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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
49er Classic
TRACK AND FIELD: Indoor Recap & Outdoor Preview
03.14.2024 | Track and Field
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville track and field team will make its outdoor season debut this weekend as the Bulldogs head to UNC Charlotte for the 49er Classic, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday (Mar. 15) and 10:00 a.m. on Saturday (Mar. 16).
Meet Links
Schedule of EventsLive Results
INDOOR RECAP
Last Time Out–The Bulldogs last competed at the Big South Indoor Championships in Blacksburg, Va. Asheville recorded 10 podium finishes, with the men finishing in fourth place (84 pts.) and the women finishing in fifth (59.33 pts.).
Bringing Home Hardware– Asheville had a very successful finish to its indoor season, securing three conference titles from Brianna Moore (Long Jump), Zac Weas (60m hurdles), and Jalen Anderson (200m). This is the second year in a row that Weas has secured a conference title in the 60m hurdles.
In the 200m final, Anderson re-broke the school record to clock a program-best time of 21.20. The senior had a record-shattering indoor season, first breaking the 200m record at the Carolina Challenge back in January (21.66). He rewrote the record books yet again at the Doc Hale VT Meet (21.58) and the Darius Dixon Invitational (21.43) before peaking for the Big South Indoor Championships to take his title.
Fellow senior Adam Hessler also posted a record-breaking season, finishing in second place in both the men's 3000m (8:30.78) and the 5000m (14:45.32) at the Championships. Hessler broke the 5000m record at the Doc Hale VT Meet this year with his time of 14:15.92 and broke the men's mile record the following weekend (4:11.72) in Lynchburg.
Mallory Haney earned silver in the high jump and triple jump and Alison Graf finished second in the 800m final. Graf broke the school record in the 1000m at the Darius Dixon Invitational earlier this season with her time of 2:57.28. She was also awarded Female Newcomer of the Year, and Brianna Moore and Zac Weas were recognized for their academic achievements as All-Academic honorees.
Finally, Alex Haines locked in a third-place finish in the men's 800m with his time of 1:54.53 and the DMR team of Jackson Core, Brock Newsome, Jan Málek and Braelin June finished in third.
OUTDOOR PREVIEW
The Bulldogs are scheduled to compete in five regular-season meets before the Big South Outdoor Championships, hosted by High Point University, May 6-8.
Outdoor Coaches Poll- Ahead of the outdoor season, Asheville received votes from Big South track and field coaches to finish in the same positions as the indoor season results. The men's team is currently ranked fourth with 29 votes, and the women sit fifth with 32 votes.
2024 BIG SOUTH WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON POLL
| Rk. Team (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1. High Point (7) | 63 |
| 2. Charleston Southern (1) | 57 |
| 3. Radford | 46 |
| 4. Gardner-Webb | 36 |
| 5. UNC Asheville | 32 |
| 6. USC Upstate | 24 |
| 7. Winthrop | 20 |
| 8. Longwood | 10 |
2024 BIG SOUTH MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON POLL
| Rk. Team (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1. High Point (7) | 49 |
| 2. Charleston Southern | 42 |
| 3. Winthrop | 32 |
| 4. UNC Asheville | 29 |
| 5 USC Upstate | 22 |
| 6. Gardner-Webb | 14 |
| 7. Longwood | 8 |
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