UNCG Track & Field Set for SoCon Outdoor Championship
Meet: Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships
When: Monday, May 8 – Tuesday, May 9
Start time: Monday (track events) – 4 p.m. | Tuesday (track events) – 4 p.m.
Where: Cullowhee, N.C.
Stadium: Catamount Athletic Complex
Video (ESPN+ on Day 2, 4 p.m.)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s and women’s track & field teams begin their postseason schedule as they compete in the 2023 Southern Conference (SoCon) Outdoor Track & Field Championships from Monday, May 8 to Tuesday, May 9.
The Championship will be held at the Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, North Carolina, hosted by Western Carolina. Day two of the championships will be streamed on ESPN+..
Meet/Facility History
Last year, the championships were contested at the Shauna Yelton Field at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, hosted by Samford.
Western Carolina will be hosting the championships for the first time since 2021 and seventh time overall.
This year marks the 98th championship for the men and the 36th for the women.
Record Book
Monday’s schedule gets under way with the start of the decathlon at 12 p.m., followed by the start of the pentathlon at 12:15. The women’s hammer throw final gets the field events started at 12:30 p.m., with the first track event, the preliminaries of the women’s 1,500-meter run, slated to begin at 4 p.m. In all, 12 champions will be crowned on the first day of competition – four on the track and eight in field events.
Tuesday’s schedule opens with resumption of the decathlon at 12 p.m., with the heptathlon resuming at 12:15. Field events begin with the women’s shot put and men’s discus finals at 2:15 p.m. and the women’s 4×100-meter relay gets the track events started at 4 p.m. The day concludes with the women’s and men’s 4×400-meter relays at 7:25 and 7:35, respectively, followed by the awards ceremony. Thirty events will crown champions on the final day of the meet.
Spartans at the Starting Line – Aggie Classic (subject to change)
1500m – Victoria Sosa
1500m – Joe Thoma, Lane Prochaska
800m – Reagan O’Quinn, Chandler McCaslin, Laila Burk
800m – Andrew Hamilton, Jonathan Kennedy
200m – Elijah Jones
10,000m – Dylan Christopher, Ethan Long
5000m – Chandler McCaslin
5000m – Dylan Christopher, Joe Thoma, Evan Pena
Last Time Out
Christopher competed in the Wake Forest Invitational, where he placed fourth out of 12 competitors in the 10,000-meter run. He is just the second Spartan to run the 10,000-meter run in under 30 minutes.
The Spartans also had 17 personal bests at the Aggie Classic.
At the Aggie Classic, the women had three top-five performances, while the men had four.
How the women line up
McCaslin’s time of 2:15.80 in the 800-meter this season at the Aggie Classic is 10th on the SoCon Performance List. She will also be competing in the 5000-meter run.
O’Quinn follows her with a time of 2:17.08, good for 11th, while Burk is 18th overall with a time of 2:20.53 in 18th place.
How the men line up
Jones’ 200-meter time of 22.99 from the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic sits 22nd overall on the SoCon Performance list.
Hamilton & Kennedy will be competing in the 800-meter run with their times that are 13th and 14th, respectively.
Thoma’s converted time of 3:47.69 in the 1500-meter run is second overall from the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic.
Christopher, Thoma, and Pena are in the top 10 of the SoCon Performance List in the 5000-meter run.
Christopher will be doubling as he looks to defend his 10,000-meter run title from last outdoor championships. His current time is second on the SoCon Performance List.
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro