Florence, S.C. – The Crusaders claimed four championships this weekend and finished third overall as a team at the Conference Carolinas Championships. 
 
Mount Olive finished the weekend with the league title while UNC Pembroke claimed second. 
 
Jacob Holcombe claimed his third consecutive conference championship in the 3K steeple chase with a time of 9:26. Solomon Canup finished with a personal best time in the same race with a  time of 10:30. Also in distance Matthew Heath claimed a personal record in the 10K with a time of 34:09. 
 
Bryce Hamby claimed a championship in the pole vault with a height of 4.21 meters while Terrique Webb added a third title for the Crusaders in the Long Jump with a distance of 7.36 meters. Webb's distance was a personal best and an NCAA Division II provisional mark. He also set a personal best in the 100 meter with a time of 10.98. 
 
Damon Wroley set a school record in the javelin with a distance of 59.14 and was the runner up in the pole vault with a height of 4.06. Also in field events, Dylan Fortner set a personal best in the hammer with a distance of 38.77 along with Bailey Crowe who threw the hammer 33.22 meters. 
 
In the 800 meter, Eli Tipton and Ryland Kowalski each set personal bests with times of 1:56 and 2:01. Jacobie Sims added the fourth first place finish for NGU in the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.99. He also clocked a personal best in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.97. Antavious Lawton finished second in the 400 with a time of 49.42. 
 
Both NGU relay teams claimed third place. The 4x100 team of Bryce Hamby, Josh White, Antavious Lawton, and Damon Worley finished with a time of 41.8. In the 4x400 relay, Lawton, Terrique Webb, Eli Tipton, and Jacobie Sims finished with a time of 3:17. 
 
From Coach Stober 
 
"I cannot adequately express how proud I am of this team. Conference championships can be a grueling experience for a lot of athletes. Having to do multiple events (prelims and finals) over the span of two days takes a huge physical and mental toll on these athletes. The toughness that they showed this weekend was remarkable. How they supported one another was special. I don't know what else to say other than I am so proud of them and that I am blessed to have such an incredible team. 
 
Hannah Hill got the women's team off to a good start with a 2nd place finish in the javelin. But that was just the start of an incredible weekend for her. She finished 2nd in the 400 (PB) and 3rd in the 200 (PB) in which both fields were loaded with talent. She also ran both relays for us, anchoring our 4x400 to a 2nd place finish. Not long after Hannah finished 2nd in the javelin, JoAnn Smiling set a new personal best and school record in the long jump which was ultimately good enough for 2nd place. JoAnn also ran a PB in the 100 and was a leg for both of our relays. Tiara Cox made finals in both of her individual events and ultimately finished 4th in the 100 and 5th in the 200. She also ran both relays for us this weekend. We had the two fastest qualifiers in the 1500 in Avery Shope and Riley Nicholson. They went on to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 1500, and then came back to run the 5K. Avery went on to win the 5K and Riley scored a point for us finishing 8th. Carleigh Vaughn made it out of prelims on the 400H and went on to finish 7th for us in the finals. She also ran both relays for us. Kylie Futrell had a phenomenal performance in the 5K coming from well back in the pack to finishing 5th on a way to a new PB. Emma Bright ran a PB and scored for us in the 3K Steeple. Madeline Holsenback became the first woman for our program to score in the discus since 2013. Jada Wilson was able to finish her career with PBs in the 100 and 200. Both of our relays consisting of the same four women (JoAnn Smiling, Carleigh Vaughn, Tiara Cox, and Hannah Hill) ran well. The 4x100 finished 4th and the 4x400 finished 2nd.  Other PBs from this weekend include: Christiana Gidney (800), Paris Alsup (10K), and Katlyn Rose (100H). 
 
For the men, Terrique Webb surprised everyone when leapt to a new PB, school record, and NCAA DII provisional mark in the long jump. He is the first athlete in program history to jump over 24 feet. No one else came close to him as he easily took the win. We were able to get some big points in the javelin. Damon Worley set a new PB and school record on his way to a 5th place finish. Dylan Fortner finished just behind him in 6th place. It wasn't long after the javelin that Damon was competing in the pole vault where he went on to finish 2nd behind his teammate and now two-time conference champion Bryce Hamby. Having a 1-2 finish in the pole vault was special. Both Damon and Bryce went on to run the 4x100 relay along with Josh White and Antavious Lawton which finished 3rd. Antavious also finished 2nd place in the 400 and led off the 4x400 relay along with Jacobie Sims, Eli Tipton, and Terrique Webb that finished 3rd place. Jacobie Sims had a huge weekend finishing 2nd in the 110H with a new PB and winning the 400H with a new PB. Eli Tipton also had a big weekend, running two back to back PBs in the 800, ultimately finishing 4th. Jacob Holcombe was able to successfully defend his 3K Steeplechase title for the third consecutive year. And then he came back on day two to finish 4th in the 5K. Other PBs from this weekend include Matthew Heath (10K), Solomon Canup (3K Steeplechase), Ryland Kowalski (800), Dylan Fortner (Hammer Throw), and Bailey Crowe (Hammer Throw). 
 
As you can tell with all of those PBs and high finishes, we had an excellent weekend as a team. Our athletes and coaches have worked so hard, and to see it pay off the way it did is so rewarding. Coach Douglas, Coach Bob, and Coach Mal are great coaches and our athletes love them. I'm so fortunate to have them by my side. This season has come to an end for most of our team. I hope that some of our athletes will have the opportunity to compete at a last chance meet to see if we can get anyone qualified for nationals. But again, I am so proud of this team and what we have been able to accomplish year in and year out."