Jase Hunter is the first Newberry athlete to to win an individual SAC title. His weight throw of of 16.64m was best at the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Newberry track and field team completed the indoor portion of the schedule as they competed at the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Winston-Salem. Both the men’s and women’s teams secured their highest point totals at the meet in program history as the men scored 26 in a ninth place finish and the women scored 20 in their tenth place finish. Queens swept the meet earning both the men’s and women’s team titles.
The highlight of the weekend came as Jase Hunter made program history in the weight throw. He became the first Newberry athlete to win an individual SAC title with his throw of 16.64m, breaking the school record in the process. His ten points, the event win, were combined with scoring performances from Jon Williams and Parker Pitts who placed fifth and eighth respectively. Williams threw a mark of 15.48m, good for third all-time in program history and Pitts threw 15.38m, good for fourth all-time in program history. The three Wolves combined to give the men’s team fifteen team points and helped surpass their previous record mark on day one of competition.
Other scoring performances on the men’s side came from Elijah Fulmore, who placed fifth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.46s. Fulmore broke the school record in the 60m hurdles on day one with a time of 8.24s, which was only .03s short of an NCAA Championships qualifying time. He was also a part of the 4x400m team that placed fifth and broke the school record with a time of 3:26.69 alongside Daniel Seawright, Kalvin Tobias and Davison Wright. Biel Salas rounded out the scoring on the men’s side by placing sixth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.50s. Salas ran the third fastest 60m hurdles time in school history with a finish of 8.46 on day one.
There were also a plethora of Wolves who added their name to the program’s top-ten list. Joining Hunter, Pitts and Williams in the weight throw were Kegan Crowell with a throw of 14.17m, good for fifth all-time, Sean Price with a throw of 12.49m, good for sixth all time and Walker Flores with a throw of 11.73m, good for seventh all-time. Parker Pitts would also add the third best throw in program history in the shot put with his mark of 13.32m
In the 200m, three of the four members of the school record 4x400m team also ran program top-ten times. Davison Wright ran the third fastest time with his finish of 22.51s, Daniel Seawright ran the fifth-fastest time with a finish of 22.64s, and Kalvin Tobias ran the eight fastest time with a finish of 23.11s. Wright also added the fifth-fastest 60m time in program history with his finish of 7.03s. Aaron Wright joined Davison on the 60m all-time list with his time of 7.18s, ninth-fastest all time.
On the women’s side, Sarah Abumere earned two trips to the podium in the 60m and 200m, placing third in both. This made her the first Newberry athlete to podium in multiple events at a single conference championship meet. Abumere ran 7.76s in the 60m and 25.35s in the 200m, both new school records in each event.
Other scorers on the women’s side included Irma Watson Perez in the weight throw and shot put, placing fourth and eighth in those events, respectively. Watson Perez also set the school record in the shot put with her mark of 11.79m. Also scoring for the Wolves was Kennedy Meyers with a sixth place finish in the weight throw with her mark of 14.40m, good for third all-time in program history.
Joining the program’s all time lists on the women’s side were the DMR (1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m) team of Alaya Lindquist, Tyshira Green, Destinie Flinch and Reagan Wells with a time of 13:55, second all-time in program history. Green also ran the fourth-fastest 400m time in program history with her finish of 1:05.75. Green was also a part of the 4x400m team that ran the second-fastest time in program history of 4:09.37. Wrapping up the new top ten additions was Andrea Pascual Rivera throwing the fifth-furthest mark in program history in the weight throw of 12.65m.
“Really proud of how hard the team competed,” said Head Coach Jimmy Stephens. “We had some amazing preferences and it has been great to see this team come together. Although we are not where we want to be on the team score side we have taken some great steps forward for such a young team.”
The Wolves now turn their attention to the outdoor season where they will take part in five regular season meets including hosting the Hub City Invitational in Spartanburg, on April 8. The season starts in Anderson, as the team takes part in the Trojan Opener on March 18 and 19.