Murfreesboro, Tenn. – For the first time in Western Kentucky University history, the Lady Topper track and field team won the Sun Belt Conference indoor championship this weekend at the Murphy Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. In leading the WKU women to their first-ever conference track title, head coach Dr. Curtiss Long was honored as the Coach of the Year, his 26th such award in 26 years on the Hill.
The WKU women locked up the championship in the women's 5,000 meters, with Natalie Leeper taking all-Sun Belt honors with a third-place finish (17:56.86) and Danah Whitley finishing fifth (18:17.48), for a total of 10 points. That gave the Lady Tops a 110.5-91 advantage over North Texas and Florida International with only the mile relay left.
WKU finished with 115.5 points, with UNT taking runner-up honors with 97 points, followed by FIU (93), South Alabama (91.5), MTSU (70), New Orleans (66), Arkansas-Little Rock (48.5), Troy (42.5), Arkansas State (26) and Louisiana-Lafayette (13).
Host MTSU won the men's team title with 153 points, edging out defending champion USA which managed 147 points. ASU was third (108.5), UNT fourth (71), WKU fifth (63), FIU sixth (54.5), UNO seventh (32), ULL eighth (20) and UALR ninth (14).
The Lady Topper duo of Carita Cole and Shanea Wilson went one-two in the 55-meter dash, with times of 6.96 and 6.97, respectively. In the 200 meters, Temi Akojie earned all-league accolades with a runner-up finish of 24.14, while Wilson took home seventh in 24.73. Akojie also scored in the 400 meters, placing sixth with a time of 56.34.
Nicole Jaggers earned all-league accolades with a third-place finish in the mile with a time of 5:03.52. Also scoring in the women's mile was Heather Coulter and Emily Leeper, who were sixth (5:17.60) and seventh (5:18.08), respectively. Jaggers recorded her second all-SBC honor of the day in the 800 meters with a third-place finish at 2:16.95. Aisling Maunsell also broke into the scoring of the 800 in eighth place (2:22.34).
The Lady Toppers managed 15 points in the weight throw, with Angie Gardner leading the charge with a second-place and all-SBC finish at 54-2.50, while Courtney Wood was fourth at 52-4.50, and Geri Brown seventh at 48-7.50. In the triple jump, Vallery Delaunay posted a season-best leap of 40-4.75 to finish fifth.
Dennis Mitchell led the Hilltoppers at the conference championships, earning a pair of all-Sun Belt accolades. He was second in the 55-meter dash in a time of 6.32, while also placing third in the 200-meter dash in 21.43 seconds.
In the 800 meters, William Emase took home a fourth-place finish in 1:52.73, while Mike Duncan broke into the scoring of the mile in eighth-place at 4:28.87. Jason Brohow also scored for the Hilltoppers, placing fifth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.58.
Asa Dew earned the first all-Sun Belt honor of his career in the triple jump, where he placed third with a leap of 47-9. Teammate Mhandla Mgijima also scored in the event, taking sixth with a jump of 46-6.75. In the weight throw, Oliver Kilk placed third with a toss of 54-5.25 to earn his first indoor all-league laurel, while Steve Moorman was sixth with a toss of 50-3.25.
Although WKU's indoor title is a first for the Lady Toppers on the track, the program has won 11 Sun Belt championships in cross country in 21 years of league competition.