ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The South Atlantic Conference has released the Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field preseason coaches polls and Athletes to Watch list for the 2024 season.

The Tusculum University men were picked to finished seventh in the conference poll, while the women were ninth in the poll of the league's 13 head coaches. The Pioneer men were sixth and the women ninth at last year's SAC Indoor Championship meet.

The Pioneers opened their season at the Commonwealth College Opener in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, and will resume competition on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Mondo College Invite in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The SAC Indoor Track & Field Championship will be Feb. 24-25 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.

MEN'S PREVIEW
Selected as Athletes to Watch for the Pioneers are sophomore sprinter Isaiah Olson and freshman jumper Lansford Cunningham.

Olson, a graduate of South Greene High School, placed 13th in the 60 meters at last year's SAC Indoor Championship and was eighth in the 100 meters at the outdoor championship meet. Olson has career best indoor times of 6.96 seconds in the 60 meters and 22.62 seconds in the 200 meters.

Cunningham, a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica, finished seventh overall in the long jump at the Commonwealth College Opener with a mark of 6.86 meters (22-6 1/4), which is the second-best mark in program history.

Among the returning athletes for the Pioneers are NCAA qualifiers Zack Nelson and Marquel Pittman, along with All-Region honorees Tyrell Edwards, Antonio Aparicio, Stephen Brewer and Dorian Craven.

Wingate took 11 first-place votes and earned the top spot in the poll with 143 points, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne with the other two first-place votes and 133 points. Carson-Newman was third with 120 points, with Catawba (106) in fourth and Limestone (102) in fifth. Anderson was sixth with 84 points, trailed by Tusculum with 80 points and Newberry in eighth with 66 points. The rest of the poll consisted of Emory & Henry (52 points), Lincoln Memorial (46), Mars Hill (35), Coker (24) and UVA Wise (15).

WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Tusculum's Athletes to Watch for the 2024 indoor season are sophomore sprinter Kiera Taylor and freshman jumper Kieley Smith.

Taylor is from Kissimmee, Florida and placed fourth in the 60 meters at the SAC Indoor Championship with a time of 7.78 seconds. Taylor also competed in the 200 meters and the long jump during the indoor season, and set the school record in the 100 meters (11.81 seconds) during outdoor competition last spring.

Smith graduated from South Greene High School, where she set the school record in the long jump last season. In her first meet at Tusculum, Smith had the second-best triple jump in school history at 9.87 meters (32 feet, 4 3/4 inches) during the Commonwealth College Opener.

The Pioneers have seven returnees from last year's team, including All-Conference sprinter Theresa Green-White, along with a group of eight freshmen who compete in a variety of disciplines.

Wingate received 11 first-place votes and 143 points to take the top spot in the poll, with Lenoir-Rhyne in second with 130 points and the other two first-place votes. Catawba was third with 120 points, followed by Carson-Newman (112) and Anderson (104) in the top five. Limestone (85 points) is sixth, followed by Newberry in seventh at 71 points, Lincoln Memorial (67) in eighth and the Pioneers with 59 points in ninth. The remainder of the poll consisted of Mars Hill (46), Emory & Henry (35), Coker (26) and UVA Wise (16).

2023-24 SAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll

2023-24 SAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll