Wildcat Women Open Competition at 2010 Outdoor SoCon Championships Saturday
4/23/2010 1:52:31 PM | Women's Track & Field
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Freshmen Natalie Atabek and Rosie Lewis will lead the Wildcat women's track and field teams as competition opens at the 2010 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held on Saturday and Sunday at Kidd Brewer Stadium on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
Atabek and Lewis are each ranked among league leaders in a pair of events to pace the Wildcats, who also have scoring potential in juniors Heather Conarroe and Lauren Childs.
Atabek ranks third in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:35.88 from the Duke Invitational, followed immediately by Conarroe with a time of 17:43.06 from the UNC 49er Classic. Childs is seventh with a time of 17:47.97 from the same meet. The Wildcat trio will be looking to defeat a pair of Elon runners in Caitlin Beeler (17:23.12, Raleigh Relays) and Emily Fournier (17:35.83, Raleigh Relays). Atabek is also ranked in the 1,500 meters, with a 19th-place time of 4:50.73 from the Winthrop Invitational.
Lewis ranks 13th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.18, and 17th in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:11.40, both from the Winthrop Invitational.
Freshman Cara Wilck ranks 16th in the steeplechase with a time of 12:41.92 from the Carolina Cup.
The most recent power rankings, which include meets through April 17, have Western Carolina, Appalachian State and Samford in the top three spots. The Wildcat women are ranked ninth. The rankings are determined by the top eight times or scores that are reported by the schools for each event that will be conducted at this weekend's championships.
The top men's and women's teams will be the 2010 Outdoor Track and Field Southern Conference Champions. The top eight individuals in each event score with the top three awarded All-conference honors.This will be the 86th Annual Outdoor Track and Field Championship for the men and the 24th for the women.
At last year's championship in Statesboro, Georgia, the Western Carolina men and Appalachian State women claimed the conference titles. This was the 16th overall conference title for the Appalachian women program history, and the fourth title for the Western Carolina men's program.
Five field events will be held at nearby State Farm Fields, including the men's hammer, the men's and women's javelin, the men's decathlon javelin and the women's heptathlon javelin. It marks the 12th year and the first time since 2007 that the championships will be hosted by the Mountaineers.
The championships begin Saturday at 8 a.m. with five men's decathlon events, followed by four women's heptathlon events at 8:30 a.m. The awards ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Sunday at 4:45 p.m.
The event is free to the public.
Women's Outdoor Track and Field Pre-Championship Power Rankings
1. Western Carolina, 196
2. Appalachian State, 162
3. Samford, 115
4. Elon, 112
5. Georgia Southern, 79
6. College of Charleston, 44
7. The Citadel, 31
8. Furman, 17
9. Davidson, 13
10. Chattanooga, 11
11. Wofford, 9
12. UNC Greensboro, 0