Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina track and field competes in its lone home outdoor meet of the 2025 regular season this weekend, hosting the annual Catamount Classic, presented by The Everson, on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. Events begin at 1 p.m. on Friday and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Friday's action will be livestreamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) beginning at 4 p.m., recapping much of the early-afternoon action before on-track events begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Eleven teams are set to compete at the Catamount Athletic Complex this weekend, with three Southern Conference teams sharing the track with the Catamounts, including ETSU, Wofford – who is led by former Catamount track star Johnny Bomar – and VMI. Other entrants are from Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw State, Mars Hill, Tennessee Tech, UNC Asheville, West Georgia, and the University of Tennessee Club track squad.
A combined 80 WCU student-athletes are expected to see action this weekend for a final tune-up before the 2025 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field championships.
The Catamounts will honor sixteen seniors before Saturday's events as Elias Barton, Armani Blair, Imani Boyd, Alesea Caldwell, John Davis, Madelynn Duffield, Quinton Godfrey, Sara Klemm, CJ McFerrin, Will Mitchell, Cameron Pompey, Henry Stecher, Jennifer Wagner, Damon Worley, and Drew Zink reach the end of their undergraduate careers in Cullowhee.
Friday and Saturday's Meet:
Catamount Classic | (Fri.) 1 p.m. - 7:40 p.m. | (Sat.) 11:30 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
Watch Day One (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/msrnwkvx *beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Live Results: https://tinyurl.com/4jvnhn94
Catamounts to Watch:
Western Carolina's sprint squads remain one of the top units in the Southern Conference, with at least one entry in the top-ten performance list in every event through the 400-meter. Outstanding freshman Ethan Long leads the conference in the 200m and is second in the 100m by only .03s. Senior CJ McFerrin is a close second in the conference in the 110m hurdles and has been within striking distance of the school record in the event this season.
The WCU women's 4x400m relay team has the best time in the conference by a full second as the quartet of Shaneil Lysight, Cymoria Thomas, Leah Butler, and Aniya Patterson posted a 3:52.01 finish at the VertKlasse Meeting earlier this month.
The Catamount throws squads have benefited from an infusion of youth outside the consistent contributions of Jackson Livingston and Toria Roundtree, who sit third and second in the men's javelin and women's discus, respectively. Freshmen or sophomores lead the Catamounts in six of the throws events, with Austin Cline and Lexie Durban representing their respective teams the most.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
Following the two-day home outdoor meet, WCU has a week off from competition before heading to Alabama for the 2025 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which run from May 12-13 in Birmingham, hosted by Samford.
The NCAA East Prelims are scheduled to begin on May 28-30 in Jacksonville, Florida as the Catamounts jockey for positioning with other teams and athletes from the region.
