Dillon Spann (C’20) passes the baton to Lethario Jones (C’21). Photo by Rob Mohr (C’21).
By Rob Mohr
Contributing Writer
Sewanee kicked off its track and field season Saturday, February 2 by hosting a small meet at the Fowler Center. SAA opponents Birmingham-Southern and Oglethorpe were in attendance, along with teams from Piedmont, Reinhardt, Mississippi College, Emory, and Covenant.
Despite resting its distance runners, the Lady Tigers still managed a strong showing with Kelsie Schiavone (C’19) taking fourth in the 400 meter dash, and setting a new personal record of 1:03.77 (Schiavone also ran a 28.48 200 meter dash, beating her previous indoor best).
Meme Everette (C’22) finished fourth in the 55 meter hurdles. In the women’s 55 meter dash, Haven Watson (C’20) ran to a new indoor personal best of 7.87 seconds. The women’s 4×400 meter relay team, comprised of Schiavone, Elizabeth Shackleford (C’21), Reagan Leverett (C’22), and Meredith Stuber (C’22) also finished fourth. On the runway the Lady Tigers dominated with Stuber and Watson capturing first and second in the long jump respectively. These performances combined for a seventh place finish.
On the men’s side, Letherio Jones (C’21) snagged a fifth place finish in the 400 meter dash, with Dillon Spann close behind in eighth. Miles Martin (C’20) earned a fifth place finish in the 55 meter hurdles and the men’s 4×400 meter relay team, utilizing Martin, Spann, Jones, and Erbie Jennings (C’21) took fifth. Justin Pignocco (C’20) also set an indoor personal best in the shot put with a throw of 10.72 meters. The men’s team, which also rested its distance runners, finished eighth overall.
Head Coach Jeff Heitzenrater commented on the team’s performance: “Tiger Track and Field performed very well today as we start our journey through this season. The hard work this team did in the fall is going to lead to great performances later this spring.” The men’s meet was won by Mississippi College and the women’s meet was won by Emory. The Tigers now gear up for a meet at Birmingham-Southern on February 11, where they will send a reduced team.