GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's indoor track and field teams will begin their 2022-23 season this Saturday when the Pioneers participate in the Commonwealth College Opener at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
Saturday's meet will be the first of six regular-season competitions for the Pioneers, which will lead up to the South Atlantic Conference Championship on February 25-26 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
First-year head coach Robert T. Williams welcomes back 10 men and seven women from last year's squad, which saw the men finish sixth and the women ninth at the SAC Championship meet.
MEN'S PREVIEW
Senior Zackary Nelson won two gold medals at last year's SAC Indoor Championship, setting meet records in both the 400 meters (48.49 seconds) and 4x400 meters (3:21.50), and finished 15th in the 400 meters at the NCAA Division II Championship. Nelson, who set the school record in the 400 last February at the USC Open with a time of 48.15 seconds, also placed fifth in the 200 meters at the SAC meet with a time of 22.19 seconds.
Senior Jarvis Barber Jr. was part of the Pioneers' winning 4x400 relay at the SAC Indoor Championship, and is fourth on the Tusculum performance list in the both the 60 meters (6.89) and 200 meters (22.07), both set at last year's VMI Winter Relays.
Senior Devan Hart is fifth on the program performance list in both the 60 meters (6.90) and 200 meters (22.26), while senior Marquel Pittman ranks 10th in program history in the 60 meters (7.06) and ninth in the 200 (22.72), both set at last year's SAC Championship.
Junior Jordan Taylor competed in one indoor event last season, but ranks third in program history in both the 60 meters (6.88) and the 200 meters (21.98). Sophomore Stephen Brewer was part of the gold-medal winning 4x400 relay at the SAC Championship and also finished fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 50.33, third-best in program history.
Senior Antonio Aparicio holds the program record in the 800 meters of 1:55.33 set at the VMI Winter Classic last season, an event in which he finished ninth last season at the SAC Championship. Sophomore Xavion Bogus was All-Region in the 4x400 relay after running 3:18.33 at the VMI Classic, and set the school record in the 500 meters at 1:08.07 in the same meet.
Sophomore Joshua Stephens is fourth in school history in the triple jump with a leap of 13.50 meters at the USC Indoor Open, and ranks tenth in program history in the long jump, with a mark of 5.72 meters at the VMI Winter Classic. Sophomore Landen Locklear had his season best times in the 60, 200, 300 and 400 in four different meets, with a run of 7.72 seconds in the 60 meters at ETSU.
Among the top newcomers for the Pioneers are juniors Jamal Cash, Dorian Craven and Tyrell Edwards. Edwards was a national qualifier and top eight finisher in sprints at both the NJCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Championships during the 2021 season while competing for New Mexico Junior College. Craven also competed at the NJCAA Indoor and Outdoor nationals for Indian Hills CC, while Cash was a region medalist in jumps and hurdles at Central Arizona CC.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Junior Emily Coddington finished ninth in the 800 meters at the SAC Championship last year, and ranks second in program history in the event with a time of 2:22.21 set at the VMI Winter Classic in 2021. Coddington is also second in program history in the mile run (5:17.94) and holds the program record in the 1000 meters of 3:10.45.
Junior Judy Chellah is third in program history in the 800 meters (2:26.26) and ranks second to Coddington in the 1000 meters with a best time of 3:20.76. Senior Erin Bruce is seventh in program history in the 3000 meters (11:34.85) and ranks sixth in the 5000 meters with a top time of 20:23.89.
In sprints, senior Aliyah Adderley has the third-best time in program history in the 60 meters of 8.00, which she set at the Buccaneer Invitational last season. Sophomore Silvia Bah had a best time of 8.14 in the 60 meters at the VMI Winter Classic, which is ninth-fastest in school history, and senior Destiny Lottie ranks 10th all-time in the 400 meters with a time of 1:02.49 set at last year's SAC Championship.
Sophomore Amber Hogan took 14th in the weight throw at the SAC Championship last February with a mark of 11.99 meters, and had a season-best toss of 12.08 meters at the USC Open on Feb. 18. Hogan also had a 10th-place finish in the shot put at 9.99 meters at the ETSU Invitational, while her mark of 10.13 meters at the USC Open is fifth on the program performance list.
Grad transfer Kylia Wright ran three seasons at North Carolina State from 2017-2020, competing in both the 60 meters and 200 meters at the 2019 ACC Indoor Championship. Wright had a career-best time of 7.64 seconds in the 60 meters and 24.91 seconds in the 200 meters at N.C. State, both of which would be Tusculum program records.
SCHEDULE
After participating in the Commonwealth College Opener, the Pioneers will return to competition in the Mondo College Invitational at the JDL Fast Track on Saturday, January 14. Tusculum will follow with action at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville on Friday-Saturday, January 20-21 and at the VMI Winter Classic in Lexington, Virginia on Friday-Saturday, January 27-28.
The Pioneers will return to VMI for the Winter Relays on Friday-Saturday, February 3-4 and will participate in the JDL College Team Challenge on Thursday, February 9. The SAC Championship will be contested at the JDL Fast Track on Saturday-Sunday, February 25-26, and the NCAA Division II Indoor Championship will be in Virginia Beach, Virginia on Friday-Saturday, March 10-11.
