Covenant Women 4th, Men 6th At USA South Championships

BEREA, Ky. -- Three more Covenant track and field athletes earned All-USA South honors as the Scots completed the USA South Championships on Friday afternoon in Berea, Ky.

The Covenant women's team finished fourth with 42 total points, while the men were sixth with 40 points.

Two Scots took home first place medals on the women's side on Friday.

Lilly Smith took first in the 1500 meter race as she finished in a time of 4:50.09, while S.K. Lipperd ran a first place time of 2:22.18 in the 800 meter event. In the 5,000 meter event, Michelann Settle came in third with a time of 18:51.46 to earn a podium appearance.

All-conference honors were determined by the top three finishers in each event. Covenant produced four All-USA South honorees on both the men's and women's sides. For the men, Michael Rawlings earned All-USA South in the javelin, Micaiah Allison in the 3,000 meter steeple, Cooper Hayes in the pole vault, and Matt Seitz in the 10,000 meter. On the women's side, Hannah Samuels earned All-USA South in the 10,000 meter, Smith in the 1500 meter, Lipperd in the 800 meter, and Settle in the 5,000 meter.

Settle was also Covenant's representative on the All-Sportsmanship team on the women's side, while Jonathan George was the All-Sportsmanship honoree for the men.

Covenant also saw top performances in several other events. Matthew Tueller set a program record in the 5,000 meter with a time of 15:46.66 as he placed fifth overall. The 4x400 relay team of Stephen Cone, David Gaffin, Brendan Yeager, and William Bryan set a program record in the event with a time of 3:29.65. In the 800 meter run on the men's side, Yeager finished sixth and posted a time of 2:00.07, while Gaffin (2:00.90) and Leif Le Mahieu (2:00.96) were not far behind.

Bryan came in sixth in the 400 meter with his time of 51.08. George was fifth in the 1500 meter at 4:07.23 with Yeager trailing at 4:07.54 and a sixth place finish.

The women's 4x400 team of Virginia Kay Roberts, Maggie Henry, Nichole Rittgers, and Lipperd placed fourth overall with a time of 4:20.73. Smith collected points for the Scots in the 5,000 meter event as well with her fourth place finish.

Piedmont claimed both the men's and women's team titles. Methodist's Jeremy Prichard was named the USA South Athlete of the Year on the men's side, while Piedmont's Giahnni Fernandes was the women's Athlete of the Year.