UMO captures second straight women’s track title

WINSTON-SALEM – Behind four individual champions on Sunday, the University of Mount Olive women’s track and field program repeated as the Conference Carolinas Indoor Champions at the JDL Fast Track, clinching the title Feb. 20.

The Trojans continued their dominance in the conference, claiming their eighth conference title in the previous nine seasons, while head coach Earl Graves garnered his third Coach of the Year award at the helm of the program.

Mount Olive secured the championship after tallying 159 points in the team standings with 15 athletes scoring points on Feb. 19. The Trojans registered points in 10 of 16 events while scoring 71 points in the shot put and the 200 and 400 meters combined. UNC-Pembroke finished in second place with 102 points, while Converse rounded out the top three with 74 points.

Sophomore Karla Hormazabal earned the conference title in the triple jump and established an NCAA provisional standard on Feb. 19. She set a personal record with a distance of 38 feet, nine inches to secure her first individual medalist honor in her career at Mount Olive.

In the 200 meters, senior Jaylin Reeves claimed the league crown after crossing the line in 25.06 seconds to win by nearly four-hundredths of a second. With her time at the league meet, she jumped to second in the Southeast Region in the event.

Fellow senior Jaiden Moody delivered a personal best in the 400 meters to edge out her teammates for the conference title. She posted a mark of 58 seconds to win by seven-hundredths of a second to achieve maximum points for UMO.

Freshman Ashley Lindsey made an impact in her first appearance at the conference meet with a personal record of 41 feet, nine inches in the shot put to clinch the league crown.

In the pole vault, freshman Trinity Frayer placed second overall in the field but set a school record of 10 feet, five inches in her debut at the Conference Carolinas Championships.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics