The Appalachian men's track and field team won its 16th SoCon Outdoor Championship (SoCon Sports Photo) Game statistics RELATED IMAGES All Images Wes Kiser had his hands full with his three championship trophies and two most outstanding athlete awards (SoCon Sports Photo) Phillip Bush poses with his Most Outstanding Freshman Award (SoCon Sports Photo) Coach Weaver accepts his ninth Men's Outdoor Coach of the Year Award (SoCon Sports Photo) Assistant Coach Mike Curcio prepares to be dunked in the steeplechase pit (SoCon Sports Photo) Coach Curcio takes the plunge in the murky waters of the steeplechase pit (SoCon Sports Photo) Coach Curcio shares a wet hug with Joel Gaddy during the championship celebration (SoCon Sports Photo)

Men's Track Wins Southern Conference Outdoor Championship
by Appalachian Sports Information

April 27, 2008 - CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Appalachian men's track and field squad led by 99 points after day one and held on for a 315-288 win over second-place Western Carolina for the team's 16th Southern Conference Outdoor Championship. It was the men's first championship since the 2005 season.

Phillip Bush won the Most Outstanding Freshman Award. Wes Kiser was named both the Most Outstanding Field Performer and the Most Outstanding Performer overall for having the most points in the competition.

Head coach John Weaver was named the men's Coach of the Year. It is the seventh time he has won won the award for men's outdoor track. He was also honored in 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Wes Kiser set a new SoCon record with a throw of 198-feet 11-inches in the hammer as ASU swept the top four spots in the event. Grant Haun was second at 185-5, Timothy Daly third at 181-9 and Malcolm Styers finished fourth at 165-8.

Kiser posted another standout performance in the discus as he won his second Southern Conference title. He threw his best of the season with a throw of 156-03. Three other Mountaineers also placed in the event as Styers, Haun and Jerod Gardner finished fourth, fifth and eighth overall.

Kiser won his third conference title of the meet as he finished first in the shot put with a throw of 51-5.75. Two other Mountaineers placed in the event as well, as Gardner (47-07.75) and Styers (44-10.75) earned the sixth and eighth place spots.

Also on the field, freshman Ryan Twiford had a standout performance as he finished first in the pole vault, with teammate Barron Shell earning the runner-up spot. Mike Wilson placed third, tied with Western's Logan James, while Matt Boruff and Zach Smith finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Senior Joel Gaddy won the men's triple jump with a mark of 50-feet 11.5 inches. Mark Sturgis was right behind in second place at 49-6.5 and Ricky Harris was fourth at 46-4.75.

For the steeplechase, Mark Maddox took first place with a 9:24.37, while Ryan O'Keefe came in third at 9:34.04.

The Appalachian men swept the 10,000-meter run as Blair Teal ran a 32:13.86 for first place, and was followed by Asmeron Desta (32:14.52), Brian Deal (32:14.67) and Phillip Mitchell (32:25.33) in second third and fourth.

Daniel Neal had a standout performance as he defended his outdoor SoCon title in the 110 meter hurdles, cruising to the victory in 14.50 seconds. Phillip Bush and Matt Boruff also did well as they placed fourth and fifth overall at 15.91 and 15.92.

Deal won the 5000-meter run with a time of 14:45.38, and Mitchell was second at 14:52.32, while Desta was third at 14:56.67 for the sweep. Ryan O'Keefe was sixth at a 15:11.88 mark, while Blair Teal and Mark Maddox rounded out the scoring places with seventh and eighth place finishes with 15:15.64 and 15:24.32 times.

The men long jumpers posted impressive performances on Saturday afternoon as Gaddy led the way for the Apps, finishing second with a jump of 23-8.75. Gaddy was two inches off the winner, Chris Gaillard of Western Carolina.

Phillip Bush, Harris and Sturgis were right behind Gaddy, with the third, fourth and sixth place spots.

In the decathalon, Jake Goodchild finished third overall with 5892 points. His performance moves him into fourth on ASU's all-time list in the event. Matt Boruff finished sixth in the event with 5183 points, and Justin Hunnicutt rounded out the scoring with an eighth place finish.

Neal went on to place second in the 400-meter hurdles with a 53.98 and Sean Thompson was right behind in third at 55.89.

For the 4x100 meter relay, the Mountaineers posted an impressive performance in the event as well, as the team of Harris, Neal, Sturgis and Bush finished second to Western, with a time of 41.19.

Following a trio of Catamounts, Neal finished fourth in the men's 100-meter dash with a 10.69. Bush was sixth at 10.74 and Harris finished seventh with a 10.84.

Josh Houser and Phil Mitchell continued with their winning ways as they notched the second and third place spots in the men's 1500 meter run. Thomas Peterson finished seventh in the race to earn two points for ASU.

In the final event of the weekend, the 4x400 relay team of Zeller, Goodchild, Thompson and Carter placed third with 3:23.23.

WCU's Manteo Mitchell was named the top track performer.

The team takes two weeks off to finish up the academic year before heading to Georgia Tech on May 16-17.