April 18, 2009

Complete Results
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BANNER ELK, N.C.—Senior Mitch Cooper (Virginia Beach, Va.) earned enough points to be named Co-Track Athlete of the Year and lead the St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s team to a third place finish in the inaugural Conference Carolinas Track & Field Championships hosted by Lees-McRae College on Friday and Saturday.

Junior Matthew Rogers (pictured) won the inaugural Conference Carolinas title in the men's shot put while also scoring highly in the hammer and discus.

Cooper, junior Matthew Rogers (Eatonton, Ga.), and senior Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) all earned First Team All-Conference by winning an event this past weekend. Cooper was the conference champion in the 3000m steeplechase, Rogers was victorious in the shot put, and Phillips claimed the title in the high jump.

SAPC did not compete in every event but still had a third place result out of six teams with 93 points. The Knights were just nine points behind second-place Limestone College. The host Bobcats won the inaugural team title.

Cooper finished out his outstanding collegiate career in a Royal Blue & White uniform by winning the 3000m steeplechase with his fastest time of his senior season. Cooper crossed the finish line 9:44.23 and 13 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor. Sophomore Doug Holt (Haddonfield, N.J.) and junior James Lloyd (Lusby, Md.) also scored for the Knights in the 3000m steeplechase. Holt earned a spot on the podium with a third place finish with a time of 10:09.07 while Lloyd crossed the finish line in sixth at 11:05.41.

St. Andrews also dominated the high jump with a trio of Knights finishing in the upper half of the event. Phillips won the league title with a new school record height of 1.88m. Junior Cameron Cofield (Chesapeake, Va.) and freshman Dominique Hollins (Columbia, S.C.) also scored in the top-six with new PR jumps of 1.83m and 1.78m, respectively. Cofield took the podium in third place while Hollins was sixth overall. Cofield added a fourth place showing in the triple jump with a PR measurement of 12.65m.Cofield also scored in the long jump with a sixth-place leap of 6.28m. Phillips was right behind Cofield in seventh place with a jump of 6.27m. Phillips also finished seventh in the triple jump (12.18m).

Phillips wrapped up his busy weekend with a new school record time in the 200 meter dash by darting across the finish line in 23.83 seconds.

Rogers earned his conference championship in the shot put with a school-record heave of 14.35m. Rogers defeated 14 other entrants and his winning throw was 1.56-meters longer than the nearest competitor. Rogers also scored points for the Knights with a third place finish in the hammer throw (34.26m) and a fourth place showing in the discus throw (35.01m). Junior Allen Kiefer (Raleigh, N.C.) provided a PR 10.25m chuck in the shot put and a 31.87m toss in the javelin throw to round out the Knights competition in the throwing events.

Cooper went to the podium three times this weekend with a pair of third place results in the 5000m and 10000m runs. Cooper scored a total of 22 points for the Knights to earn his Co-Track Athlete of the Year honors. Cooper had times of 15:56.49 in the 5000m run and 32:32.99 in the 10000m run. Holt also scored in both endurance events finishing fifth each race with fast times of 16:35.68 and 33:53.03. Sophomore James Walls (Bear Creek, N.C.) and Wilson both added top-10 finishes in each race while Lloyd did the same in the 5000m run.

Sophomore Josh Pickett (Asheville, N.C.) helped the Knights with their highest finishes in both the 800m and 1500m runs. Pickett earned a trip to the podium with a third place finish in the 800 (2:05.41) while adding a fifth place result in the 1500 (4:30.29). Walls also scored in the 1500m run by clocking in at 4:30.89. Junior Brad McKee (Kings Mountain, N.C.) set a new PR in the 1500 with time of 4:38.13, which was good for eighth place overall out of 22 entrants.