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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Clean Sweep in the Steeplechase Highlights Second Day of Big South Outdoor Championships for Asheville
05.13.2025 | Track and Field
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Jan Malek and Aneta Kucerová swept the Big South Conference 3,000m Steeplechase Championships to highlight day two for the Bulldogs at the Big South Track & Field Outdoor Championships on Tuesday.
After two days of events, both the men's and women's teams are in fifth place with the men holding 46 points and the women having 36.
PODIUM FINISHES
For the first time in school history, Asheville made a clean sweep of the 3,000m steeplechase finals. Málek picked up the pace in the men's section with three laps to go, gliding to victory in 9:02.47. Málek's performance marks the first time since 2006 that a Bulldog has secured a win in the event.
In her collegiate debut over the barriers, Kucerová took the lead with four laps remaining in the women's section, crossing the line in first place at 11:00.43. Kucerová is the first Bulldog to win the event since 2013 and enters straight at No. 2 on the All-Time List.
Jaelyn Arnold concluded the successful evening with a third-place finish in the shot put, throwing a personal record distance of 13.91m.
ASHEVILLE SCORERS
All four Bulldogs competing in the multi-events scored points for Asheville, totaling 13 points across both disciplines.
Lee Kania finished fourth overall (+5 pts) in the women's heptathlon with 4,016 points. In only her second collegiate heptathlon, Kania racked up an impressive 253 more points than she did at last year's Championship. Kania set a personal best in the javelin throw by 3.46 meters, taking second place and moving up from fifth place into the fourth spot, where she finished overall. Her third-place finish of 2:31.94 (a PR of over 8 seconds) in the final 800m event secured her position overall.
Murielle Jeanite joined Kania to place sixth overall in her first women's heptathlon, scoring 3,585 points (+3 pts for Asheville). Jeanite took first place in the 200m section with 25.90 and split an incredibly even 800m race to cross the line in second (2:31.71), securing sixth position overall.
In the men's decathlon, Noah Henthorn finished in sixth place overall (+3 pts) with 5,094 points. Henthorn secured his highest individual finish of second place in the discus throw with 36.34 meters and entered program records at No. 5 following his collegiate decathlon debut.
Blake Hawks added two points to Asheville's total by finishing in seventh place with 4,982 points. His top performance from day two was a sixth-place finish in the javelin throw, where he threw a 5.2-meter personal best of 38.51 meters.
Chaniya Owens placed fifth overall (+4 pts) in the women's triple jump final, jumping to a distance of 11.43 meters on her final attempt. Nkosi Jeju finished seventh (+2 pts) in the men's triple jump with a distance of 14.00m.
BULLDOGS THROUGH TO FINALS
DaMarr Harvey advanced to his second finals of the Championship Meet, as he took fourth place (10.57) in the men's 100m prelims. Jeju also earned a spot in the 100m finals with a seventh-place finish in the prelims at 10.67.
Joseph Oliver set a personal best in the men's 400m prelims to qualify with a third-place finish of 47.86.
Following suit, Jacoby Ennis set a three-second personal best in the men's 800m prelims to advance to the finals in third place at 1:51.89.
In the women's 800m, Isabel Richardson, with a personal best of 2:15.50, took the last qualifying spot. Francesca Cergol took the final qualifying spot in the women's 400m prelims, crossing the line in 57.18.
LOOKING AHEAD
The final day of the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships will begin tomorrow, May 14, with the women's pole vault kicking things off at 10:45 a.m. For a full list of tomorrow's schedule, click HERE.
For full results from DAY TWO, click HERE.
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