynashia Carter (26.32) and Hailey Cole (26.43).
Minus is seeded second in the 400 meters at 57.22 seconds, and is entered along with Day (1:00.57), Watkins (1:00.84), Kesia Griffith (1:02.25) and Ke'Lah McMiller (1:02.92).
Running in the 60 meters for the Pioneers are Carter (8.15 seconds), Cole (8.27), Brittany Bowery (9.12 seconds) and Deondra Thomas (no time). In the 800, Yoland Boyce (2:30.47) and Karla Angulo (2:32.06) are both seeded in the top 20 in the event for Tusculum.
The busiest athlete for the Pioneers will be Brianna Oats, who will compete in the indoor pentathlon (60 hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 meters). She is seeded sixth in the event with 2658 points which she recorded at the Queens Combined Events meet on Feb. 12.
Oats is also entered in the hurdles, long jump and high jump individual events. She is seeded eighth in the hurdles at 9.53 seconds, with marks of 1.39 meters (4 feet, 6 3/4 inches) in the high jump and 5.13 meters (16 feet, 10 inches) in the long jump. Destini Wilson is seeded fifth in both the high jump at 1.57 meters (5 feet, 1 3/4 inches) and long jump (17 feet, 4 3/4 inches).
Alyssa Farmer is seeded sixth in the shot put at 11.97 meters (39 feet 3 1/4 inches) and is also entered in the weight throw at 36 feet, 1 1/4 inches). Dynah Dunn, who placed eighth in the shot put last year, is seeded 12th at 10.79 meters (35 feet, 5 inches) and is in the weight throw at 9.35 meters (30 feet, 8 1/4 inches). Tynaja Stewart is entered in the shot put with a mark of 8.97 meters (29 feet, 5 1/2 inches).
