GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's track and field teams will compete at the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Championship on Wednesday and Thursday, May 3-4 at Anderson University.
The Tusculum men finished eighth and the Pioneer women were 11th at last year's SAC Outdoor Championship meet. At this year's SAC Indoor Championship, the Pioneer men finished sixth while the Tusculum women took ninth place.
On Wednesday, there will be champions crowned in four field and two track events per gender, with preliminaries in seven track events. On Thursday, the other four field events in each gender will be held, as well as finals in 10 track events along with the decathlon and heptathlon.
MEN'S PREVIEW
The Pioneers are well-represented in the sprints, with six entries in both the 100 meters and 200 meters and four competitors in the 400 meters.
In the 100, junior Tyrell Edwards (Toco, Trinidad and Tobago) is seeded fourth in the 100 meters after setting the school record at 10.29 seconds in the LR Bears Invitational on April 21. Junior Jordan Taylor (Miami, Fla.) is seeded fifth with a time of 10.30 seconds set April 15 at the Catamount Classic, while senior Marquel Pittman (Tallahassee, Fla.) is seeded eighth at 10.45 seconds, also set at the Catamount Classic. Pittman took eighth in the 100 at last year's SAC Championship at 10.71 seconds.
Also entered for the Pioneers are senior Jarvis Barber Jr. (Ocala, Fla.) with a time of 10.51 seconds from the Catamount Classic, along with freshman Isaiah Olson (Greeneville, Tenn.) who ran 10.55 at the LR Bears Invitational. Senior Devan Hart (Bonaire, Ga.) rounds out the Tusculum contingent in the 100 with a time of 10.69 from the LR Bears Invitational.
Pittman is Tusculum's top seed in the 200 meters, having posted a time of 21.47 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational, followed by Edwards who was clocked at 21.53 seconds at the Trojan Opener on March 18. Hart was ranked 22nd in the conference with his time of 21.85 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational, and will be joined in the lineup by Barber, Olson and freshman Keelen Lester (Greeneville, Tenn.). Barber was seventh in the 200 last year at 21.94 seconds.
Senior Zackary Nelson (St. Johns, Fla.), the Tusculum Male Athlete of the Year after earning indoor All-America honors in the 400 meters, will be seeded sixth in the outdoor 400 at 47.93 seconds which he ran at the LR Bears Invitational. Nelson was third place in the 400 at last year's SAC Championship at 47.14 seconds. Junior Dorian Craven (Dallas, Texas) had the eighth-best time in the conference at 48.56 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational, with sophomore Stephen Brewer (Winston-Salem, N.C.) running 50.23 seconds at the Catamount Classic on April 15. Sophomore Xavion Bogus (Knoxville, Tenn.) will also run in the 400 for the Pioneers.
In the 800 meters, senior Antonio Aparicio (Paterna, Spain) had the fifth-fastest time in the SAC with a school-record run of 1:52.78 at the Catamount Classic, after placing sixth at last year's SAC Championship at 1:55.61. Joining Aparicio wil be sophomore Landen Locklear (Kingsport, Tenn.) along with freshman DeWayne Morris (Knoxville, Tenn.). Freshman Jerry Ricker (Kingsport, Tenn.) will be Tusculum's lone entry in the 1500 meters.
In hurdles, junior Jamal Cash (Kingman, Ariz.) had the fourth-fastest time in the SAC in the 110 hurdles at 15.01 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational. Cash is seeded ninth in the 400 hurdles at 56.11 seconds, which he ran at the Montreat College Open on March 25. Freshman Daryl Smith Jr. (Rockledge, Fla.) ran 55.66 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational and is seeded seventh in the event.
The Pioneers will participate in the highly-competitive 4x100 and 4x400 relays, entered as the number-three seed in both events. The quartet of Taylor, Barber, Pittman and Edwards set the school record of 40.18 seconds in the 4x100 at the Montreat College Open on March 25, while the 4x400 team of Craven, Nelson, Aparicio and Barber will try to better their time of 3:15.17 set April 15 at the Catamount Classic. Barber and Nelson were joined by Pittman and Brewer in the 4x400 at last year's SAC Championship, where they took third in a school-record time of 3:14.20.
