Kucerová Named Freshman of the Year; Men Finish Fourth, Women Finish Fifth at Big South Indoor Championships

MILL SPRING, N.C. – The UNC Asheville track & field team wrapped up competition at the Big South Indoor Championships on Saturday, Feb. 28. Two school records highlighted the final day, as the men placed fourth with 63 points and the women finished fifth with 35 points.

BULLDOGS ON THE PODIUM

Aneta Kucerová delivered a phenomenal final day, setting a new school record and scoring 11 points for Asheville with a third-place finish in the women's 3,000m and a fourth-place finish in the women's mile. Kucerová's record-breaking time of 4:56.12 in the mile lowered the previous mark, set earlier this season by Alison Graf, by .52 seconds.

Kucerová's outstanding championship performance — totaling 21 points — earned her Big South Freshman of the Year honors, marking the first Freshman of the Year honor since Natalie Pearson in 2007.

In one of the closest finishes of the meet, Shemarr Session captured silver in the men's 60m hurdles, finishing just .01 seconds behind first place while setting a personal-best time of 8.03.

Bennett Moreno battled through the field in the men's 800m final, outkicking the competition to earn bronze in a personal-best 1:53.46. His performance moves him to No. 3 on Asheville's all-time list.

POINT-SCORERS FOR ASHEVILLE

Nikole Baikova placed fourth in the women's 800m final with a time of 2:13.73, while Ella Warren added a point with an eighth-place finish in 2:19.09.

Stephen Pryor placed fifth overall in the men's heptathlon, scoring a school-record 4,640 points. His total surpassed the previous record by 159 points and moves him to No. 1 on Asheville's all-time list. Pryor's standout performance came in the 60m hurdles, where he placed second with a time of 8.48. He also tied for seventh in the high jump (1.86m) and finished seventh in the men's 60m hurdles final with a personal-best 8.47.

Noah Henthorn finished eighth in the heptathlon with 3,958 points, moving to No. 3 on the program's all-time list.

Jalice Payton placed fourth in the men's 400m final with a personal-best 48.94. He later joined Moreno, Jaheem O'Hara, and Braelin June on the 4x400m relay team, which placed fifth in 3:21.15.

Jan Málek finished fifth in a competitive men's mile final, crossing in 4:15.69, while Tadiyos Sloan-Westmoreland placed seventh in 4:19.26. Both returned for the men's 3,000m final, where Málek led the Bulldogs with a ninth-place finish in 8:39.55.

The women's 4x400m relay team of Francesca Cergol, Nikole Baikova, Zoe Bos, and Kieayla Williams placed fifth with a season-best time of 3:58.97.

Blake Hawks recorded a personal-best 13.98m to place seventh in the men's triple jump. Nkosi Jeju finished ninth with a mark of 13.59m.

DaMarr Harvey placed seventh in the men's 60m final (6.93), while Jeju finished eighth (6.96). On the women's side, Kieayla Williams took seventh in 7.80. Harvey also earned sixth in the men's 200m final (21.72), with Ty'vell Foskey placing eighth in 22.03.

Isabel Richardson joined Kucerová in the women's 3,000m final, finishing seventh in 10:14.40.

ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

Men – Lance Surles
Women – Isabel Richardson

UP NEXT

The championships conclude Asheville's indoor season. The Bulldogs will open the outdoor season on March 20 at the Big South Conference vs. Southern Conference Challenge.

Full results from the Big South Indoor Championships are available HERE.

To stay updated on all things Asheville track & field, follow the team on 𝕩.

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