App State barely misses sweep
From staff reports
 
STATESBORO, Ga. — Appalachian State’s track and field teams came within a half point of pulling off a sweep of Southern Conference championships Saturday at Georgia Southern.

The Appalachian State’s women’s team won the SoCon championship, beating out Western Carolina for the top spot. The Mountaineers finished with 210.5 points, while Western was second with 177.

Appalachian State won its first league championship since 2006 and its 16th in the last 23 years.

Appalachian State’s men’s team nearly made it a sweep, but lost by a half point to Western Carolina. The Mountaineers finished with 253.5 points, just shy of Western Carolina’s 254.

Western Carolina’s 1,600-meter relay team captured a victory in the final event of the meet to secure a victory. The Catamounts won their fifth conference championship.

Shea Snow won her second straight SoCon championship in the pole vault with a mark of 12-feet, 11/2 inches. Teammate Ashley Beale was second and former Watauga standout Julie Ward was third in the event.

Meg Irwin was fifth for the Mountaineers.

Lily Tallent won the javelin for the first time with a toss of 129 feet on the first day, and then followed Sunday with a win in the shot put with a toss of 43-11/2. Whitney Smyre was second, Cyrstal Duke was third and Carla Durham, who also played on Appalachian State’s volleyball team, was fourth in the event.

Tallent was named the Most Outstanding Athlete of the meet, while John Weaver was named the Coach of the Year.

Smyre dominated the hammer throw with a personal best throw of 161-8. It was her first-ever outdoor title in the event and it was good enough to move her into fifth on ASU's all-time list in the event. Teammate Michaela McGriff came in second, earning all-SoCon honors with a toss of 154-5, moving her to tenth on the Mountaineers all-time list. Durham posted a fourth place finish overall.

Jen Povick earned all-SoCon honors in the 1500-meter run, placing second overall with a time of 4:33.97.

Danielle Thorpe took home a second place finish in the long jump leaping a personal best of 19-4 3/4. Her jump moves her into sixth on Appalachian State’s all-time list in the event.

Kiara Crutchfield finished third in the heptathlon with 4,454 points, and the Mountaineers’ 400-meter relay team of Crystal Dukes, Monica Johnson, Thorpe and Ashley McKiver took second with a time of 46.48.

On the first day, Meghan Gaffney was second in the 10,000-meter run, while former Watauga runner Ashley Norris was eighth in the race.

Mark Sturgis won his second league title in the triple jump with a leap of 50-feet, 1 1/4 inches. That matched his personal best and earned him a spot in the NCAA Regional. Ricky Harris was third in the event with a jump of 46-9.

The Mountaineers used their depth in several events to score team points. Jerod Gardner won the shot put and was second in he hammer throw. Malcolm Styers was third in the hammer throw and third in the shot put, while Jake Goodchild and Matt Pfingst was third in the decathlon. Goodchild’s score of 6,278 points broke an ASU record set in 2006 by Dustin Wright.

Matt Boruff was second in the pole vault with a leap of 15-1, while Ryan Twiford was fifth in the event.

Appalachian State’s 400-meter relay team of Dennis Moore, DeSean Pearce, John Svoboda and Phillip Bush was also second, and Svoboda was second in the 400 dash with a time of 48.30 seconds. Matt Boruff was second in the 800-meter run and Bush was fifth in the event. Daniel Neal was second in the 400-meter hurdles.

Final men’s team standings
1. Western Carolina 254
2. Appalachian State 253.5
3. The Citadel 70
4. Samford 66.5
5. Davidson 63
6. Chattanooga 40
7. UNC Greensboro 32
8. Furman 28
9. Wofford 10
Freshman of the Year
Jamie Van Pelt, Western Carolina
Most Valuable Track Performer
Manteo Mitchell, Western Carolina
Most Valuable Field Performer
Matt Evans, Western Carolina
Most Outstanding Athlete
Manteo Mitchell, Western Carolina
Coach of the Year
Danny Williamson, Western Carolina
Final women’s team standings
1. Appalachian State 210.5
2. Western Carolina 177
3. Georgia Southern 146.5
4. Elon 84
5. Chattanooga 52
6. Samford 44
7. College of Charleston 42
8. The Citadel 27
9. Davidson 23
10. Furman 9
11. UNC Greensboro 3
12. Wofford 0
Freshman of the Year
Emma Bowers, Western Carolina
Most Valuable Track Performer
Felicia Paulding, Western Carolina
Most Valuable Field Performer
Melanie Trumbo, Georgia Southern
Most Outstanding Athlete
Lilly Tallent, Appalachian State
Coach of the Year
John Weaver, Appalachian State