EMORY, Va. — Tusculum University senior sprinter Jahzara Hart was honored as the Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet and head coach Robert Williams received his second straight Women’s Coach of the Year Award as the Pioneers competed at the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship at the Food City Sports Complex, hosted by Emory & Henry University.
Hart won gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100-meter relay for the Pioneer women, while Williams coached his team to a top-four finish for the second straight season despite having just 10 athletes compete in the meet, the fewest among all women’s teams at the championship. Five of those Tusculum competitors accounted for 84 of the Pioneers’ 89 points in the meet.
Hart is the third Tusculum runner to earn SAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Meet honors, joining Nicole McMillen (women, 2019) and Isaiah Olson (men, 2024). The Pioneers also finished off a season sweep of the award, after sophomore Kori Moore took the honor at the SAC Indoor Championship.
The Tusculum men finished sixth on Thursday and had five medal-winning performances on the final day of the meet, including a pair of silvers for junior Chazz Alexander in the 400 meters and the 4×400-meter relay.
WOMEN’S RECAP
After not scoring any points on Wednesday’s opening day, the Pioneers got on the board in the first track event on Thursday as the 4×100-meter relay of sophomore Qitarah Castlin, senior Shanice Cox, Moore and Hart took gold with a time of 44.55 seconds. Moore would add a second gold in the 100 hurdles at 13.54 seconds, with junior Kialia Claiborne taking bronze with a season-best time of 13.86 seconds.
In the 100 meters, the Pioneers swept the podium as Hart took first at 11.60 seconds, followed by Castlin at 11.66 seconds and Cox in 11.83 seconds. The trio tried to duplicate the feat in the 200 meters, with Hart (23.60) and Castlin (23.84) going one-two but Cox hobbled to the line in 28.17 seconds for eighth place. Moore grabbed her third medal of the day in the 400 hurdles, placing third in 1:00.84 with Claiborne taking fourth place in 1:01.00.
Entering the final event, the 4×400 relay, the Pioneers were tied with Lenoir-Rhyne for third place in the team standings with 85 points with Carson-Newman just behind with 83 points. Tusculum was two steps behind Lenoir-Rhyne at the final exchange when a Bears runner who had completed her handoff stepped into the path of Moore just after she received the baton from Claiborne. Despite the obvious jostle, no flags were displayed by the officials and Lenoir-Rhyne went on to take third in the event and clinch third in the final standings ahead of the Pioneers, who fell to fifth in the race at 3:50.25.
Junior Kieley Smith finished fourth in the heptathlon for the Pioneers, amassing 3,994 points over the seven events. Her best event on Thursday was the 800 meters, in which she ran 2:41.12 to earn 560 points toward her score.
Wingate won the team championship with 216 points, with Catawba in second with 142 points and Lenoir-Rhyne third at 91 points, followed by the Pioneers with 89 points and Carson-Newman in fifth at 88 points.
MEN’S RECAP
Alexander finished second in the 400 meters with a time of 47.60 seconds, and ran the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay that placed second to end the meet with a time of 3:12.02, where he was joined by freshman Lamarkus Dunn, sophomore Tinotenda Musariri and freshman Tomas Figueiras.
Figueiras was third in the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.73 seconds, with freshman Ivan Garcia Rubio in sixth at 59.24 seconds and sophomore John Ross taking seventh with a time of 1:00.59. Garcia Rubio was fifth in the 110 hurdles as he was timed in 14.78 seconds. Musariri scored for the Pioneers in both the 100 and 200 meters, taking fourth in the 100 at 10.46 seconds and fifth in the 200 with a time of 21.27 seconds.
Freshman Tomas Ribeiro broke the school record and finished third in the 800 meters, with his time of 1:51.46 breaking the mark of 1:52.78 set by Antonio Aparicio at the Catamount Classic in both 2023 and 2024.
The Tusculum 4×100 relay of Musariri, junior Lansford Cunningham, Alexander and Garcia Rubio finished fifth overall at 41.56 seconds.
In the field, junior Noah Girard was fifth in the javelin with a best throw of 52.01 meters (170 feet, 7 inches), his third-best mark of the season and fourth-best of his career.
Sophomore Justin Williams finished third in the decathlon, breaking his own school record in the event with 5,436 points. Williams, who was fifth after five of 10 events on the first day of the meet, used a time of 15.47 seconds in the 110 hurdles to earn 794 points. Entering the final event, the 1500 meters, Williams was back in fifth place but ran 4:53.48 to take 598 points and leap two spots into a bronze medal. Junior Nour Nabi was seventh with 4,595 points.
Wingate nearly doubled up Catawba in the final standings to win the team title with 211.5 points, with Catawba second at 109 points and Carson-Newman in third at 95.5 points.
– TU –
South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship
at Emory, Va.
Day 2 of 2
Tusculum results
MEN
100: 4. Tinotenda Musariri, 10.46.
110 hurdles: 5. Ivan Garcia Rubio, 14.78.
200: 5. Tinotenda Musariri, 21.27.
400: 2. Chazz Alexander, 47.60.
400 hurdles: 3. Tomas Figueiras, 53.73; 6. Ivan Garcia Rubio, 59.24; 7. John Ross, 1:00.59.
800: 3. Tomas Ribeiro, 1:51.46 (school record).
4×100: 5. Tusculum (Musariri, Cunningham, Alexander, Garcia Rubio), 41.56.
4×400: 2. Tusculum (Dunn, Musariri, Figueiras, Alexander), 3:12.02.
Javelin: 5. Noah Girard, 52.01m (170-7).
Decathlon: 3. Justin Williams, 5,436 points (school record); 7. Nour Nabi, 4,595 points.
Team scores: 1. Wingate 211.5; 2. Catawba 109; 3. Carson-Newman 95.5; 4. Lenoir-Rhyne 81; 5. Anderson 77; 6. Tusculum 70; 7. Newberry 57; 8. Mars Hill 38; 9. Emory & Henry 31.5; 10. Lincoln Memorial 22; 11. Coker 13; 12. UVA Wise 11.5.
WOMEN
100: 1. Jahzara Hart, 11.60; 2. Qitarah Castlin, 11.66; 3. Shanice Cox, 11.83.
100 hurdles: 1. Kori Moore, 13.54; 3. Kialia Claiborne, 13.86.
200: 1. Jahzara Hart, 23.60; 2. Qitarah Castlin, 23.84; 8. Shanice Cox, 28.17.
400 hurdles: 3. Kori Moore, 1:00.84; 4. Kialia Claiborne, 1:01.00.
4×100: 1. Tusculum (Castlin, Cox, Moore, Hart), 44.55.
4×400: 5. Tusculum (Castlin, Hart, Claiborne, Moore), 3:50.25.
Javelin: 12. Agustina Dittrich, 26.69m (87-6).
Heptathlon: 4. Kieley Smith, 3,994 points.
Team scores: 1. Wingate 216; 2. Catawba 142; 3. Lenoir-Rhyne 91; 4. Tusculum 89; 5. Carson-Newman 88; 6. UVA Wise 55; 7. Anderson 46; 8. Lincoln Memorial 34; 9. Coker 17; 10. Mars Hill 15; 10. Newberry 15; 12. Emory & Henry 9.
