ASU indoor
teams take second
From staff reports

CLEMSON, S.C. — Appalachian State’s indoor men's track and field team fell just short of winning a Southern Conference title Saturday afternoon, finishing second at the SoCon Championships.

Western Carolina took home the title scoring 263 points, while the Apps had 256.50.

Nine Mountaineers grabbed individual conference titles.

Brian Deal, a senior, finished his indoor track and field career in style as he won both the 3000-meter run and the 5000-meter run. Deal earned all-SoCon honors for his performances.

In the 3000 run, teammates Phil Mitchell and Amseron Desta were right behind Deal as they grabbed the third and fourth place spots. Desta and Mitchell also posted strong performances in the 5000 run as they finished second and third respectively, while Ryan O'Keefe placed fourth.

The Mountaineers were strong in the other distance events. Josh Houser grabbed the runner-up spot in the mile run with a time of 4:14.20, while Deal and Mitchell notched the third and fourth place spots. Houser also finished fifth in the 800 run, while Andrew Yarchin placed sixth.

Daniel Neal won the conference title in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.05. His performance moved him into third on ASU's all-time list in the event.

Phillip Bush was right on Neal's heels, as he placed second in the event with a time of 8.33.

Both Neal and Bush also competed in the 60 meter dash, and finished fifth and sixth respectively, while teammate Ricky Harris placed seventh.

Matt Boruff set a Southern Conference record in the heptathlon by scoring 4720 points.

The Mountaineers proved their dominance in the field events, as senior Joel Gaddy posted standout performances in both the long jump and triple jump. The Charlotte native won both events and picked up all-SoCon honors. In addition to Gaddy, Ricky Harris and Mark Sturgis were also strong in both events, as Harris placed second in the long jump, and Sturgis finished third in the long jump and third in the triple jump.

Gaddy was named the men's most outstanding field performer of the meet.

In the weight events, senior Wes Kiser led the way for Appalachian, as he notched a first place finish in the weight throw with a throw of 61-feet, 3/4 inches. His throw moves him into third all-time for Appalachian.

Kiser was solid in the shot put, as he finished second in the event.

Grant Haun and Tim Daly placed right behind Kiser in the weight throw as they picked up the second and third place finishes.

Mike Wilson picked up his first Southern Conference title, as he was victorious in the pole vault. Wilson vaulted 15-5 to win the event. Barron Shell placed third in the event, vaulting 15-1.

Rounding out the meet, Appalachian State’s distance medley relay team grabbed first place as they finished the event in 10:18.42. Members of the relay were Sam Mordecai, Nick Zeller, Andrew Yarchin and Josh Houser.

Women’s track
CLEMSON, S.C. — Three Mountaineers captured four Southern Conference Indoor championships, but the Appalachian State women's indoor track and field string of seven consecutive team titles came to an end. The Mountaineers finished second, just five points shy of Western Carolina.

The Mountaineers scored 167 points, ahead of Georgia Southern's 120, but behind Western Carolina's 172.
Brittani Williams, who was named the women’s most outstanding field performer, swept the throwing events with a personal best 48 feet-3 1/2 inches in the shot put, finishing five feet in front of the second-place finisher. Williams won the weight throw with a mark of 59-2 3/4, which moves her into second on the ASU all-time list.

Shea Snow set a new personal best and moved into second place on the career list as she took home first place in the pole vault, with a 12-1 1/2 mark. The Mountaineers swept the event and took home five of the top six spots, as Kaitlyn Heeke (11-5 3/4), Ashley Beale (11-5 3/4), Meg Irwin (11-1 3/4) and Julie Ward (10-10) finished strong for the Mountaineers.

Vonteena Knotts recaptured the long jump title with a best mark of 19-0.75. Bianca Harvey placed third at 18-5 1/4 while Danielle Thorpe was right behind in fourth at 18-3 3/4.

Thorpe went on to a second-place finish in the triple jump with 41 feet-3/4 inches.

Ashley McKiver was the top Appalachian finisher in both the 60-meter dash and the 200 meters. The sophomore ran a 7.61 in the 60 to place third and move up to third all-time in the ASU record book. McKiver ran a 25.19 in the 200 for a third-place finish.

Distance runner Jennifer Povick had a strong showing, finishing second in the mile run at 5:07.15, and fifth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:58.98.

Porsha Evans-Hardy posted a time of 9.01 in the 60-meter hurdles for a second-place finish. Rebecca Hazeltine earned second place in the high jump with a best mark of 5-feet 4 1/4 inches.

In the pentathlon, Kiara Crutchfield, who was named Freshman of the Year, earned 3,166 points to place third for the Mountaineers. The score bumped her from fifth to third on the all-time list.

The NCAA Qualifying Meet will be held at Blacksburg, Va. March 8 and the NCAA Indoor Championships will be held at Fayetteville, Ark. on March 14-15.

Softball
RICHMOND, Ky. — Appalachian State had another tough day, falling 2-1 to Dayton and then 6-1 to Eastern Kentucky. The Mountaineers (1-12) have lost six consecutive games, tying the longest losing skid of the season.

Kayla Richardson scattered six hits in a complete game performance of the first game. She struck out one and allowed two earned runs against the Flyers.

The Mountaineers, trailing 2-0 in the sixth inning, got a solo home run from freshman Katie Boyd, her sixth of the season. Boyd is now one home run shy of the ASU single-season home run record.

In the second game, Appalachian State starter Yancy Moose allowed three hits and two runs in three innings of work. Moose also had two strikeouts, while walking three.

Sarah Rappe scored ASU’s lone run of a fifth inning ground out with the bases loaded by Andrea McIntyre.

Women’s tennis
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Appalachian State women's tennis squad fell to Wofford 7-0 in its conference opener Sunday.

In doubles, the Mountaineers (4-4, 0-1) lost the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, ASU’s duo of Anja Gugger and Mallory Cook lost 8-1. Monica Tomas and Heather Prior also struggled, falling, as they lost 8-0 at the No. 2 position.

Men’s tennis
Radford tripped Appalachian State 5-2 Saturday in the Mountaineers’ home opener.

Lee Floyd won at the No. 4 spot 6-1, 6-1, while David Doverspike needed three sets to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.