Asheville, N.C. – Neither rain nor wind nor unseasonably cool temperatures could keep the Western Carolina track and field teams from putting on a show Friday on the first day of the UNC Asheville Invitational. The Catamounts earned three event wins thanks to the efforts from CJ McFerrin, Peyton Skoglund, and Katherine Hopkins while collecting a combined 15 top-five finishes despite dreary conditions throughout the day at UNCA's Karl Straus Track.
The WCU men's squad was again led by McFerrin, who continues to contribute heroic efforts in the 110-meter hurdles. The senior won the event Friday in Asheville thanks to an explosive 14.29 effort, nearly a full quarter of a second faster than second-place finisher Shemarr Session of the homestanding Bulldogs. Freshman Jaylen Morrow earned a top-five finish in the event as well with a time of 15.54.
Peyton Skoglund paced the Catamount women's team thanks to a tremendous 11:22.65 finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She now ranks fourth in the event in the WCU record books after jumping just ahead of Aleshia Reese's 11:26.13 finish in 2013.
Katherine Hopkins earned her first career event win in the 5,000-meter run towards the end of the night, climbing seven spots in the final 800 meters to secure the win. Hannah Kliner picked up a top-five finish in the event with an 18:29.06 finish, while Jessica Connole finished just outside in seventh place.
The Catamounts also recorded a pair of second-place finishes on the day courtesy of Imani Boyd in the 100m hurdles and freshman phenom Ethan Long in the 100m sprint. Boyd set a season-best mark by clocking in at 14.13, just .03s ahead of third-place finisher, teammate Shaneil Lysight. Long took second place by just .003 seconds, finishing in 10.508 and behind the 10.505 mark from Caleb Yeary of UVa-Wise.
Events in Asheville resume on Saturday at 9 a.m. with the women's discus. Track events begin at 1:40 p.m. with the women's 4x100m relay.
Catamount Top Five Finishes:
Men 100m – Ethan Long | 10.508s (2nd)
Women 100m Hurdles – Imani Boyd | 14.13s (2nd)
Women 100m Hurdles – Shaneil Lysight | 14.16s (3rd)
Men 110m Hurdles – CJ McFerrin | 14.29s (1st)
Men 110m Hurdles – Jaylen Morrow | 15.54s (5th)
Men 3000m Steeple – Will Mitchel | 9:34.90 (3rd)
Women 3000m Steeple – Peyton Skoglund | 11:22.65 (1st)
Women Long Jump – Jasmine Greene | 5.39m (4th)
Women Shot Put – Lexi Durban | 11.90m (5th)
Women 5000m - Katherine Hopkins | 17:50.35 (1st)
Women 5000m – Hannah Kliner | 18:29.06 (5th)
Men 5000m – Justin Hayes | 15:25.02 (3rd)
Men Shot Put – Austin Cline | 14.92m (4th)
Men Pole Vault – Colby Capps | 4.15m (4th)
Men Pole Vault – Bennett Whitefield | 3.45m (5th)
