April 21, 2011

UNCG at Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, April 22-23, Birmingham, Ala.

Storylines:

- After having the past two weeks off, UNCG will return to the track this weekend in Birmingham for the 2011 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Friday and Saturday at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

- Live results of the meet can be found by clicking here.

- The meet will get under way on Friday at 10:30 a.m. with and will wrap up with the men's 10,000 meter race at 9:20 p.m. Competition will resume on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and the meet will end at 4:50 p.m. with the men's 4x400 meter relay.

- Two weekends ago, UNCG broke three more school records at the Duke Invitational. On Friday, Paul Katam snapped his own school record in the 3,000 meters by over five seconds with a time of 8:20.76. On the second day, Chelsea Sumney broke the previous school record in the 3,000 meters by over seven seconds and Anna Grimes set a new school-best mark in the 2,000 meter steeplechase by almost 15 seconds.

- On March 25-26, UNCG saw more school records fall as it competed at the Raleigh Relays. On the first day, Ashley Schnell shattered the school record in the 5,000 meters by a minute and 35 seconds, while Paul Katam did the same on the men's side in a time of 14:32.84. On Saturday, Joey Thompson set a new school record in the 3,000 meter steeplechase by over eight seconds with a time of 9:15.73.

- On March 17-18, the Spartans had another good weekend as Ashley Schnell and Paul Katam each broke a school record at the Wake Forest Open. Schnell shattered the previous school record in the 1,500 meters by 14 seconds and Shaina Sumney and Kerry Hartman also would've broken the school record in the event. Katam set a new school record in the 5,000 meters by five seconds, while Joey Thompson won his 1,500 meter race.

- On March 11-12, UNCG found success to open the outdoor season at the Seahawk Invitational. Ashley Schnell broke the school record in the 800 meters by over five seconds as she turned in a time of 2:12.69. Chelsea Sumney was also impressive as she broke the school record in the 1,500 meters in a time of 4:44.08.

- For her efforts at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational, Schnell was named the Southern Conference Track Athlete of the Week on March 16.

- At the Southern Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 26-27, UNCG came away with a pair of league titles. Ashley Schnell became the first women's runner in school history to win a SoCon indoor crown as she earned top honors in the 3,000 meters after running a time of 9:52.39. Schnell also joined teammates Shaina Sumney, Shannon Hall and Kerry Hartman to win the SoCon title in the distance medley relay.

- Also at the SoCon Indoor Championships, the Spartans had a trio of runners who earned All-Freshman Team honors. Kenny Hinman led the group as he earned All-Freshman honors not only in the 3,000 meters, but in the 5,000 meters as well. Teammate Paul Katam joined Hinman on the All-Freshman Team honors in the 5,000 meters, while Kelly Montague was named to the All-Freshman Team in the mile.

- On Feb. 12 at the Tiger Paw Invitational, Ashley Schnell broke the school record in the 800 meters at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Her time of 2:19.07 was nearly three seconds better than the previous school record set in 2008. The women's distance medley relay team also set a new school record by nearly 12 seconds.

- Back on Feb. 5, Ashley Schnell was the lone Spartan to compete at the Meyo Invitational. At the meet, she set another school record as she broke the previous mark in the 3,000 meters by just under 10 seconds with a time of 9:39.73. Her time was good enough for seventh place in the seeded race at the prestigious event.

- For her efforts at the Meyo Invitational, Schnell was named the Southern Conference Co-Athlete of the Week for women's indoor track. She shared the award with College of Charleston's Dena O'Brien.

- UNCG also competed at the Niswonger Invitational, where a majority of the team competed. Joey Thompson had a nice showing at the meet as he was edged out in the 3,000 meter race to earn runner-up honors after running a 8:40.20.

- At the Liberty Open, Schnell shattered the previous school record in the mile. Schnell ran a time of 5:00.68 to claim first place in the event and beat Jess Weber's 2006 school record by over 13 seconds.

- Shaina Sumney also broke one of Weber's school records last weekend as she sent a new top mark in the 800 meters by winning the event. Her time of 2:20.60 bested Weber's time by 1.15 seconds that she set in 2008.

- UNCG -