CULLOWHEE, N.C. – For the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2018, Western Carolina University hosts the Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday at the newly resurfaced Catamount Athletic Complex.
Fans will not be allowed inside the facility during the championship event. Working with the SoCon and campus officials, that policy was reached following the guidelines from the state of North Carolina's Executive Order 204, which limits the capacity of venues with spectator stands at a sporting facility, stadium, sporting complex, or speedway, and viewing areas. Spectators were also not allowed at WCU's home meet earlier this month. However, portions of the meet on both Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Live results will be available via a link on CatamountSports.com as well as the championship page at SoConSports.com.
"We're very excited for the Southern Conference championships here in Cullowhee this weekend," said WCU head coach
Jesse Norman. "As we move into this weekend, we feel like our student-athletes are dialed-in and excited to be competing for a championship at home. The weather looks to be great and we expect a tough battle for both championships. The student-athletes know what we have to do to be in the running so we now just need to execute."
At the Catamount Classic on April 17-18, WCU tallied 10 event wins largely coming in field events. The Catamounts also recorded multiple season bests and personal bests.
Entering the weekend WCU student-athletes hold the top seasonal mark in the SoCon in the men's long jump (
Shon Pratcher), men's shot put (
Mac Bennett), and the women's 4x400-meter relay, with several others among the top-five in the conference.
With the 2020 SoCon Championships canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catamount men enter the weekend as the four-time defending champions after winning the 2019 championships hosted by Samford. Trailing after the first day, WCU used five event wins to score 186 points for the meet ahead of second-place Samford with 169 points. The WCU women's team earned three event wins and finished in third place. While all five of the men's individual champions have moved on from the program,
Makaila McIntyre returns as the defending champion in the women's long jump and triple jump while
Kellsie Whitehead is the reigning champion in the women's 400-meter dash.
Qualifiers for the NCAA East Preliminaries will be announced in the coming weeks. The meet is scheduled for May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount track & field and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts).
