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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships
Asheville Closes Out Conference Championships with Six Podium Finishes
02.24.2024 | Track and Field
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The UNC Asheville track and field team returned to action on Saturday in Rector Field House for day two of the Big South Conference Championships. The men finished in fourth place with 84 points, and the women finished in fifth with 59.33 points. The women's team improved their overall score by over 21 points from the 2023 season. Six Bulldogs secured podium finishes, and 14 scored points on the final day of competition.
PODIUM FINISHES
Zac Weas and Jalen Anderson highlighted Asheville's podium finishes. Weas won the 60m hurdles in 8.11, a season's best. This is Weas' second consecutive year winning the 60m hurdles in the indoor championship meet.
Jalen Anderson won the 200m and re-broke the school record at 21.20.
Asheville claimed three second-place finishes from Alison Graf (women's 800m final), Adam Hessler (men's 3000m final), and Mallory Haney (women's triple jump). Graf ran a personal best of 2:13.04, and Hessler ran 8:30.78 to claim his second podium finish of the weekend. Haney jumped a personal record of 11.84 meters.
Alex Haines earned a third-place podium finish in the men's 800m with a time of 1:54.53.
TRACK EVENTS
Anderson was joined in the 200m final by DaMarr Harvey, who ran a personal best of 21.37 to finish in fourth place and second place in the program history. In the men's 400m final, Anderson took fifth place in 53.91. Anthony Mason ran 1:35.73 to finish in seventh place in the same event.
Joining Haines in the 800 was Brock Newsome, who finished fifth in 1:55.90, and freshman Jaheem O'Hara, who clocked a 1:58.00 to secure eighth.
Two Bulldogs scored points in the one-mile finals, with Jan Málek moving up the field to take fourth place with a personal best of 4:11.83. On the women's side, Isabel Richardson finished in fifth with 5:02.65. Málek was joined by Haines, who ran a personal best time of 4:20.25 (ninth), and Lance Surles, who also ran a PR of 4:33.53 (11th). Joining Richardson were Emily Leo and Emma Kennett, who ran personal bests with 5:17.65 (10th) and 5:20.77 (12th), respectively.
In the final individual track event of the weekend, five Bulldogs competed in the first heat of the women's 3000m final. There were three personal best finishes from Ella Moore (10:28.07, 13th), Emma Kennett (10:57.16), and sophomore Alyx Beausoleil (11:34.41, 20th).
To wrap up the weekend, the men's and women's 4 x 400m relay took fourth place and secured season bests. The men's squad featured DaMarr Harvey, Jalen Anderson, Braelin June and Christopher Owens (3:19.46). The women's squad included Francesca Cergol, Brianna Moore, Elyse Myles, and Alison Graf (3:52.75).
FIELD EVENTS
Jaelyn Arnold led the Bulldogs in the women's weight throw to finish 18th with a distance of 12.58m. She was closely followed by Madison Hannah (19th, 12.50m) and senior Raina Jackson (21st, 11.85m, SB).
In the women's Pole vault, freshman Amelia Rogers jumped 2.79 meters. In the men's triple jump, freshman Gabe Matthews secured fourth place with a jump of 13.70m.
MULTI EVENTS
In the men's heptathlon, senior Adam Graham finished in 7th with 3606 points overall. In the 1000m portion of the heptathlon, Graham finished in first.
AWARDS
The Big South Conference announced accolades for the All-Academic Team, which recognized Zac Weas and Brianna Moore for their accomplishments in the classroom. Alison Graf was awarded Female Newcomer of the Year for her efforts.
OVERALL TEAM SCORES
Men
1 High Point: 211 points2 Charleston Southern: 136.5 points
3 Winthrop: 93 points
4 UNC Asheville: 84 points
5 USC Upstate: 66.5
6 Gardner-Webb: 61 points
Women
1 High Point: 183.33 points2 Charleston Southern: 151 points
3 Radford: 98.5 points
4 Gardner-Webb: 75.83 points
5 UNC Asheville: 59.33 points
6 USC Upstate: 43 points
7 Winthrop: 40 points
Players Mentioned
