Birmingham, Ala. -- The Western Carolina track and field teams are primed for an exciting finish at the 2024 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships following all-conference marks by Jackson Livingston and Noah Straley, as well as 20 qualifying performances on the track by the Catamounts. In addition, nine Catamounts earned all-freshman honors on the first day of competition.  
 
Jackson Livingston led the Purple & Gold with the highest WCU finish on the first day of the conference meet, claiming second place in the men's javelin throw. Livingston earned the sole silver medal of the day for the Catamounts with an incredible throw of 62.30 meters on his second attempt. Before his silver medal throw, Livingston had never cleared the 60-meter mark in the event with his previous best attempt being a 59-meter toss during the outdoor championships last season. Already sitting in second place on WCU's all-time outdoor performance list in the event, Livingston narrowed the gap between himself and WCU javelin record holder Matt Evans. Evans and Livingston are the only Catamounts to have a 60+ meter throw in their collegiate careers.  
 
Noah Straley took the only other medal on the day for the Catamounts, finishing in third place in the men's long jump with a leap of 6.88 meters. Straley logged his top distance on only his second jump of the day, eventually clearing 6.80 meters on three of his five attempts. The bronze medal finish is the first medal of Straley's career after he finished just off the podium in the long jump at the SoCon Indoor Championships earlier this year.  
 
Below is a full list of the Catamount qualifiers for the finals, the day one all-freshman team honor recipients, and the overall conference standings heading into the final day of competition.
 
Final Qualifiers 
Teddy Ayden – 4th, 10.70s - 100m 
Quinton Godfrey – 9th, 10.91s - 100m 
Armani Blair – 5th, 11.96s - 100m 
Cymoria Thomas – 8th, 12.04s - 100m 
Shaneil Lysight – 3rd, 14.24s - 100H 
Imani Boyd – 7th, 14.72s - 100H 
Quinton Godfrey – 7th, 21.32s - 200m 
Nytrinitey Jenkins – 5th, 24.78s - 200m 
Cymoria Thomas – 9th, 25.12s - 200m 
Quinton Godfrey – 6th, 49.09s - 400m 
Elias Barton – 7th, 49.18s - 400m 
Nytrinitey Jenkins – 3rd, 57.88s - 400m 
Mikayla Turner – 5th, 58.10s - 400m 
Kyndal Saunders – 6th, 58.81s - 400m 
Leah Butler – 8th, 58.96s - 400m 
Jalen Elwell – 3rd, 1:52.95 - 800m 
John Davis – 6th, 1:53.18 - 800m 
Henry Stecher – 7th, 1:53.03 - 800m 
Lauren Esselborn – 8th, 2:17.49 - 800m 
 
 
SoCon All-Freshman Honors 
Austin Ramirez – Men's Hammer 
David Dorbin – Men's Long Jump 
Lawson Mecom – Men's 3000m Steeplechase 
Hailee Jackson-Morgan – Women's Hammer 
Heidi Hudson – Women's Long Jump 
Bella Hilleary  - Women's Pole Vault 
Peyton Skoglund – Women's 3000m Steeplechase 
Katherine Hopkins – Women's 10000m 
 
Day One Standings 
Men's results – Day 1 
1 - VMI – 56 points 
2 - Furman – 48 
3 - Western Carolina – 42
    Samford – 42   
5 - ETSU – 16 
6 - The Citadel – 15 
7 - UNCG – 6 
8 - Wofford - 3 
  
Women's results – Day 1 
1 - Samford – 79.5 points 
2 - The Citadel – 31 
3 - ETSU – 30 
4 - Furman – 28 
5 - Mercer – 24 
6 - Wofford – 18 
7 - VMI – 12 
8 - Western Carolina – 9.5 
9 - UNCG – 2 
10 - Chattanooga - 0