Cullowhee, N.C. – The Catamount track and field teams head back to Virginia this weekend, entering the VMI Winter Relays hosted by the Southern Conference foe Keydets at the Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington. The Friday-Saturday meet marks WCU's third consecutive weekend of competition, two contested in Virginia.
A total of 16 teams across all levels of collegiate competition are expected to see action in Lexington, though the Catamounts will be one of only four NCAA Division I teams competing. WCU is joined by meet host and fellow SoCon representative VMI, with Radford and Saint Francis rounding out the quartet.
Western Carolina is expected to enter 39 student-athletes that will get an initial lay of the land at VMI's Corps Physical Training Facility before the 2025 SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held at the same venue at the end of February.
Events start at 10 a.m. on Friday as the women's pentathlon opens with the 60-meter hurdles. Field events begin at 2 p.m. with the men's shot put and long jump, as well as the women's pole vault. Track events won't start until 3 p.m. with the men's 60-meter dash preliminary rounds.
Most of the weekend's action is scheduled for Saturday as the men's heptathlon wraps up its three final events, beginning with the 60m hurdles at 9 a.m. Both track and field events begin at 10 a.m. as the men's mile run, high jump, triple jump, and weight throw all start simultaneously. Women's events begin at 10:25 a.m. with the mile on the track before the women's triple jump and weight throw get started after the men's portion of the respective events.
Friday and Saturday's Meet
VMI Winter Relays | (Fri.) 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | (Sat.) 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Live Results: https://tinyurl.com/8b2ujaf7
Teams (16): Carson-Newman, District of Columbia, Lees-Mcrae, Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial, Mary Baldwin, Milligan, North Carolina Wesleyan, Radford, Saint Francis, Southern Virginia, Tusculum, UNC Pembroke, VMI, Washington and Lee, Western Carolina
Catamounts to Watch:
Nearly the entirety of the Catamount cross-country squad will be in action this weekend as John Davis and Katherine Hopkins look to lead their respective teams through a handful of distance events in Lexington. Davis is slated to see action in the mile, as well as the 800-meter while Hopkins will make her indoor season debut in the women's 3,000-meter along with Riley McKinney. Additionally, Will Mitchell, Justin Hayes, and Noah Luke are scheduled to run in the men's 3,000m, while Grace Lane and Hannah Kliner will take on the women's mile.
The Catamount youngsters will see plenty of action in the sprints with 10 WCU underclassmen entered in the 60m, 200m, and 400m dashes. The only upperclassmen currently scheduled to compete are juniors Noah Straley and Langston McCovery. The latter is slated to compete in both the 200m and 400m races, while Straley will see action in the 200m and the long jump.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU takes a week off before sprinting to the finish of the 2025 indoor season with the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational in Lynchburg, Va. on Feb. 14-15. The Catamounts then return to Lexington to compete in the 2025 Southern Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 through March 1.
