Lenoir-Rhyne Captures 2019 SAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship
HICKORY, N.C. (TheSAC.com) – The Lenoir-Rhyne women won the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships by a large margin after the two-day event at the Irwin Belk Track, culminating on Saturday, April 20.
Lenoir-Rhyne won their first outdoor track & field (men or women) on the strength of six gold medalists and new records on the final day of competition. Saidah Hardwick won two events, the 200 meter and 400 meter dashes, with times of 25.34 seconds and 56.19 seconds, respectively. Kylie Dahlberg claimed the 800 meter title with a run of 2:18.31. In the 400 meter hurdles, Jada Harrison crossed the line in a quick 1:04.40. Autumn Drayton won two gold medals in the field. In the shot put, she threw for a distance of 12.75 meters (41' 10"), while in the discus throw, Drayton tossed a new conference and championship meet record mark of 46.07 meters (151' 2").
Tusculum finished with three podium-topping performances. Nicole McMillen added to her collection with titles in the 1,500 and 5,000 meter runs in times of 4:40.84 and 17:55.64, respectively. The 4x400 meter relay team also claimed top honors with a run of 3:53.18.
Queens landed two gold medals from Lucy Walliker and Elise Ulseth. Walliker competed in the high jump with a mark of 1.62 meters (5' 3.75"), while Ulseth completed the heptathlon with a new SAC and championship meet record point total of 4,447.
Four schools had one student-athlete each at the top of the podium. For Wingate, Tamerah Sebree won the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.92 seconds. Coker's Kaylah Ruff finished the 100 meter hurdles in a conference and championship meet record 14.16 seconds. In the 4x100 meter relay, Catawba crossed the line in 47.75 seconds for their win, while in the triple jump, Shaniqua Stevens represented Mars Hill with a mark of 11.33 meters (37' 2.25").
Freshman of the Year
Elise Ulseth, Queens
Coach of the Year
Danny Williamson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Track Athlete of the Meet
Nicole McMillen, Tusculum
Field Athlete of the Meet
Autumn Drayton, Lenoir-Rhyne
2019 South Atlantic Conference
Outdoor Track and Field Championships
April 18 & 20 – Final Results
Hickory, N.C. – Irwin Belk Track
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Place Team Pts
1 Lenoir-Rhyne 212.5
2 Queens 180
3 Wingate 98.5
4 Carson-Newman 85
5 Tusculum 59
6 Anderson 44
7 Mars Hill 34.5
8 Catawba 34
9 Coker 28
10 Lincoln Memorial 26
11 Newberry 14.5
-#MakeSACYours-