Highlanders Off to Strong Start at 2023 Big South Championships

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Radford University women's track & field team kicked off its postseason run with a strong outing on Wednesday, the opening day of the 2023 Outdoor Track & Field Big South Championships.

The action began as Kandace McIvor and Maddie Wright represented the Highlanders in the heptathlon. The duo combined for five top-five finishes across four events, highlighted by a pair of top-five spots in the high jump. After the opening four events, McIvor sits in fifth and Wright is scored sixth. The final three events will be contested tomorrow.

Elyssia Fisher had a very impressive start to her first-ever conference championship meet. The freshman qualified for the finals in the long jump and then turned around with a blistering performance in the 200-meter dash. She crossed the line with a time of 24.88 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in program history.

As the evening progressed and the Highlanders remained on the track, all of Radford's 1,500-meter event runners extended their championship hopes. Sophie Magson, MegAnne Gilmore, Megan Cash and Kate McLearen all qualified for the finals on Friday.

Competing for Big South gold is nothing new to senior Julia Burkley. Her efforts in the 400-meter hurdle preliminaries gave her an automatic qualification to Friday's finals where she will compete for another conference medal.

The opening night was completed with the longest event of the three-day meet, the 10,000-meter race. It was Chloe Wellings' 35:02.84 outing that paced the Highlanders as she earned a podium spot while also posting the second-fastest time in team history.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Shelli Sayers was more than content with how her squad performed on the opening day. "We had a solid first day. I'm very proud of the way we competed considering how young we are as a team."

"The distance group was outstanding. Four to the finals may be the most we ever had in the 1,500-meter. Chloe was simply outstanding," she added.

UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to competition tomorrow for Day 2 of the Big South Championships. Field events will begin at noon while there is a 5:00 p.m. start for track action.

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

Print Friendly Version