Eagles finish third SoCon championship

Bryan Marseille

Georgia Southern University women’s track and field team finished third overall in the Southern Conference Indoor Championships at the JDL Fast Track this past weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Eagles posted 35 personal bests in the event, but it was graduate student Sherill McFarlane who had arguably the best performance this weekend. McFarlane beat her own university record on her way to becoming the first-ever Eagle to win the 800m conference title.

“I was really nervous about this track meet because I’ve been doing so good all season and I didn’t want to have a bad race,” McFarlane said. “It means a lot winning my first SoCon championship title and my first conference title ever. It’s been a long time coming.”

The Eagles finished the weekend with 119 points, the fourth highest in its history at this competition. After scoring adjustments in three different events, the Eagles finished 1.5 points shy of Appalachian State University. Western Carolina University’s 132 points were enough to capture its second straight title.

Junior Jasmin Walker led the crop of Eagles in the Long Jump, setting a personal best of 6.01m, en route to her second indoor title in the event and third overall.

“I expect to win the long jump every time,” Walker said. “That’s my event. No one can take that from me. And if they do, I will come back stronger.”

Four Eagles finished in the top eight for the event, including personal bests by sophomore Camryn Coleman (5.68m) and sophomore Ashleigh Rasheed (5.61m) Last year’s champion in the event, sophomore Alyssa Felton, came in eighth with 5.60m.

Sophomore Keyanna Harris matched the university high jump record in her second place finish with 1.70m.

Rasheed set the pace Saturday, finishing second in the pentathlon and recording two personal bests along the way. Rasheed’s performance placed her third all-time on the program’s list.

Rasheed continued her dominance Sunday in the triple jump, as her 12.31m was good enough for second place in the event.

Freshman Asha Stegall and senior Dana Edwards finished second and eighth, respectively, in the 400m event before joining the 4x400m relay team that won first place. Stegall’s first sub-56-second race of the season placed her second in the race on the Eagles’ all-time list.

The Eagles begin outdoor competition March 7 at the Palmetto Classic in Charleston, S.C.