GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The Tusculum University men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams will compete at the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Wednesday and Thursday, April 29-30 at the Food City Sports Complex in Emory, Va.
The Tusculum women finished second at the SAC Indoor Championship in March while the men were eighth out of 12 teams. At last year’s SAC Outdoor Championship, Tusculum’s women had a third-place finish while the men took 10th.
A total of 21 men’s and women’s events will be contested during the two-day meet, with the Pioneer men entered in 12 events and the women in 11 events.
WOMEN’S PREVIEW
The Pioneers are the top seed in five events, with senior Jahzara Hart holding the top times in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. Hart is currently ranked number one in Division II in the 100 meters with a time of 11.11 seconds and is ninth in the 200 meters at 23.48 seconds, both set at the Aggie Invitational on April 18. She swept both the 60 meters and 200 meters at the SAC Indoor Championship, and was runner-up in both the 100 and 200 at last year’s SAC Outdoor Championship.
Sophomore Qitarah Castlin is seeded second in both the 100 and 200, with a time of 11.41 seconds in the 100 at the Aggie Invitational that is eighth in Division II, and a time of 23.61 seconds set April 10 at the Tennessee Invite that is ranked 12th in Division II in the 200 meters. Senior Shanice Cox is seeded third in both the 100 meters (11.60 seconds) and 200 meters (23.96 seconds).
Sophomore Kori Moore is the top seed in the 100 hurdles, having run 13.48 seconds at the Aggie Invitational to rank fifth in Division II. She is also seeded second in the 400 hurdles at 58.94 seconds, with junior Kialia Claiborne ranked fourth in the 400 hurdles (1:00.65), fifth in the 100 hurdles (14.33 seconds) and ninth in the 100 meters (12.19 seconds). Junior Alonda Shelton is entered in the 100 meters (12.35 seconds) and the 200 meters (25.13 seconds).
Tusculum is the top seed in both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays, with the Pioneers currently owning the top time in Division II at 43.97 seconds in the 4×100 meters set at the Aggie Invitational. The Pioneer 4×400 relay is currently ranked 13th nationally with a time of 3:41.78.
In the 800 meters, senior Jesica Mbhamali is entered with a school-record time of 2:20.46 set at the Tennessee Invite, along with freshman Hannah McLain with a time of 2:21.85.
In field events, junior Kieley Smith is seeded seventh in the high jump at 1.50 meters and will also compete in the long jump along with sophomore Agustina Dittrich, who is also entered in the javelin. Smith will also be one of 12 competitors in the two-day, seven-event heptathlon.
MEN’S PREVIEW
The Pioneers will be well-represented in the hurdles, led by freshman Ivan Garcia Rubio who posted a school record of 14.77 seconds in the 110 hurdles at the Aggie Invitational and is seeded fifth, joined by sophomore Justin Williams (15.41 seconds) and grad student Jamal Cash (15.53 seconds). In the 400 hurdles, the Pioneers have five entries in the top 10 with freshman Tomas Figueiras seeded third at 54.90 seconds, followed by Garcia Rubio in fourth at 55.07 seconds and junior Nour Nabi in seventh at 56.01 seconds. Sophomore John Ross is seeded eighth at 56.09 seconds, and Cash is ninth at 56.10 seconds for the Pioneers.
Junior Chazz Alexander is ranked second in the 400 meters with a school-record time of 47.00 seconds set at the Electric City Invitational on April 4. Sophomore Tinotenda Musariri is seeded sixth in the 100 meters at 10.48 seconds and eighth in the 200 meters at 21.47 seconds, and junior Lansford Cunningham will run in both the 100 and 200 meters for the Pioneers, with times of 10.85 seconds in the 100 and 21.74 seconds in the 200 meters. Alexander will also run in the 200 meters, having posted a qualifying time of 21.69 seconds, and he will be joined in the 400 meters by freshman Lamarkus Dunn (48.13 seconds) and junior Marshae McDonald (50.79 seconds).
Freshman Tomas Ribeiro, who ran 1:52.86 in the 800 meters at the Aggie Invitational, is seeded 10th in the event with sophomore Levi Carson entered with a time of 2:01.13. Freshman Albert Ziegler will run in the 1500 meters with a qualifying time of 4:01.18 at the Tennessee Invite.
Both Pioneer relays are seeded second in the meet, with the 4×100 posting a time of 40.42 seconds and the 4×400 earning a school-record time of 3:10.72, both at the Aggie Invitational.
In field events, Cunningham is seeded third in the long jump after qualifying for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championship in the event. He broke his own school record at the Catamount Classic with a jump of 7.33 meters. Figueiras is also entered in the long jump for the Pioneers, with junior Noah Girard seeded fourth in the javelin with a top throw of 53.43 meters.
Both Nabi and Williams will be among nine competitors in the decathlon, with Williams seeded fourth with a score of 5,404 points and Nabi in fifth at 5,099 points.
