Chanticleers Ready for 2022 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships

Monday, February 21

Birmingham, Ala.

Coastal Carolina University

Sun Belt Championships

Chanticleers Ready for 2022 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships

2/20/2022 9:45:00 AM | Track & Field/Cross Country

Live Results ESPN+ (Day 1)ESPN+ (Day 2)

Chanticleers will compete in Birmingham, Ala. on Monday and Tuesday

CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's indoor track & field team will set its sights on the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 21-22, at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.

The Chanticleers' women's program ranks 66th nationally in the latest USTFCCCA National Polls, which is the second-highest-ranking among the Sun Belt teams behind only Texas State who is 64th.

Leading the way for the Chanticleers this season is All-Sun Belt performers Melissa Jefferson and Jermaisha Arnold, as well as newcomers Alexis Glasco, Mekenze Kelley, and Kynnedy Dennis.

Jefferson enters the championships with the fastest time in the Sun Belt in both the 60-meter dash (7.23) and the 200-meter dash (23.34). Her 60-meters time of 7.23 is not only a school record but also a Sun Belt Conference record.

Arnold has the fastest time in the 400-meters among all Sun Belt runners this season at 53.76 and also ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in the 200-meters (24.44) and 26th in the 60-meters (7.72).

In the 60-meter hurdles, the Chants have three runners in the top-10 in the Sun Belt, as Glasco ranks first with her time of 8.38, while sophomores Sydney Clemens (8.55) and Shani'a Bellamy (8.63) are fifth and seventh, respectively, in the conference for the hurdles event.

Also, in the top-10 in the Sun Belt this season entering the championship meet this week, is Glasco who is third in the 60-meters (7.41), Kelley who ranks seventh in the 200-meters (24.47), and Lauren Gordon who is eighth in the 400-meters (56.49).

In the distance events, a trio of freshmen rank in the top-10 in the Sun Belt and will look to leave their mark at their first-ever Sun Belt Championships. Molly Jones is fifth in the conference in the 3000-meters (9:55.45) and eighth in the mile (5:04.14). First-year Chant Meagan Moreno ranks fifth in the 5000-meters (18:00.23), while Amilia Wise-Sweat sits in ninth in the 800-meters (2:15.88).

Dennis headlines the CCU group of field athletes, as she ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in the pole vault (3.70m), while freshmen Alyssa Gregory and Annika Hummel are tied at 15th overall with matching marks of 3.36 meters.

In the weight throw event, another freshman in Zayna Fray-Samuel leads the way for CCU, as the Canadian is seventh overall in the Sun Belt with a season-best mark of 17.09 meters.

Last year at the 2021 Sun Belt Championships, the Chanticleer women finished sixth overall in the team standings with 54 points, after placing 12th in both 2019 and 2020.

CCU placed seventh overall in 2018, after finishing eighth in 2017 at the program's first-ever Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Live results and links to the ESPN+ video streams can be found on the Track & Field/Cross Country Schedule page at www.GoCCUsports.com.

For complete coverage of CCU Cross Country and Track & Field, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalTFXC (Twitter), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.