Friday’s area sports briefs
Coastal Carolina’s Teka Simpson made it 2-for-2. Reggie Nelson made it a repeat.
Simpson won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 6 inches to score an individual win for the second straight day and Nelson tied a Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships meet record by winning the same event on the men’s side with a jump of 7-1.
Simpson will also compete individually in the 200 meters on Saturday.
“Teka’s always been an all-round athlete for us,” CCU coach Jeff Jacobs said. “She can jump and she can sprint. She’s really our best all-around athlete on the team. She always rises to the occasion at the biggest moments. To win both the long jump and high jump at the conference level is very difficult.”
Nelson defended his title from a year ago.
“Reggie was outstanding today,” Jacobs said. “He didn’t miss any jumps through the bar at 7-1. He was clean all the way through there. He actually made an attempt at 7-2 1/4 and he was really close. He almost got that, which would have set him alone for the meet record.”
The Liberty men and women lead the both team standings. The men have all but assured a conference title Saturday, while the women likely will have the Chants on their heels Saturday.
The CCU women trail the Flames by 25 1/2 points but have 19 qualifiers to compete Saturday versus just 11 for Liberty.
“We definitely feel like we can make up the ground with qualifiers tomorrow in running events,” Jacobs said. “We’re also the favorite in both relays. It’s going to be a battle all the way to the end.”
Other CCU men with top-10s Friday were: Brandon Richardson (high jump, fifth, 6-7); Zach Bolton (shot put, sixth, 48-3 1/4); Ryan Minor (shot put, seventh, 48-1 3/4; discus, eighth, 145-1); Joseph Keitt (3,000m steeplechase, fourth, 9:11.70); and Zach Hensel (3,000m steeplechase, 10th, 10:22.17).
Other CCU women with top-10s were: Raven Hamilton (high jump, tied ninth, 5-1); Chloe White (high jump, tied ninth, 5-1); Emma Kroger (pole vault, tied second, 12-1 1/2); Jalacy Green (shot put, fourth, 45-3 1/2); and Alesia Muklebust (3,000m steeplechase, ninth, 11:45.31).
▪ Women’s team scores – Liberty 98.5, Coastal Carolina 73, High Point 60, Gardner-Webb 45.5, Radford 29, Charleston Southern 14, UNC Asheville 12, Winthrop 10, Campbell 9.
▪ Men’s scores – Liberty 172.5, Coastal Carolina 48, High Point 46.5, Campbell 45, Winthrop 20, Gardner-Webb 17, UNC Asheville 1.
CCU baseball
▪ (At) Campbell 5, Coastal Carolina 2 | Kyle Leady drove in two runs and Cedric Mullins and Steven Leonard drove in one each as the Camels topped the Chants to clinch the series.
Nick Thayer struck out five batters in five hitless innings to stifle the Chants.
Connor Owings brove in both CCU runs.
CCU men’s golf
▪ Coastal Carolina’s Andrew Dorn shot a 4-over 76 and was tied for 39th after two rounds of the NCAA East Regional at 2-over 146.
The Chants’ Ben Wheeler fired a 75 and was tied for 54th at 149.
Both are playing in the event as individuals.
High school baseball
▪ (At) Wando 2, Carolina Forest 0 | Oliver Hill and Owen Ravenel each drove in a run as the Warriors jumped out to an early lead en route to winning the Class AAAA Lower State title.
Carolina Forest | 000 | 000 | 0 | — | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Wando | 110 | 000 | x | — | 2 | 4 | 0 |
▪ W: Harrison Smith. L: Andrew Brong (5-1). Top hitters: Carolina Forest: Patrick Orlando 1-2; Jacob Frishmuth 1-3; Hunter Baiden 1-3. