By: Jake Renie, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
ATLANTA– After the program picked up their first conference outdoor championships title just two weeks ago, the Centre women's track & field team earned another accolade of trophies from the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) on Wednesday. The Colonels claimed all four conference postseason major awards, the first time in conference history that an athletic program was able to complete the clean sweep of honors.
Meghan Owens snagged her second-career SAA Track Athlete of the Year honor, the third season in a row that the Gold & White has claimed the conference honor. The Harrodsburg, Ky., product adds this to her shelf with her 2021 Newcomer of the Year award as well, picking up her third-career All-SAA First Team mark as well. The senior earned three SAA championship titles during the recent meet, winning the women's 5000m, 10K and 3000m steeplechase. She also picked up a silver medal during the championships as well, finishing as the conference's runner-up competitor in javelin.
Junior
Jasmine Claunch collected her first SAA Field Athlete of the Year, the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field All-American earning two different conference titles (Long Jump, Triple Jump) during the recent meet. Claunch's 12.11m distance that she performed to win the championships in the Triple Jump ranks her fourth overall in Division III. The Burgin, Ky., native's award collection for the 2023 academic year also included an All-SAA First Team selection from the conference.
Sophie Bouldin cements the Colonels' third SAA Newcomer of the Year award in the last five season that the honor was distributed, picking up two conference titles in the women's 800 and 1500m events. The freshman has earned the honor already in the academic year, being the recipient of the recent cross country's accolade last fall. The Assumption High School alumni in Louisville, Ky., also earned two other SAA medals in the recent championships, finishing as the runner-up in the 10K and part of the third-place 4x400m relay.
Director of Track & Field and Head Coach
Lisa Owens garnered her 39th-career Coach of the Year honor with the SAA's award distribution on Wednesday, guiding the program to their first-ever SAA championship trophy that ended a nine-season streak by Rhodes (the Colonels finished as the meet runner-up in eight of those seasons). The Gold & White currently have several student-athletes across a handful of events that rank in the nation's top-50 competitors, including
Meghan Owens' 35:35.32 time in the 10K that is currently slotted as 10th in Division III.
The conference slotted two other members on the All-SAA First Team alongside the three mentioned previously,
Madjo Doumbia and
Lauren Foutch both collecting five SAA event titles between of the two of them. Doumbia's 200m time from the EKU Rick Erdmann Twilight meet sits among the best in Division III, the sophomore currently 19th in the country after the conference championship weekends concluded.
The Gold & White cemented five different All-SAA Second Team selections consisting of
Caroline Davis,
Callie Gormley,
Adelyn Shupert, Sheby Smith and
Gracie West. Davis took part in the second-place 4x100m relay a the conference championships, Smith also part of that relay along with her silver medal she earned in the women's triple jump. Gormley joined Smith and Claunch in the Gold & White's jumping accolades with a Second Team nod from her long jump performance, the sophomore pushing a 5.32m mark in the event for second overall. Shupert rounded out an excellent freshman season with her recent honor, picking up the SAA's silver medal in the women's 800m. West performed a pair of top-five finishes at the SAA championships, earning the silver medal in the women's 5000m.
The Colonels added three more names to the All-SAA Honorable Mention team, the trio of distance runners earning bronze medals during the recent conference championships.
Rachel Gaynor earned the accolade off a third-place performance in the 300m steeplechase, also finishing among the top-eight competitors in the 5000m event.
Erin Haugh collected her honor after the sophomore finished third overall in the 1500m, also finishing right behind sophomore-teammate Gaynor in the steeplechase to finish fourth overall.
Cara Taylor rounds out the conference honors after helping Centre complete the podium sweep in the women's 5000m, placing third overall in the event with her 18:40.12 time.
Centre will scatter themselves among several last chance meets over the next couple weekends before finding out selections for the upcoming 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the end of May. The members that qualify will travel out to Rochester, N.Y., the championships starting on Thursday, May 25 and running through Saturday, May 27. For all updates on all things Gold & White, visit
centrecolonels.com.
