SEWANEE'S STONE HIGHLIGHTS SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE'S 15TH ANNIVERSARY WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD TEAM

SUWANEE, Ga. - Sewanee: The University of the South's Heather Stone headlines an impressive list of 17 past standouts named to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's 15th Anniversary women's track and field team.

Stone, the league's only three-time Female Athlete-of-the-Year selection, was the dominate force in track and field from 1997 to 2000. Stone posted the top individual point total in the history of the conference meet (men's or women's) her senior season when she totaled an incredible 62.5 points - outscoring five teams by herself. An all-anniversary honoree for her performances in the 800-, 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs as well as the 400-meter hurdles, Stone earned a league-record 15 individual titles in six different events during her four-year reign in the SCAC, including four straight wins in the 800 and 1,500 meters. She also won titles in the 400-meter hurdles (1998, 1999, 2000), 3,000 meters (1999, 2000), 400 meters (2000) and 10,000 meters (2000). She still holds the conference meet record for the 1,500 meters (4:36.75), the 3,000 meters (10:43.94) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:04.27). A five-time all-American from 1999-2000, Stone won national titles in the 1,500 at both the 2000 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor National Championships. This is the second all-anniversary selection for Stone, who was named to the cross country team this past fall.

Also making the 15th anniversary track and field team were Kelly Jo Davis and Eileen Schilling of Centre College, Catherine Smith of DePauw University, Emily Ferguson, Nicole Horvath and Jessie Hunt of Rhodes College, Michelle Parks and Quisha White of Sewanee, Heather Lemmons of Southwestern University and Aisha Carter, Maeve Goetz, Julie Grahn, Jennifer Graves, Stephanie Hankins, Christyn Schumann and Beth Swearingen of Trinity University.

Centre's Davis was selected to the all-anniversary team for her performance in the shot put, an event she won three times in four years (1994, 1996, 1997). The only three-time winner of the event, Davis still holds the SCAC championship-meet record for the put (42 feet, 10 and 3/4 inches). Schilling, one of three active members selected to the all-anniversary team, has won the last two 10,000-meter runs, including a conference-meet record run of 37:56.37 at the 2004 Spring Sports Festival at Georgia Tech. Schilling was also selected to the 15th anniversary cross country team this past September.

DePauw's Smith received a nod to the all-anniversary team based on three-straight conference meet wins in the discus (2000-2002). Her winning toss of 130 feet, 4 inches at the 2002 championships set a new conference record. Smith also won the shot put in 2002 - giving the former Tiger four individual career titles in SCAC competition.

Ferguson of Rhodes won three straight 5,000-meter runs (1997-1999) to earn all-anniversary honors. She also added an individual title in the 10,000 meters in 1999 to give her four career wins in conference championship competition to go along with five second-place finishes (three in the 10,000, two in the 3,000). Horvath captured back-to-back titles in the 3,000 meters (1996, 1997) and was the first to break the 11:00 mark with her record-setting time of 10:54.75 in 1997 (since broken). That same year, she picked up her third career conference individual title with a victory in the 10,000. Both Ferguson and Horvath were also 15th anniversary cross country team selections. Rounding out the recipients from Rhodes, Hunt was a two-time Athlete-of-the-Year honoree (2001-2002) and received an all-anniversary nod for efforts in both the 100 hurdles and triple jump. Hunt won both of those events for three consecutive years (2000-02) and still holds the second-fastest time in the history of the conference championships in the 100 hurdles (15.25) and the third-longest triple jump (36' 9 3/4"). Hunt, who owns three of the top seven individual point totals in the history of the SCAC championships, claimed 10 individual titles in five different events during her career. In addition to the previously mentioned triple jump and 100-meter hurdles wins, she posted wins in the long jump (2001), javelin (2002) and high jump (2001, 2002). Hunt scored 4,505 points and finished fourth in the heptathlon at the 2001 NCAA Division III Championships to earn all-American honors.

Sewanee's Parks posted two straight wins in the 400 meters (1993-1994) - the only runner in league history to win the event in consecutive years. She finished second the following two years. Parks also earned consecutive victories in the 200 in 1994 and 1995 to give her four career conference meet titles. White, the 1993 SCAC Athlete of the Year, was the fastest woman in the league for three consecutive years as she won the 100-meter dash in 1992, 1993 and 1994. White, a main part of Sewanee's three straight conference titles (1992-1994), also posted victories in the 200 meters in 1992 and 1993.

Lemmons of Southwestern won three consecutive conference 100-meter hurdle titles form 1996-1998 and placed second in 1999. She still holds the conference meet record in the event, running a 14.94 in a preliminary heat in 1997. Southwestern's most decorated SCAC women's track and field athlete with four career individual titles, Lemmons also won the triple jump in 1997.