Tusculum is well-represented in throwing events, with entries in all four disciplines. In the shot put, freshman Adrian Gumm (Maryville, Tenn.) is seeded fifth with a school-record mark of 14.67 meters (48 feet, 1 3/4 inches) set at the Montreat College Open on March 24. Freshman Gavin Rowell (Melbourne, Fla.) is 10th in the shot put at 13.48 meters (44 feet, 2 3/4 inches) which he threw at the Catamount Classic on April 15. Freshman Mikeal Pillar (Greeneville, Tenn.) is 16th at 13.06 meters (42 feet, 10 1/4 inches) thrown at the Trojan Opener on March 18.
In the discus, Rowell is seeded 12th at 39.51 meters (129 feet, 7 inches) set at the Catamount Classic, while Gumm was ranked 16th at 38.44 meters (126 feet, 1 inch) which he threw at the Montreat College Open. Gumm is also competing in the hammer throw with a mark of 40.58 meters (133 feet, 2 inches) from the Catamount Classic, with Pillar at 39.93 meters (131 feet, 0 inches) established at the Montreat College Open.
Tusculum has four entrants in the javelin, led by Pillar who had a mark of 38.91 meters (127 feet, 8 inches) at the LR Bears Invitational. Rowell had a mark of 35.96 meters (118 feet) at the LR Bears Invitational, and will be joined in the Pioneer lineup by sophomore Joshua Stephens (Sanford, Fla.) and freshman Carlos Turner (Florissant, Mo.).
Both Smith and Stephens will compete in the long jump and triple jump for the Pioneers. Stephens is seeded 14th in the long jump at 6.56 meters (21 feet, 6 1/4 inches) while Smith is 22nd at 6.37 meters (20 feet, 10 3/4 inches) both set at the LR Bears Invitational. In the triple jump, Smith had the eighth-best mark in the SAC at 14.17 meters (46 feet, 6 inches) at the LR Bears Invitational, with Stephens ranked 12th at 13.66 meters (44 feet, 9 3/4 inches) at the Flames Invitational on April 8. Stephens was sixth in the triple jump in last year's SAC Outdoor Championship at 14.35 meters (47 feet, 1 inch).
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
A total of nine competitors will compete across nine individual events for the Pioneers, with a focus on sprints and throws.
In the 100 meters, freshman Kiera Taylor (Kissimmee, Fla.) is seeded third with a school-record time of 11.81 seconds set at the Catamount Classic on April 15. Senior Aliyah Adderley (Nassau, Bahamas) had the eighth-best time in the SAC of 12.13 seconds also set at the Catamount Classic, while grad student Kylia Wright (Knightdale, N.C.) ran 12.19 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational on April 21. Sophomore Silvia Bah (Cary, N.C.) posted her season-best time of 12.58 seconds also at the LR Bears Invitational.
Taylor, Wright and Bah will each compete in the 200 meters for the Pioneers. Taylor had the eighth-best time of the SAC season of 25.02 seconds at the Trojan Opener on March 18, while Wright ran 25.68 seconds and Bah 26.02 seconds at the LR Bears Invitational. Senior Destiny Lottie (Des Moines, Iowa) will be the Pioneers' lone entry in the 400 meters.
Junior Emily Coddington (Acosta, Pa.) and freshman Inmaculada Delgado (Seville, Spain) will compete in the 1500 meters. Coddington had a career-best time of 4:47.93 at the Catamount Classic on April 14, while Delgado ran 5:06.33 at the LR Bears Invitational.
Freshman Theresa Green-White (Stafford, Texas) posted the fifth-best time in the conference in the 100 hurdles at 14.74 seconds at the Catamount Classic, and had a time of 1:11.05 at the LR Bears Invitational. Green-White had five of the 10 fastest times in program history in the 100 hurdles during the season.
In relays, the Pioneers are seeded third at 47.06 seconds in the 4x100 which is the program record set by Taylor, Wright, Green-White and Bah at the LR Bears Invitational. The 4x400 relay of Green-White, Taylor, Coddington and Bah ran 4:03.75 at the Catamount Classic and is seeded fifth.
Sophomore Amber Hogan (Piedmont, S.C.) is seeded 10th in the hammer throw at 40.85 meters (134 feet) which she threw at the Trojan Opener and is just off her program record of 40.94 meters. Hogan had a top mark in the discus at 31.61 meters (103 feet, 8 inches) at the Montreat College Open on March 24, and threw 10.11 meters (33 feet, 2 inches) at the Trojan Opener.
