Track & Field hurdles
Troy Weiman / Piedmont Athletic Communications

Season Preview: Outdoor Track & Field

By Troy Weiman: Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

With the indoor track and field season officially ending last weekend with Anthony Jordan’s All-America-worthy performance at the national championships, the Piedmont track and field programs can finally turn their full attention to the outdoor portion of the spring season. Both teams are eying a third-consecutive USA South championship while a number of athletes have legitimate chances to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field championships. 

Val Angel
Val Angel

INDOOR SEASON RECAP

  • Over the course of seven full-team events, Piedmont set six men’s and four women’s program records for indoor track.
  • Senior Val Angel set three records on her own (Mile, 3k, 5k) while senior Connor Moranos set two on the men’s side (3k, 5k).
  • Senior Anthony Jordan set records in each the long jump and the triple jump while Gary Halverson also eclipsed his own school-record mark in the mile.
  • Each of the men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams also broke longstanding school records in the indoor season.
  • Anthony Jordan and Darius Smith each earned USTFCCCA All-Region status for the indoor season. Jordan was also named the USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year in the South Region.
    • Jordan made history by becoming the first Piedmont men’s athlete ever to qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships. His third-place finish in the event qualified him for All-America honors, also a first ever for Piedmont track and field.

OUTDOOR SEASON AT A GLANCE

  • Piedmont has competed as a full team at one outdoor event this season while the throwers got the year started two weeks ago at the Susan Rouse Invite.
  • At last week’s Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge, four outdoor school records fell thanks to Connor Moranos (3k, 5k), Val Angel (5k), and the men’s 4x800 Meter Relay team.
  • The week prior, senior Will Underwood was named the USA South men’s Field Athlete of the Week while freshman Allie Feltus earned women’s Field Rookie of the Week honors.
  • The Lions have seven more team events scheduled this season, which includes the USA South Championships in Berea, Kentucky on April 20-21.
  • Piedmont stays close to home in three of its remaining meets, including each of the next two as the Lions head to the Emory Spring Break Classic this weekend (March 18-19) in Atlanta before going to Kennesaw State’s Don McGarey Invitational on March 25-26.
Men's Schedule Page
Women's Schedule Page

ONES TO WATCH

  • Anthony Jordan and Chris Donsereaux, a pair of seniors, are the top sprinters and jumpers for the men’s squad in 2022. They’re joined by Brandon Gregory, who is as close to being a “utility player” as you can get in track and field as you’ll likely see him in sprints, jumps, throws, and vaults at some point during the season.
  • Darius Smith, an All-Region performer in the indoor season, is the top 400-meter runner at the moment and will certainly help lead the way in the mid-distance along with Connor Creedon, Jacob Balot, and Gary Halverson.
  • The top distance runner is senior Connor Moranos, who has already set two school records this outdoor season and likely isn’t done rewriting the record books in those events.
  • Sophomore Garrett Stadler was an individual champion in the 110-meter hurdles at the USA South championships last season as a freshman and is poised to be the top Piedmont hurdler for yet another year.
  • Wes Rogers, another sophomore, is the top pole vaulter while senior Will Underwood, who missed time last year with an injury, will lead the way in throws along with freshman David Anderson.
  • Senior Teca Hill and newcomers Jaela Dodson and Ileyna Brooks will lead the Piedmont women in sprints this year, as will Kai Doyle as she spends time in both sprints and jumps.
  • Speaking of jumps, sophomores Cortney Brown and Sam Seymour will likely be the featured jumpers for the women’s team while Brown also serves as one of the team’s top hurdlers.
  • Much like Moranos for the men, senior Val Angel has already put her name in the Piedmont record books and will only keep expanding on those distance marks as the season goes on. She leads the distance group that also features Jaycie Ponce, Josey George, LeeAnn Lawrence, and Ryleigh Bell.
  • In the field, freshman Allie Feltus already has one weekly conference award to her name and could push for school-record marks in multiple throwing events this season. She’s joined atop the list of throwers by Nakiyah Washington and Brittany DeVane, who were each all-conference performers a year ago.
  • Finally, senior’s Madison Cassidy and Perryn Morgan will contend with one another to be the top pole vaulter while Morgan will also contribute to the throwing efforts in the javelin.
Men's Roster
Women's Roster
Darius Smith, Jacob Balot
Jacob Balot (left), Darius Smith (right)
Cortney Brown
Cortney Brown
Jaela Dodson
Jaela Dodson
Connor Moranos
Connor Moranos

COACHING STAFF

  • Director of Track and Field Jamie Jimison is now in his third season at the helm of the Piedmont track and field programs. Jimison is also the head cross country coach.
    • In 2021, Jimison was named the USA South Coach of the Year after leading both track and field programs to conference championships.
    • Jimison previously coached for nine seasons at NAIA Mount Mercy (Iowa) and ran collegiately at Berea.
  • Assistant coach Brian Gawne is in his fourth season at Piedmont where he oversees the throws and pole vault units.
    • Gawne has 30+ years of coaching experience at the collegiate, high school, and middle school ranks.
  • Assistant coach Remel Williams is entering her second season as a full-time assistant working with sprinters and jumpers.
    • Williams helped guide Anthony Jordan to a third-place finish in the long jump at the 2021 NCAA Division III Indoor championships. Jordan was the first Piedmont men’s athlete ever to qualify for the event and became the first All-American in Piedmont Track & Field history.
    • Prior to Piedmont, Williams spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial University.
Jamie Jimison
Jamie Jimison
Remel Williams
Remel Williams

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