ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The South Atlantic Conference has announced its Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Preseason coaches polls for the 2022 season.

The Tusculum men were picked to finish sixth while the Pioneer women were selected eighth in the voting by the conference's head coaches. The Pioneers took sixth in the men's standings and ninth in the women's standings at last month's SAC Indoor Track & Field Championship. This year's preseason ranking matches the Pioneers' team finishes at last year's SAC Outdoor Championship.

Tusculum will begin its spring schedule at the Montreat Invitational on Friday and Saturday, March 26-27. The Pioneers are scheduled to compete in four meets prior to the SAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which will be held May 5-6 at Anderson.

MEN'S POLL
Queens received 11 first-place votes and 132 points to sit atop the survey, followed by Wingate in second with 116 points. Limestone was third with the other first-place vote and 113 points, with Lenoir-Rhyne in fourth with 104 points and Carson-Newman fifth with 93 points. Tusculum had 81 points for sixth place, trailed by Catawba (71 points) in seventh, Lincoln Memorial (58), Newberry (51), Anderson (40), Mars Hill (39) and Coker (26) in 12th.

Athletes to watch for the Pioneers are All-America sprinter Widchard Guervil and junior Zackary Nelson in track events, along with freshman Joshua Stephens in field events. Guervil was All-American in both the 60 meters and 200 meters at this year's NCAA Indoor Championship after winning both events at the SAC Indoor Championship. Guervil was the SAC champion in both the 100 and 200 at the 2019 SAC Outdoor Championship.

Nelson finished 15th at nationals in the 400 meters after winning two gold medals at the SAC Indoor Championship. The St. Johns, Florida native took gold in the 400 at the SAC Championship and ran with Guervil in the winning 4x400-meter relay at the conference meet.

Stephens had a season-best mark of 13.50 meters (44 feet, 3 1/2 inches) and placed sixth in the triple jump at the USC Indoor Open on Feb. 18, and had a best long jump of 5.72 meters (18 feet, 9 1/4 inches) at the VMI Classic on Feb. 12.

WOMEN'S POLL
Queens took 10 of the 12 first-place votes and 131 points in the poll, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne which had two first-place votes and 120 points and Wingate which had 115 points. Anderson (99 points) was fourth, with Carson-Newman (87) in fifth and Limestone (86) in sixth. Catawba (71 points) was seventh, followed by Tusculum (58), Lincoln Memorial (55) and Coker (45) to round out the top 10. Newberry (34 points) was 11th and Mars Hill (26) was 12th overall.

Tusculum athletes to watch are graduates Kenisha Stubbs in the hurdles and I'Keriah Day in sprints, along with senior Shanee Angol in the javelin. Stubbs is the defending SAC champion in the 400 hurdles and is coming off a fourth-place finish in the 60 hurdles at the SAC Indoor Championship. Stubbs was All-Region in the 400 hurdles last season and holds the school record in both the 100 and 400 hurdles.

Day returned to the track for the Pioneers this winter after placing fifth in the 200 meters and eighth in the 400 at the 2019 SAC Outdoor Championship. Day ran in the 400 meters at this year's SAC Indoor championship and earned medals in the 4x400 relay at both the SAC Indoor and Outdoor championships during the 2019 season.

Angol was an All-Southeast Region honoree last season after throwing 144 feet, 9 inches (44.11 meters) in the javelin in her first meet at Lenoir-Rhyne on March 21. Angol was the silver medalist in the javelin at the SAC Outdoor Championship and ranked 22nd overall in Division II for the 2021 outdoor season.

2022 SAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll

2022 SAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll