Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina track and field teams return to action after a week away from competition as the Catamounts travel to the Piedmont Triad to compete in the High Point-hosted VertKlasse Meeting at HPU's Vert Stadium.
The two-day meet begins on Thursday with the first event scheduled for 10 a.m., and runs through 5:20 p.m. on Friday. Both days are scheduled to have ESPN+ (paid subscription required) coverage, with live results available through Flash Results website.
A combined 46 teams are scheduled to be at the meet, including four from the Southern Conference – WCU, ETSU, UNCG, and Wofford.
VertKlasse Meeting:
Teams (46): Akron, Campbell, Carolina University, Charleston Southern, Charlotte, Coker, Davidson, Eastern Mennonite, East Carolina, Elon, ETSU, Fayetteville State, Ferrum, Guilford, Gardner-Webb, High Point, James Madison, King, Lees-McRae, Lenoir-Rhyne, Louisburg College, Lynchburg, Malone, Meredith, Methodist, Montreat, Mount Olive, NC Central, Ohio State, UNC Pembroke, Pfeiffer, Queens, Randolph, Roanoke, Columbia, Shaw, Sweet Briar, North Carolina, UNCG, UNCW, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina, Wingate, Winthrop, Winston-Salem State, and Wofford
Live Results: https://tinyurl.com/22y5vj4
Watch Day One (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/yzyvzea3
Watch Day Two (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/5fn5dcth
Catamounts to Watch:
The Catamounts currently lead the Southern Conference in seven individual events and will participate in all seven in High Point. Individually, Painter Richards-Baker (110H), Austin Cline (hammer throw), Ericka Jackson (javelin), and Anthony Hawkins Jr. (discus) lead the conference in their respective events. The Catamounts also hold the top mark in the women's 4x100m and in both men's and women's 4x400m relays.
Hawkins Jr. and Lexie Durban will be the busiest Catamounts throughout the two days of competition, currently entered in four events. The duo is set to compete in their respective shot put, discus, hammer throw, and javelin throws.
Celia Gully, Emmie Finley, and Dominick Dale are close behind as they are set to compete in three events each. Gully will see action in both horizontal jumps – long and triple – and the 100m hurdles, with Finley scheduled to compete in the shot put, hammer throw, and javelin. Dale will see a similar slate as Finley, but will compete in the discus as opposed to the shot put.
Last year, the Catamounts posted seven top-five finishes on the opening day in the High Point meet.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
The Catamount squad splits next week, taking part in the Duke Invitational and the Lenoir-Rhyne-hosted Southside Power & Fitness Invitational through April 9-11. WCU then has a bit of time away from competition before hosting the annual Catamount Classic (April 25-26) and the 2026 Southern Conference Championships (May 11-12) at the Catamount Athletics Complex.
