HIGH POINT, N.C. – Longwood track has had plenty of milestones this season, and now it can add competing in the Big South Championship to the list. The Lancers wrapped up the first day of the conference championship in the team's debut season on Monday night with two days still to come at Vert Stadium in High Point.
 
Monday featured a mix of preliminary events along with field event finals and the men's and women's 10,000m finals. During competition, rainy weather forced a rain delay in the afternoon before events resumed into the evening.
 
NOTABLES:
 
In the lone men's final of the day, the 10,000m, Ethan Pettyjohn notched his best time. He ran a 33:06.59 and finished ninth, one spot shy of giving Longwood its first points in the Big South Championship. His time ranks as the fourth-fastest time in team history in the 10,000m.
 
For the women, Haley Slattery ran a 39:53.59, good for the second-fastest time in program history behind her own record set at the Colonial Relays this spring.
 
Sprints saw both the men and women run in the 200m prelims that saw the top eight advance to the finals. For the women, Trinity Smith ripped off her fastest 200m with a 26.15, good for 12^th in the 17-runner field. Smith knocked better than three-tenths of a second off her fastest time.
 
On the men's side, Xavier Moss ran his collegiate best of 22.72, nearly a tenth of a second better than his previous personal best, and Justin Goode added a 22.91 that was his personal best.
 
In the men's and women's 1,500m prelims, the top 12 qualifiers advanced to the finals.
 
All four Lancer men posted personal bests in the race. Saad Khan led the way with a 4:10.96, shaving five seconds off his previous best. He finished 14^th to narrowly miss the cut for the finals. Christian Reid was a scant one second behind, and Javier Roldan and Bryce Christian also had personal best marks in the race.
 
In the women's race, Sam Bolen served as the team's top finisher with a 5:00.91, coming up just four spots shy of qualifying for the finals in a tight field. Nicole Pinder was two seconds back of Bolen with her fastest time in the race, and Kiersten Witte and Kai Wheeler also had personal best times.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"Overall it was a good first day of competition," said Longwood Head Coach Brooke Craig. "We knew going in that making it to finals was going to be a long shot, but everyone embraced the plan of going for it. This resulted all men and three women running PRs in the 1,500. Ethan improved from his 10K debut and was one spot off from scoring."
 
"For sprints, we keep making strides forward and saw a lot of personal bests today," said Longwood Sprints Coach Rob Gritzer. "We are continuing to set the standard and raise the bar moving forward. Day two should be a fun day to watch for Lancer fans!"
 
SCORE:
Women's
1. Charleston Southern: 28
2. Radford: 18
3. High Point: 17
4. Gardner-Webb: 16
5. USC Upstate: 15
6. UNC Asheville: 13
7. Winthrop: 10
8. Longwood: 0
 
Men's
1. USC Upstate: 62
2. High Point: 50
3. Charleston Southern: 41
4. Winthrop: 21
5. Gardner-Webb: 8
6. UNC Asheville: 7
7. Longwood: 0
 
FULL REVENT RESULTS:
 
Men's 200m Preliminary Heats (Top 8 advance to finals)
16. Xavier Moss: 22.72
17. Justin Goode: 22.91
18. John Louden: 23.98
 
Women's 200m Preliminary Heats (Top 8 advance to finals)
12. Trinity Smith: 26.15
 
Men's Long Jump
11. Matthew Fitzner: 6.02m (19'9")
12. Cullen Carter: 5.98m (19'7½")
 
Men's 1,500m Preliminary Heats (Top 12 advance to finals)
14. Saad Khan: 4:10.96
15. Christian Reid: 4:11.41
16. Javier Roldan: 4:21.01
17. Bryce Christian: 4:26.51
 
Women's 1,500m Preliminary Heats (Top 12 advance to finals)
16. Sam Bolen: 5:00.91
17. Nicole Pinder: 5:02.53
19. Priscilla Keller: 5:05.38
20. Kiersten Witte: 5:10.52
23. Kai Wheeler: 5:29.97
 
Men's 10,000m Final
9. Ethan Pettyjohn: 33:06.59
 
Women's 10,000m Final
13. Haley Slattery: 39:53.59
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood will tackle day two of the Big South Championships. A variety of sprints will hold prelims, while the men's triple jump will also take place along with the 3,000m steeplechase. Live stats are available here. The meet will also be streamed, starting at 4:55 p.m., on ESPN+.
 
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