Lexington, Va. – Western Carolina men's track and field closed Friday's opening day at the 2025 Southern Conference Indoor Championships in second place with 44 points, while the women's team is third with 37 points after a strong opening to the championship meet at VMI's Corps Physical Training Facility.
While the Catamounts were held off the top spot on the podium on day one, WCU did claim six medals, all of which came in the field events.
Junior Nathan Williams led the Catamount men's squad in the long jump and freshman Kolton Weaver in the shot put as the two earned second-place finishes and silver medals in their respective events. Weaver's toss of 15.63 meters earned him his first collegiate medal, while the 6.69-meter leap by Williams landed him in second. Williams was followed by Kwan Oates, who took third with a 6.64m mark, followed by Damon Worley, Cameron Pompey, and Elijah Cochran as the Catamounts claimed second through fifth and added a score in 8th in the long jump event for 24 total points.
The women's team was led by Lexie Durban, who took silver in the shot put, and Kendal Hudson who finished third in the long jump. Durban was joined on the podium by Ericka Jackson as the Catamount duo took second and third in the shot put with tosses of 12.67m and 12.54m, respectively. Fellow freshman Emmie Finley finished sixth with a mark of 11.88m.
Hudson took third in the long jump with a leap of 5.65m and was followed by Jasmine Greene and Octavia Massenam, who finished sixth and eighth with 5.50m and 5.48m leaps, respectively.
Action concludes and champions will be crowned tomorrow with the Catamounts primed for a strong finish on the track. WCU has 19 finals qualifications heading into the final day of competition. Among those qualifiers are freshman Ethan Long who finished first in the men's 200-meter dash prelims with a time of 21.48. Damon Worley, who just missed the podium in the long jump, leads the men's heptathlon with 2,804 total points. Shaneil Lysight took fifth in the women's 60m hurdles prelims with a personal best 8.73s finish enters Saturday's finals.
Catamount All-Freshman Teams:
Men's shot put:
Kolton Weaver
Men's Long Jump:
Kwan Oates
Elijah Cochran
Women's Long Jump:
Octavia Massena
Women's Shot Put:
Lexi Durban
Emmie Finley
