HICKORY, N.C. – The Anderson University men's and women's track and field teams combined to post seven top-10 finishes and set seven career-best marks on Saturday at the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Championships.
The Trojan women's squad finished sixth in the standings, while the AU men captured ninth place. The championships were hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne on the Irwin Belk Track at the Moretz Sports Athletics Complex.
Freshman Katharine Landry, who was fourth in the heptathlon entering Saturday's final three events, finished as runner-up. A native of Ashland, Mass., Landry won Thursday's shot put, finished fourth in the 100 meter hurdles, tied for 11th in the high jump and finished fifth in the 200 meters.
On Saturday, she finished third in the long jump with a distance of 4.79 meters and was second in the javelin throw with a distance of 34.00 meters. Landry closed out the competition by placing fourth in the 800 meters in a time of 2:45.35.
Senior JoLyn Copeland finished 19th in the women's discus throw with a toss of 29.79 meters. The Swansea, S.C., native also finished 22nd in the shot put with a distance of 9.35 meter, while Landry claimed 12th place with a distance of 10.35 meters.
Sophomore Olivia Rish claimed third place in the women's 1,500 meters after crossing the finish line in a personal-best time of 4:45.38, with classmate Lydia Gambrell finished 11th in a time of 5:06.30.
Senior Madison Seay captured sixth place in the women's 400 meter hurdles in a time of 1:08.94.
Sophomore Hannah Beach paced four Trojans in the women's 5,000 meters by crossing the finish line in sixth place in a career-best time of 18:31.33, with sophomore Olivia Evans finishing just behind in seventh place in a time of 18:33.96. Rish (19:20.49) claimed 19th place, with junior Emily Olson notching a career-best time of 21:05.14 and finishing 24th.
The women's 4x400 meter relay team, made up of Seay, Gambrell, Beach and Rish, finished seventh in a time of 4:20.28.
On the men's side, senior Anthony Aleruchi posted a sixth-place finish in the discus throw with a distance of 40.74 meters, with sophomore Connor Wheatley claiming 20th place with a distance of 34.86 meters. Freshman Evan Francis finished 32nd with a toss of 22.74 meters.
Aleruchi also led the Trojans with a 14th-place finish in the shot put with a distance of 12.54 meters, while Francis finished 28th with a toss of 10.43 meters.
Sophomore Philip Quillen claimed sixth place in the men's 5,000 meters in a personal-best time of 15:19.25, with freshman Noah McLain also posting a personal-best (15:59.85) and finishing 17th. Sophomore Joey Teachout also notched a personal-best 16:17.11 and finished 25th. Freshman Brandon Wilson was 28th in a personal-best time of 16:34.92.
The men's 4x400 meter relay squad, consisting of Jordan Anderson, Matthew Hobbs, Matthew Burgess and Robert Jones finished 11th in a time of 3:28.99.
Next up for the Trojans is Georgia's Torin Lawrence Memorial, which will be hosted by the Bulldogs on Sunday, May 5, in Athens.
