Elon Track and Field Travels South for SoCon Championships

ELON, N.C. – After eight successful meets this indoor season, the Elon track and field and team will travel south to Birmingham, Ala., for the 2012 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships set for Thursday, Feb. 23 – Friday, Feb. 24.

The Phoenix claimed a program-best finish of fourth last year with a point total of 84. Elon walked away with one individual title (triple jump), eight All-SoCon performances and seven SoCon all-freshman performances. Elon returns six of those performers to the championships this year, including Bria Bell, Veronica Luedke, Allyson Oram, Amy Salek, Julie Hart and Charlise Morgan.

Over the course of the indoor season, the Phoenix has made 19 additions to the all-time indoor top-five performance list, while also breaking or matching five school records in the 60m (Dana Cataldo), 200m (Bell), 5,000m (Oram), high jump (Louise Prevoteau) and weight throw (Alyssa Girvin).

Expect strong showings for the Phoenix in the sprint events. Salek has claimed one title in the 400m this season and recorded the best time in the conference of 55.14, while holding the fourth-best time in the 200m of 25.24. Bell ranks second in the 200m with an Elon record of 24.99 and is fourth in the 400m (56.90). Cataldo matched the school record 7.88 in the 60m and is seventh in the conference in the event. She also ranks in the top 10 in the 200m. In the 60m-hurdles, Luedke has recorded four top-10 finishes over the course of the season owns the ninth-best time in the conference of 9.13.

Last season, Elon’s 4×400-meter relay team claimed second at the championships with a time of 3:50.41. Three of the four members of that team, Bell, Luedke and Salek, return to comprise the 2012 team, along with freshman Abigail Steinsiek. The quad has claimed two first-place finishes in the event and ranks third in the conference with a time of 3:53.05.

Allyson Oram has led the pack of distance runners for the Phoenix after collecting titles in the one-mile, 3,000m and 5,000m this season. On Feb. 11, the sophomore set a new school record of 17:35.32 in the 5,000m, which is this season’s fourth-best conference time. Oram also ranks in the top 10 in the one-mile run with a time of 5:03.22. Morgan Denecke and Haylee Dawe add depth to the 3,000m and 5,000m for the maroon and gold. The pair ranks sixth and eighth in the conference with times of 17:40.94 and 17:54.11, respectively.

In her first semester at Elon, freshman Louise Prevoteau has made a big impact setting the school record in the high jump (5’5.75”) and the fifth-best distance of 17’8.25” in the long jump. Both marks rank her in the top five in the conference in the events. Jordan Lee and Haley Laird have both posted heights of 5’5” in the high jump and are tied for fifth in the conference rankings. Janelle McNeil and Luedke rank fourth and fifth in the triple jump with leaps of 35’11.5” and 35’10” and look to keep the SoCon title at Elon after Veronica Day won the event last year.

Senior Alyssa Girvin set a new Elon record in the weight throw on Feb. 4 with a toss of 48’8.25”, which ranks her eighth in the conference. Morgan ranks sixth in the shot put with a mark of 42’.75” and can also make an impact in the weight throw.

The championships will take place at the Birmingham Crossplex and is free to the public. This marks the 24th year of the SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships for the women.