Highlanders Finish Season Strong, Place Fourth at 2023 Big South Track & Field Championships

BLACKSBURG, Va. - After recording one of the most impressive days in the history of the program yesterday, the Radford University women's track & field team doubled down with another slew of conference accolade-earning performances on Saturday to close out the final slate of the 2023 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships. As they have all season, Radford's freshmen continued to shine at the collegiate level as they scored a large portion of the Highlanders' points.

Radford's final day of the season was highlighted by podium finishes from Sophie Magson and Chloe Wellings. Magson's 4:57.58 mile was good enough for second place while Wellings posted a time of 9:45.26 in the 3,000-meter event to take third, her second podium finish of the weekend.

Dezmajia Carter opened the scoring for Radford in the day's first event. The freshman earned her squad four points after placing fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.10 meters.

Alongside Magson's podium finish in the mile, a pair of Radford scores came in via Kate McLearen (5:03.56) and MegAnne Gilmore (5:03.59) for their efforts. The duo finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Jaslyne Robinson shined in the 60-meter hurdles all season long. The Midlothian, Va. native ran a personal-best time on the biggest stage, finishing with a time of 8.95 seconds to earn Radford two points.

Raichelle Cornelius finished the 400-meter dash in sixth place. She added her name to the list of freshmen that recorded scoring performances for the Highlanders, contributing with three points.

MacKenzie Gardner added a point to the Highlanders' total following the 800-meter race. She tallied the fifth best time in program history, crossing the line with a time of 2:18.06.

The Highlanders wrapped up the season with a season-best performance in the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Burkley, Kandace McIvor, Jordan Jackson and Cornelius combined to finish fourth en route to Radford's final five points of the championships.

QUOTABLE
If this weekend was any indication of what lies ahead for Shelli Sayers' program, the past 48 hours were all she needed to see to know that the future is extremely bright. "I am so impressed with this group. We couldn't be more proud of what they did over the last two days," she said.

"It's hard to pin point just one thing. When I pause to think about it all, I'm flooded with emotion. This was a huge step forward for our program."

Although her collegiate indoor career came to a close, Burkley was thrilled to see the progress the team has made over the course of the season, especially since the outdoor campaign is just around the corner. "I am very proud of our team. We have worked really hard and we showed a lot of heart this weekend. I can't wait for outdoor," the senior added.

POSTSEASON AWARDS
This past weekend's championships marked the end of the indoor season for most student-athletes across the country. At the conclusion of the meet, the Big South announced its annual awards and Burkley was named to the Big South All-Academic Team.

The full list of the academic award winners named by the conference office is below.

All-Academic Team
Lakelyn Bass, Campbell
Chloe Greene, Charleston Southern
Karmen Taylor, Gardner-Webb
Letizia Marisco, High Point
Julia Burkley, Radford
Claudia Prietto, UNC Asheville
Heaven Allen, USC Upstate
Libby Roush, Winthrop

Scholar Athlete of the Year
Claudia Prieto, UNC Asheville

UP NEXT
The Highlanders will enjoy a few well-deserved weeks off but will also be thrilled that the outdoor season is drawing near. Radford will open its outdoor slate on Friday, March 17 when they travel to Richmond, Va. for the Richmond Invitational.

FOLLOW RADFORD TRACK & FIELD
For more updates on the Radford Cross Country program, check out RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordXCTrack on Twitter as well as @radfordxctrack on Instagram and Radford Track & Field / Cross Country on Facebook.

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