Thursday, February 23
Birmingham, Ala.
All Day

Davidson College

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SoCon Indoor Championships

Andrew Lantz
Andew Lantz
Photo by: SoConPhotos.com

Men's Track & Field Set for SoCon Indoor Championships

2/21/2012 9:02:00 PM | Men's Track & Field

SoCon Championship Central
SoCon Top Performances
Davidson Top Performances

DAVIDSON, N.C.
– Davidson record breakers Andrew Lantz, Ryan Hopkins and Demetrios Pagonis will look to lead Davidson at the 2012 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship Thursday and Friday at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala.
 
This will be the first year the championship will be held in the 4,000-seat facility that contains a hydraulic track. The championship will begin Thursday at 10 a.m. with the women's pentathlon, followed by the men's heptathlon events at 10:15 a.m. The awards ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Friday at 4:55 p.m.
 
The event is free to the public.  Live results, daily recaps, daily photos and video highlights can be found on the Southern Conference website.
 
The Wildcats placed fourth last season, led by then-freshman Andrew Lantz's championship in the 800-meter run. The sophomore will look to defend his title after breaking the Davidson school record with a time of 1:52.96 at the Kent Taylor Invitational hosted by North Carolina. The time converts to 1:52.06 since it was run on a flat track, and is the best posted in the conference this season.
 
Lantz also set a new Davidson record in the mile run of 4:12.49, which ranks sixth in the conference. Classmate Grayam-Sailor Tynes posted a top time of 4:14.48 to rank directly behind Lantz in seventh in the SoCon.
 
Hopkins and Pagonis will look to lead Davidson in the distance events. Pagonis holds the school record in the 3000-meter run of 8:19.80, while Hopkins claimed Pagonis' short-lived 5000-meter run record, crossing the line at Boston University in 14:22.35. Pagonis trailed Hopkins at BU in 14:25.02, and the times by the Davidson distance duo rank second and third in the SoCon, respectively. Hopkins will be looking to improve on his top-five finishes in both the 3000m and 5000m last season.
 
Juniors Vincent Weir and Wes Reynolds also rank in the Top 10 in the conference in the 5000m this season. Weir's time of 15:07.81 at the Niswonger Invitational ranks sixth and Reynolds' time of 15:24.37 at the same event ranks ninth.
 
Sophomore Stewart Dalton will look to score points in the long jump, as his top leap of 21-6.75 (6.57m) ranks eighth in the league this season.
 
Senior Taylor Martin will look to lead the 'Cats in the sprints, while sophomore Michael Lorentsen will represent Davidson in the pole vault.
 
Appalachian State claimed both the men's and women's indoor titles last year. It was the men's third consecutive title, while the women earned their ninth since 2000.
 
In the most recent power rankings, which include meets through Feb. 20, Appalachian State leads in both the men's and women's standings, followed by Samford. Western Carolina rounds out the top three on both the men's and women's side.
 
The rankings are determined by the top eight times or scores that are reported by the schools for each event that will be conducted at this weekend's championships.
 
Men's Indoor Track and Field Power Rankings?
Appalachian State 188
Samford 149
Western Carolina 112
The Citadel 59
UNCG 58
Davidson 44
Furman 22
Chattanooga 18
Wofford 4
 
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