LEXINGTON, Va. – The Western Carolina indoor track & field teams concluded the 2021 SoCon Indoor Championships on Sunday with one individual event win and a school record. The men's team finished in second place for the second straight season while the women's team came home fifth overall.

"We did a heck of a job this weekend with our performances," head coach Jesse Norman stated. "How we were ranked coming into the meet wasn't great but we fought hard. Now we'll go back to work and do better come outdoor season."

Junior Kate Mattison set a school record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:28.80. Mattison surpassed the previous school benchmark of 17:32.86 set by Jenny Warfford in 1999.

Junior Victoria Solheim picked up her second SoCon championship in three years with a win in the women's weight throw. Solheim bested the field with a distance of 17.25 meters (56'7.25"). Senior Lesleigh Tabor gave the Catamounts a 1-2 podium finish in the event with her top mark of 16.55 meters (54'3.75").

Senior Makaila McIntyre placed third in the triple jump with her leap of 11.93 meters (39'1.75"). Freshman Omare McBride earned a fourth-place finish with her top distance of 11.84 meters (38'10.25"). McIntyre also finished fourth in the 60-meter dash as she tied a personal best time of 7.70. Freshman Dami Shodeinde finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.83.

The women's team closed out the meet with a fifth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. Senior Dominiq Delisser, sophomore Mekyll Robinson, junior Marissa Blakely, and McIntyre completed the race with a finishing time of 3:53.48.

On the men's side, senior Jay Stanley posted his second top-three finish of the meet with a runner-up showing in the weight throw. Stanley set a new personal best distance of 17.06 meters (55'11.75").

In the men's triple jump, Shon Pratcher finished fourth with a leap of 13.80 meters (43'3.5") with sophomore Tyler Rodriguez placing fifth thanks to a mark of 13.72 meters (45'0.25"). Junior Brandon Harvey scored a fifth-place result in the high jump after he cleared a height of 1.90 meters (6'2.75").

Sophomore David Miles finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.81. Senior Shon Pratcher finished fourth in the event with an indoor personal best time of 22.08 followed by classmate Tyler Manigault in fifth at 22.29, also an indoor personal best. Sophomore Zae Smith finished fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.73 and junior Kaleb Ambrose finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.34. Miles, Kevin Haley, Jr., Manigault, and Smith teamed up to finish fifth in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:21.81 to conclude events on the track.

WCU opens the outdoor season in mid-March. Stay tuned to catamountsports.com for full schedule details.

Men's results – Final
1. Samford – 191 points
2. Western Carolina – 129
3. Furman – 118
4. VMI – 66
5. Wofford – 55
6. ETSU – 51.5
7. The Citadel – 45.5
8. UNCG – 7
 
Women's results – Final
1. Samford – 155.5 points
2. Wofford – 131
3. ETSU – 125.5
4. Furman – 102
5. Western Carolina – 94
6. VMI – 36
7. Chattanooga – 12
8. The Citadel – 6
9. UNCG – 1


Day 2 champions
Men: Triple jump Keyandre Midgett, VMI (14.53 meters); mile Cameron Ponder, Furman (4:02.62*); 60-meter hurdles Titus Moore, Samford (7.93); 60-meter dash Evan Brooks, Samford (6.80); heptathlon Ty Kimberlin, Samford (5,203 points*); 400-meter dash Michael McMahan, Samford (48.68); 800-meter run José Peñalver, Samford (1:49.77*) weight throw Matt Cahoon, Samford (17.30 meters); high jump Justin Stuckey, Samford (2.17 meters); 200-meter dash Evan Brooks, Samford (21.50); 5,000-meter run Adam Beucler, Furman (14:20.86); 4x400-meter relay Jonathan Gray, Trent Whittaker, Jordin Poindexter, Johnnie Walker, VMI (3:19.18).
 
Women: weight throw Victoria Solheim, Western Carolina (17.25 meters); mile Genevieve Schwarz, ETSU (5:01.46); 60-meter hurdles Kerrington Johnson, Wofford (8.49); 60-meter dash Nicole Johnson, ETSU (7.43); 400-meter dash Ariana Ruffin, VMI (56.74); 800-meter run Megan Marvin, Furman (2:07.72); 200-meter dash Nicole Johnson, ETSU (24.37); triple jump Morayo Bhadmos, Samford (12.57 meters); pole vault Brittany Bishop, Samford (3.80 meters); 5,000-meter run Madelynne Cadeau, Furman (16:32.11); 4x400-meter relay Hannah Lueders, Kaitlyn Cole, Katie Strozier, Amanda Dumar, Samford (3:52.44).