WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Trojans closed out indoor season at the South Atlantic Conference Championships this weekend, finishing fourth on the men's side with 73 total team points and sixth on the women's with 48.
The meet started Saturday morning with the multi-event athletes. Competing for the Trojans were sophomore Ally Macurda (Charlotte, N.C.) in the pentathlon on the women's side and junior Tyler Farris (Dacula, Ga.) and sophomores David Brown (Menomonie, Wis.) and Jordan Gross (Chester, Va.) in the men's heptathlon.
All four athletes opened the meet with personal bests, as Macurda posted a 9.90s 60m hurdles race, while Gross, Farris and Brown ran 7.22, 7.39 and 7.44s 60m dashes, respectively. Macurda would then go on to PR in the 800m (2:36) to combine for 2879 points. The personal best score was good for 7th place, earning two points for the Black and Gold.
In the heptathlon, Brown followed his 60m performance with three more PR's--shot put, 60m hurdles and 1000m--to combine for 4322 points. His score broke the school record and earned him a spot on the podium with a bronze medal. Farris followed closely behind in 4th place, matching his own previous school record with 4283 points.
Competing as a heptathlete for the first time, Gross boasted PR marks in 6 of 7 events, finishing 2nd in the 60m, 2nd in the high jump and 3rd in the long jump events to combine for 4118 points and a 6th-place finish.
Day 1 of competition saw three gold medals for the Black and Gold, including the men's distance medley relay team made up of Sean McAdams (Greenville, S.C.), Ian Macurda (Charlotte, N.C.), Noah Stump (Easley, S.C.) and Joey Tindale (Rock Hill, S.C.). The squad posted a SAC meet record time of 10:16 to win the event by three seconds.
Also winning gold for the Trojans were Rylie Jenkins (Loranger, La.) and Farris who each topped the pole vault competition. Farris cleared the 4.56m bar to outdo his own school record and win the event. He was joined on the podium by Will O'Cain (Columbia, S.C.) who finished 3rd. Lambdin Hardy (Commerce, Ga.) and Brown also scored points for the Trojans in men's PV, finishing 4th and 5th respectively. Jenkins' 3.42m jump won the event on the women's side. She was joined by Kirsten Leonard (Hoover, Ala.), Avery Marshall (York, S.C.) and Jorja Fox (Easley, S.C.) who claimed 4th, 5th, and 6th. Altogether, the Trojans picked up 47 points in pole vault.
AU also earned spots on the podium in the 5000m race, with Elliot Dotson (Greenville, S.C.) finishing 2nd on the men's side with a time of 14:23 and Kennedy Roush (Greenville, S.C.) claiming 3rd with a time of 17:45.
Spain Vaughan (Greer, S.C.) and Sarah Wimpee (Summerville, S.C.) both finished just shy of the podium in the men's 5000m and women's weight throw respectively, coming in 4th place to claim five points for the Trojans.
Dotson finished 6th in the 3000m for three more Trojan points, along with the men's 4x400 and women's DMR teams who also garnered three points. Roush finished 7th in the 3000m to claim two points on the women's side.
In prelims, Lacey Boozer (Simpsonville, S.C.) broke her own school record in the 400m, running a national provisional qualifying time of 57:27 for the day's best preliminary time. Mackenzie Moretina (Kansas City, Mo.) also broke a program record, qualifying for the 60m hurdles finals with a time of 8.96s. Emma Whitaker (Inman, S.C.) and Tindale each qualified for the 800m finals. Whitaker recorded the best qualifying time at 2:18, while Tindale posted the third-fastest prelim time at 1:55.
In the finals on Day 2, Boozer picked up five points with a 57.75 4th-place finish, Tindale earned three points with a PR 1:53 6th-place finish, Whitaker claimed two points with a 2:19 7th-place finish and Moretina grabbed one point with an 8.99 8th-place finish.
The men's team picked up one point in both the long jump and high jump events.
A full list of all event results can be found here.
Anderson takes a three-week break before kicking off outdoor season in Charlotte at the 49er Classic March 21-22.
