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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Big South Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships
Session Named Freshman of the Year; Men Finish Fourth, Women Finish Sixth at Big South Championships
03.01.2025 | Track and Field
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The UNC Asheville Track and Field team completed the 2025 Big South Conference Track and Field Indoor Championships on Saturday (March 1). The men finished fourth overall with 74 points, and the women finished 6th with 26 points.Â
LEADING THE PACK
Shemarr Session had a stellar weekend of top-level racing, highlighted by his victorious 200m final, where he set a new school record and Big South Championships meet time of 20.82. Session broke his previous school record of 20.98 which was set in the prelims on Friday, Feb. 28. His time also broke the conference meet record and put him at No. 29 on the NCAA 2025 Division I leaderboard. In a 60m hurdle final, decided by one thousandth of a second, Session took silver with his personal best time of 8.05. His time puts him at No. 3 in program records.Â
Session wrapped up his weekend by helping the 4x4 relay team to silver and earning a school record finish of 3:14.62. The relay squad consisted of Session, Jalen Anderson, Joseph Oliver, and Christopher Owens.Â
Session's efforts earned him the esteemed title of male Freshman Indoor Athlete of the Year, the first time a Bulldog has received the award since Bryson Riddick in 2020.
Jalen Anderson also had an incredible weekend of racing to bring home bronze in the men's 60m final, tying the school record of 6.83 and adding six points to Asheville's title. Anderson also took bronze in the men's 200m final with a season's best of 21.10.Â
For the second meet in a row, Paul Kiprotich and Isabel Richardson reset program records in the men's 3,000m and the women's mile. Kiprotich in a neck-and-neck sprint finish took silver with a time of 8:11.34. Richardson placed seventh in 4:56.94 for the new program record. Â
FINALS HIGHLIGHTS
TrackÂ
In a tight women's 800m final, Nikole Baikova finished fourth (5 pts) with a personal best ofÂ
2:13.36, placing her third in program records. Alison Graf placed seventh in 2:15.15.
Jacoby Ennis finished sixth in the men's section of the 800m with a personal best of 1:54.03, placing him fifth in program records.Â
Adam Hessler joined Kiprotich in the men's 3,000m final, placing sixth with a personal best of 8:14.39.
Joseph Oliver dipped for two points in the men's 400m final, placing seventh in 48.76.Â
Adam Graham joined Session in the men's 60m hurdles final, securing one point and placing eighth in 9.18.Â
Andrew Okon secured one point for the Bulldogs in the men's mile, placing eighth in a personal best of 4:22.51.Â
Multis and relays
The women's 4x400 meter relay team finished fifth (+4pts) with a season's best of 3:59.41. The squad featured Francesca Cergol, Murielle Jeanite, Nikole Baikova and Zoe Bos.
Noah Henthorn locked two points in the men's heptathlon, placing seventh with 3510 points in his first attempt at all seven disciplines.Â
Field
Chaniya Owens finished fourth in the women's triple jump at 11.54 meters, putting her at No. 5 on the All-Times List.Â
Blake Hawks and Gabe Matthews stacked three points in the men's triple jump final. Hawks jumped to a personal best distance of 13.54 meters to place seventh, and Matthews jumped to eighth by marking 13.48 meters.Â
Jaelyn Arnold placed eighth and added one point with her personal best throw of 15.04 meters in the women's Weight Throw final.Â
REMAINING DAY TWO FINISHES
Track
Men's 1 Mile final
Tadiyos Sloan-Westmoreland - 11th, 4:27.75, PR
Noah Jones - 12th, 4:27.75, PR
Logan Russo - 13th, 4:39.23
Jackson Core - 14th, 4:44.15
Lance Surles - 15th, 5:17.67
Women's 1 Mile final
Ella Warren - 15th, 5:31.00
Men's 3,000m final
Jonas Roach - 11th, 8:40.53
Quinn Jacquez - 13th, 9:00.28
Women's 3,000m final
Isabel Richardson - 11th, 10:15.56
Ella Moore - 12th, 10:2655
Addi Corl - 17th, 10:43.63
Sophie Lundin - 18th, 10:50.48, SB
Field
Men's High jump final
Gabe Matthews - 10th, 1.84m, PR
Women's Weight Throw
Christina Jones - 9th, 14.59m, PR
Madison Hannah - 15th, 13.16m
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMÂ
Men - Lance Surles
Women - Isabel RichardsonÂ
UP NEXTÂ
The Bulldogs have now closed out their Indoor season and are preparing for outdoor season, kicking off with the 49er Classic on March 21-22. For full results from the Big South Indoor Championships, click HERE.Â
To stay updated with all things surrounding Asheville track & field, follow the team on đť•©.
Players Mentioned
