ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Year two of Longwood men's and women's track saw both teams ramp up their performances across the board at the Big South Championships.
 
A variety of runners not only made their finals but also made noise in them, capped by Sophie Farley earning the program's first podium finish and All-Big South honor. The uber-talented freshman finished third in the women's 1,500m in one of her two finals on the third and final day of the competition.
 
Meanwhile, sophomore Ayden Stewart finished fourth in the men's 400m final, finishing one spot off the podium with a furious kick down the home stretch to improve on his finish from a season ago.
 
"We had bigger expectations this year, but those were exceeded," said Longwood Head Coach Brooke Craig. "The student-athletes bought into raising the standard for this program from the start of this year. It's shown all year, and especially over the past few days. Whether it was a PR, school record or scoring points for the team—that was all thanks to their buy-in."
 
The Lancer women finished with 19 points, and the men finished with 16 points. Both marks improved on their final tally from a season ago. In addition to Farley's All-Big South Accolade, Alec Daniels and Lauren Vick earned Big South All-Academic Team honors.
 
Farley led the charge for the Lancer women and placed in the final in both the 1,500m and 800m for the tough double. She lowered her personal best, which also doubles as the program record, by six seconds with a blazing 4:27.71 to finish third.
 
Later in the day, she followed it up with a 2:12.37 that, while not a personal best, was enough to earn four more points with a fifth-place finish.
 
Stewart powered his way to a 47.61 in the men's 400m final. After being the lone Lancer to qualify for an individual final a season ago, Stewart lowered his personal best, which is the program record, by more than a full second to finish fourth. He helped the Lancer men finish with 16 points, bettering their team score from a year ago.
 
Stewart also anchored the men's 4x40m relay that finished fifth with a personal best time of 3:16.79. He teamed with Cullen Carter, Chris Smith and Joshua Martin for the strong result.
 
The Lancer women's 4x400m relay team of Nyomi Rhodes, Mayson Jenkins, Taylor Samuels and Liliana Arevalo also finished fifth with a 3:57.20.
 
That was the second race of the day for Rhodes, who had an impressive freshman season. She also made the finals of the women's 400m hurdles, and she shaved off nearly two seconds off her time with a 1:05.81 that was good enough to finish sixth.
 
Sam Bolen also scored for the women in the 1,500m with a personal best of 4:44.05, giving Longwood two of the top eight runners in the event.
 
The Lancer men's 4x100m relay of Carter, Justin Goode, Tristan Duplissey and Stewart also posted their fastest time of the season with a 41.86 to finish sixth. The Lancer women earned a point on the 4x100m relay as well with a 51.57 from the foursome of Jada Fyffe, Jenkins, Alyssa Pillow and Samuels.
 
Two other runners also set personal bests. Clinton Clancy (4:03.80) lowered his PR in the men's 1,500m. Nicole Pinder (18:31.73) also set a personal best in the women's 5,000m.
 
FULL RESULTS:
 
Final Standings
Men's Scores
1. High Point: 304
2. USC Upstate: 139
3. UNC Asheville: 130
4. Charleston Southern: 80
5. Gardner-Webb: 79
6. Winthrop: 62
7. Longwood: 16
 
Women's Scores
1. High Point: 287.5
2. Charleston Southern: 152
3. Gardner-Webb: 105
4. USC Upstate: 86
5. Radford: 84
6. UNC Asheville: 54
7. Winthrop: 31.5
8. Longwood: 19
 
Individual Results (Day 3)
Men's 1,500m
11. Clinton Clancy: 4:03.80
 
Women's 1,500m
3. Sophie Farley: 4:27.71
8. Sam Bolen: 4:44.05
11. Lanie Grogg: 5:05.53
 
Men's 400m
4. Ayden Stewart: 47.61
 
Women's 800m
5. Sophie Farley: 2:12.37
 
Women's 400m Hurdles
6. Nyomi Rhodes: 1:05.81
 
Men's 5,000m
15. Ben Goulet: 15:51.33
16. Saad Khan: 16:13.35
18. Andrew Hathaway: 16:25.64
 
Women's 5,000m
13. Nicole Pinder: 18:31.73
15. Sam Bolen: 18:47.34
18. Priscilla Keller: 19:00.23
21. Kirsten Morley: 19:32.07
 
Men's 4x100m Relay
6. Longwood: 41.86
               Cullen Carter, Justin Goode, Tristan Duplissey, Ayden Stewart
 
Women's 4x100m
8. Longwood: 51.57
               Jada Fyffe, Mayson Jenkins, Alyssa Pillow, Taylor Samuels
 
Men's 4x400m
5. Longwood: 3:16.79
               Cullen Carter, Chris Smith, Joshua Martin, Ayden Stewart
 
Women's 4x400m
5. Longwood: 3:57.20
               Nyomi Rhodes, Mayson Jenkins, Taylor Samuels, Liliana Arevalo
 
UP NEXT:
 
The season is complete for Longwood's outdoor track team.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower