Men's Indoor Track and Field Picked Eighth in South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

FULL SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE RELEASE

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Coker University's men's track and field team was picked eighth in the 2021 South Atlantic Conference men's track and field Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the league today (Friday, Jan. 29). 

Nationally-ranked No. 25 Queens (N.C.) topped the poll with 10 first-place votes and 142 points, while ranked No. 2 regionally, and Wingate was picked second with 125 points and one first-place vote. Lenoir-Rhyne was tabbed third with 121 points, while Carson-Newman is slated fourth with 113 points. Limestone was picked fifth with 98 points with the final first-place vote, followed by Catawba with 93 points. Tusculum took the seventh spot with 86 points while being ranked No. 4 regionally, while Coker was slated eighth with 71 points. Lincoln Memorial was voted ninth with 64 points and a regional ranking of six, Anderson (S.C.) came in 10th with 63 points, Newberry (42 points) and Mars Hill (38 points) rounded out the poll.

Returning top performers for the Cobras include Murishi Irankunda, Tony McElveen Jr., and Sage Lilly.

Irankunda, a senior who participated in multiple events last season, won the triple jump at the SAC Indoor Championships in his first-ever attempt at the event last March, while also setting a school record with a distance of 14.36 in the event.

McElveen Jr., a senior sprinter, was named one of the SAC indoor track athletes to watch prior to the 2019-2020 season. McElveen had three top 10 finishes in his 2019-2020 campaign. He set a Coker school record in the 60m with a mark of 6.87 at the JDL College Kick-Off Classic on Dec. 7, and set two Coker school records at the BU Valentine Meet (Feb. 14 - Feb. 15) with a 6.84 mark in the 60m and a 21.83 in the 200m, while coming in fourth place in the 60m finals at the SAC Indoor Conference Championships (Mar. 1) with a time of 6.88.

Sage Lilly, a senior sprinter, was part of a 4x400m relay team that set a Coker school record with a time of 3:17.24 at the South Carolina Invitational (Feb. 8). He set a Coker school record in the 400m (49.08) at the BU Valentine Meet (Feb. 15) and finished third place in the 400m at the SAC Indoor Conference Championships with a mark of 49.89 (Mar. 1).

The Cobras open the 2021 season next Saturday (Feb. 6) at the L-R Polar Joe Invite in Hickory, N.C. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.