Trinity's Carter was honored on the all-anniversary team for winning three straight 200-meter competitions at the SCAC championships (1997-1999). Those same three seasons, she also won the 100-meters, making Carter the only athlete in SCAC history to win the 100 and 200 at the same meet for three consecutive years. Her six individual conference-meet titles are the most of Trinity women's track and field athlete. After the SCAC women replaced the 3,000 meters with the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2002, Trinity's Goetz won two of the first three runnings and was honored by the voters with a place on the all-anniversary team for those performances. She also picked up a third-place finish in the 5,000 meters in 2004. Grahn won the javelin for four consecutive years (1995-1998) and held the SCAC record up until last year. She still owns two of the top five tosses in league meet history and was an all-American in the event in 1997. Graves garnered consecutive SCAC Athlete-of-the-Year honors in 1996 and 1997 and led Trinity to a conference title the latter year. Honored for her performance in the long jump, Graves won the event twice (1996, 1997) and also posted individual wins in the triple jump (1996) and 400-meter hurdles (1996). Hankins, a senior on this year's Trinity team, posted back-to-back performances in 2003 and 2004 that ended with her taking home Athlete-of-the-Year honors. Her 49.5 points total at the 2004 conference meet is the fifth-highest individual score in the history of the championships. Recognized for her efforts in the 400-meter hurdles, Hankins posted victories in the event each of her AOTY seasons. She also swept the 100-meter hurdles at those same championships - giving Hankins four career individual conference meet titles. Schumann received all-anniversary honors for the high jump, an event she has won at the last three conference championships. A senior on this year's Trinity team, she also won the 100-meter hurdles at last year's conference meet. Even more impressive, Schumann has won the national title in the high jump at the last two NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also won the high jump title at the 2005 Indoors, making Schumann one of just three CAC/SCAC student-athletes to earn three individual national titles. Swearingen won the first four SCAC women's pole vault events after the league instituted the event at the 2000 championships. She remains one of just two vaulters to clear 10 feet at the SCAC championship meet.

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will be announcing 15th Anniversary teams in all 18 sports during the 2005-06 academic year. The SCAC was formed in 1991 after a reorganization of its predecessor, the College Athletic Conference (CAC). The CAC dates to 1962 with four charter members: Centre College, Southwestern @ Memphis (now Rhodes College), Sewanee-The University of the South, and Washington & Lee (Va.) University. Washington (Mo.) University joined the CAC later that same year.

The SCAC was formed to provide an association through which the member institutions may encourage organized competition in intercollegiate sports among teams representative of their respective student bodies. Members of this conference share a commitment to priority of the overall quality of academic standards and quality educational experiences.

The SCAC's 15th Anniversary teams were selected in each sport through balloting by present coaches and administrators. Athletes who participated in conference competition between the fall of 1991 through the spring of 2005 and had been named to at least two All-SCAC teams were eligible for selection.

 

15th Anniversary Team

SCAC Championship Event Finishes
Event Name, School 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05
100 Meters Quisha White, Sewanee 1st 1st# 1st 2nd                    
200 Meters Aisha Carter, Trinity         2nd 1st 1st 1st            
400 Meters Michelle Parks, Sewanee   1st 1st 2nd 2nd                  
800 Meters Heather Stone, Sewanee           1st 1st# 1st# 1st#          
1,500 Meters Heather Stone, Sewanee           1st 1st# 1st# 1st#          
5,000 Meters Emily Ferguson, Rhodes           1st 1st 1st            
10,000 Meters Eileen Schilling, Centre                         1st 1st
3,000 Meters *Heather Stone, Sewanee               1st# 1st#          
3,000 Meters *Nicole Horvath, Rhodes         1st 1st                
3,000 Steeple Maeve Goetz, Trinity                       1st 1st  
100 Hurdles *Jessie Hunt, Rhodes                 1st 1st# 1st#      
100 Hurdles *Heather Lemmons, Southwestern         1st 1st 1st 2nd            
400 Hurdles *Heather Stone, Sewanee           3rd 1st# 1st# 1st#          
400 Hurdles *Stephanie Hankins, Trinity                       1st# 1st#  
Shot Put Kelly Jo Davis, Centre     1st 2nd 1st 1st                
Long Jump Jennifer Graves, Trinity       3rd 1st# 1st# 2nd              
Javelin Julie Grahn, Trinity       1st 1st 1st 1st              
Triple Jump Jessie Hunt, Rhodes                 1st 1st# 1st#      
Discus Catherine Smith, DePauw                 1st 1st 1st      
High Jump Christyn Schumann, Trinity                       1st 1st 1st
Pole Vault Beth Swearingen, Trinity                 1st 1st 1st 1st    

# Athlete-of-the-Year
*Tied in voting at that event selection