Emory, VA -- The Lincoln Memorial track and field teams kicked off the opening day of the South Atlantic Conference Championships with authority on Wednesday at Emory and Henry University. Highlighting the afternoon were the preliminary rounds where several Railsplitters secured their spots in the finals. Vincent Quilici led the charge for the men by taking the top overall seed in the 400m prelims with an impressive time of 47.94 seconds. On the women's side, Theresa Brosthaus also secured a top seed by finishing first in the 800m prelims with a time of 2:15.87. Joining them in the finals are Callie Wetzel, who qualified in the women's 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.44, and Luis Borkey, who advanced in the men's 800m prelims at 1:54.96. Jacie Begley also successfully moved on to the finals in the women's 800m with a time of 2:18.64.
In the scored finals on Wednesday, the Railsplitters earned significant points in the distance and throwing events. Cate Turner delivered a standout performance in the women's hammer throw, placing second overall with a toss of 44.08 meters to earn eight points for the team. In the 3000m steeplechase, Greta Chizzali took fifth in 11:24.90 and Natalia Iker followed in sixth at 11:50.22 to combine for seven points. The men's steeplechase saw Jaxson Branham finish fifth in 9:45.04 and Conner Chandler finish seventh in 9:57.63, while Avery Hatfield added two points in the men's hammer throw with a seventh-place distance of 46.23 meters.
Additional men's performances on day one included Guillaume Bogaert and Caleb Chittum in the 400m prelims, while Nile Mclymont and Hunter Preston competed in the 400m hurdles. The men's 800m squad showed depth with Joel Boerkey, Roman Borghetti-Metz, Clayon Cooper, and Sam Fulton all representing the university. Vance Laster completed the 3000m steeple in 10:12.69, and Simon Fillers battled through the 10000m run with a time of 34:16.02. In the field, Jackson Clonce competed in both the discus and hammer throw, and Avery Hatfield added a mark in the discus.
The women's group saw Jersy Nelke finish the 100m hurdles in 15.77 seconds and Alyssa Roberts run a 2:25.45 in the 800m prelims. In the 1500m, Reaghan Curde and Katrien Sherwood posted times of 4:49.83 and 5:27.75 respectively. The throwing crew of Kylee Alvis, Madeline Dalton, and Olivia Edenfield all competed in both the discus and hammer throw events. Maggie Sanderson stood out as a multi-event athlete in the heptathlon, completing the 100m hurdles in 18.38, the 200m in 28.87, the high jump at 1.35 meters, and the shot put with a mark of 9.43 meters. Lincoln Memorial looks to build on these results as the championships continue into the final day.
