MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – For the second straight season the Converse University Women's Track & Field team will be coming back to the Hub City with a bit of hardware, following a runner-up finish at the 2024 Conference Carolinas Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Converse Men's Track & Field Team posted their best finish ever with a sixth place finish.

The women's track and field team once again saw success in multiple events over championship weekend. Jermyra Bethel became the first Converse athlete in program history to win the event. The freshman won the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.20 seconds. Fellow freshman, Froukje Mons won the 3,000 meter steeplechase event with a time of 11:05.44. This is the second straight season the Valkyries have captured gold in the steeplechase event.

In the high jump event the Valkyries excelled once again as they swept the podium. Jordan Brown won the event with a leap of 1.64 meters. Phoebe Myers finished second in the event with a mark of 1.61 meters and Kamille Cunningham matched Myers' mark to finish third. During the indoor championships, Brown and Myers tied for the conference championship in the high jump event.

Anne van den Broek had a pair of silver medal finishes in both the 800 and 1500 meter events. In the 800-meter event, Broek clocked a time of 2:20.18 and in the 1500 she posted a time of 4:51.87.

Fellow distance athlete Lauren Beatty finished second in the 10,000 meter event with a time of 37:32.43 and a third place finish in the 5,000 meter with a time of 18:26.28. Beatty's time also set a program record in the event and a personal best time. Ashley Sosa finished on the podium as well in the 10,000 meter event with a time of 37:35.20, posting a new personal record in the process.

In the shot put event, Bella Martin finished second with a mark of 11.96 meters, and third in the hammer throw event with a mark of 50.69 meters.  

On the men's side, freshman Aubrey Hemphill won the first event championship of the weekend, with a first place finish in the Javelin throw event. Hemphill posted a new program record with a mark of 54.01 meters in the event.

Devron Davis had a multi-podium weekend for the Valkyries with a second place finish in the 200-meter dash event, and a third place finish in the 100-meter dash event. Davis' 200-meter time of 21.14 seconds was an NCAA provisional time as well.

The men's 4x400 relay race came down to the wire as just a tenth of a second separated Converse and UNC Pembroke. The Valkyries finished second in the event, but claimed an important eight points in the process to secure a sixth place finish at the meet.  

Luis Rios Brena finished third in the steeplechase with a time of 9:36.06, setting a new program record in the process. Rios Brena's time was also a new personal best for the junior.
Women's Notes:

• The 4x100 relay team (Griffin, Cunningham, Bethle, Okoduwa) finished just off the podium with a fourth place finish in the event.  
• Eseose Okoduwa finished fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.14 seconds and finished seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.06 seconds. Okoduwa also finished fifth in the long jump event with a mark of 5.61 meters.
• Quiana Suber finished sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.90 seconds.
• Bayley Robinson finished sixth in the 800 meter event with a time of 2:23.84
• In the 5,000 meter event Ashley Sosa finished seventh with a time of 18:43.36 and Mons finished eighth with a time of 18:57.07.  
• In the 100-meter hurdles event, Phoebe Myers finished seventh with a time of 15.17 seconds. In the 400-meter hurdles, Latavia Bracey placed fifth with a time of 1:06.32.
• Paisley Stepp finished 10^th in the event with a time of 42:42.17. Stepp also finished fifth in the Steeplechase event with a time of 12:28.78, both times were personal bests for the freshman.
• Mackenzie Whiteside finished 10^th in the triple jump event with a mark of 10.89 meters and Janyia Pinckney finished 12^th with a leap of 10.70 meters.
• Bella Martin finished seventh in the discus throw event with a mark of 36.11 meters.
• Sydney Wilson finished 11^th in the shot put event with a mark of 10.11 meters. Mackenzie Weatherford finished 11^th in the hammer throw with a mark of 35.53 meters.

 
Men's Notes:

• Gavin McFadden finished fourth in the 100-meter dash event with a time of 10.66 seconds.
• Alexander Sosa finished fifth in the 10,000 meter event with a time of 31:43.75, setting a new program record in the event.
• Rios Brena finished seventh in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 15:25.54.
• In the triple jump event, Omarion Belton finished sixth with a mark of 13.87 meters, and Elijah Hall finished 15^th with a mark of 13.10 meters.
• Belton finished 15^th in the long jump event with a mark of 6.55 meters, and Hall finished 23^rd with a mark of 6.05 meters.
• During the preliminary round of the 800-meter event, both Nathan Lucy and Zackery Carver posted personal best times in the event. In the preliminary round of the 1500 meter event, Spenser Kirby posted a new personal best time as well.

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