NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Salisbury University men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed in the 2017 Capital Athletic Conference Championships held at Christopher Newport University on Saturday. The men's team finished second overall while the women finished fourth.
Women
Senior Meghan McGowan, who was competing in her final indoor CAC championship, got the Sea Gulls off to a fantastic start turning in a brilliant performance in the high jump. McGowan cleared the bar at a height of 5' 8.50" to capture a first-place finish. Not only did she earn the top spot, but with her jump McGowan now ranks second in the country, she broke her own school record which she set back in January, broke the CAC meet record, and the CAC record overall. It is the third straight season McGowan has won the high jump.
Teammates Jacqueline Seymour, Kaitlin Isabell, and Delaney Tregoning all earned strong finishes as well in the high jump. Seymour placed third with her jump of 5' 1.75" while Isabell and Tregoning finished fourth and fifth respectively with jumps of 5' 1.75" and 5' 0.50".
In the women's pole vault five different members of the maroon and gold earned high finishes, all placing within the top six. Kyleigh Dumas, who was competing in her first CAC championship, captured a second-place finish clearing the bar at a height of 10' 10". Three of her teammates finished within eight inches of her to earn places third through fifth. Seniors Sarah Taylor, Kathy Kammerer, and Tess Johnson placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Taylor cleared the bar at a height of 10' 6" while Kammerer and Johnson each cleared the bar at 10' 2". Freshman Summer Bingaman rounded out the top finishers with a sixth-place finish after clearing the bar at 9' 10".
Emily Wahlgren captured a fifth-place finish in the long jump, posting a distance of 15' 10.25" to earn the top-five finish and round out the field events.
In the track events Jamie Farley got the Sea Gulls off to a solid start earning an eighth-place finish in the 200-meter dash crossing the finish line in a time of 27.24 seconds.
Farley came right back with another spectacular performance in the 400-meter dash capturing a first-place finish. Farley edged out the second-place finisher by eight one-hundredths of a second crossing the finish line in a time of 59.32 seconds. Freshman Caitlyn Rishell placed eighth overall, finishing the race in a time of 1:01.92.
In the 800-meter run a pair of Sea Gulls earned high finishes in Shea McCloskey and Delaney Tregoning. McCloskey, running in her first CAC championship, finished sixth posting a time of 2:28.88 while Tregoning placed eighth crossing the finish line in a time of 2:30.96.
Jessica Lane and Abby Potter earned strong finishes in the 3,000-meter run placing seventh and eighth, respectively. Lane crossed the finish line in a time of 11:04.26 while Potter came in just a few seconds off of her teammate finishing the race in a time of 11:13.52.
Alison Schwartz captured a top-five finish in the 5,000-meter run finishing the race in a time of 18:57.36 to place fourth.
Wahlgren made her impact felt on the track as well as she earned a seventh-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing the race in a time of 9.82 seconds.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Tregoning, Bingaman, Rishell, and Farley earned a top-five finish placing fourth overall after completing the race in a time of 4:12.02. The maroon and gold earned a top finish in the distance medley relay one race later when the team of Christine Sturm, McCloskey, Carly Sniffen, and Schwartz placed fourth overall posting a time of 13:10.55 to round out the track events.
Men
Zach Schmelz got Salisbury off and running in the 200-meter dash earning a sixth-place finish. Schmelz missed a top-five finish by fractions of a second, finishing the race in a time of 23.00 seconds.
He responded though with a great run in the 400-meter dash while four other Sea Gulls also earned high finishes. Eric Halton led the way with a first-place finish coming in a time of 49.90. Schmelz finished just behind his teammate but edging out Alex Hardman to finish second overall. Schmelz crossed the finish line in a time of 50.57 while Hardman, who placed third, came in with a time of 50.74 seconds. Justin Moultrie rounded out the high finishers placing seventh overall crossing the finish line in a time of 51.86 seconds.
Sophomore Emmanuel Porquin place fourth in the 800-meter dash completing the race in a time of 1:57.94.
Porquin turned in a solid performance in the 1-mile run, capturing a third-place finish with a time of 4:22.22 while teammate Greg Bisant finished seventh crossing the finish line a time of 4:26.56.
Freshmen Michael Weber and Branson Oduor finished back-to-back, fourth and fifth respectively, in the 3,000-meter run, with times of 8:48.56 and 8:48.76.
Bryan Howell placied sixth in the 60-meter hurdles finishing the race in a time of 8.84 seconds.
The men's team also had great showing in both relays as both relay teams earned top-three finishes. The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Schmelz, Halton, Moultire, and Hardman earned a first-place finish with a time of 3:22.91. Then in the distance medley relay Bisant, Marco Ramirez, Porquin, and Connor Hesselbirg earned a third-place finish after crossing the finish line in a time of 10:52.64.
In the field events Matthew Adedeji got things going for the maroon and gold capturing a fourth-place finish in the high jump. Adedeji cleared the bar at a height of 6' 5" to earn the top-five finish.
Three Sea Gulls, Will Fountain, Alex Hall, and River Souder, all placed in consecutive order in the pole vault. Fountain placed fifth overall after clearing the bar at a height of 13' 3.50" while Hall and Souder finished sixth and seventh, respectively, clearing the bar at heights of 12' 11.50" and 12' 3.50".
In the long jump Jeffrey McInnis, who was also competing in his first CAC championship, earned a sixth-place finish after posting a jump of 21' 7.25".
Adedeji turned in another impressive performance in the triple jump earning a second-place finish after jumping a distance of 45' 3.50". Teammate McInnis finished seventh overall after jumping 41' 11.25".
Seniors Graham Hensley and Andrew Volz each turned solid performances in what was their final CAC championship as well. Hensley placed fifth in the shot put recording a distance of 44' 0.75" while Volz finished fourth in the weight throw posting a throw of 46' 2".
Junior Duncan Ferrin rounded out the field events capturing a first-place finish in the weight throw. Ferrin recorded a throw of 52' 4.75" to earn the victory.
Salisbury will compete on February 26 at the George Mason University Winter Games. The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
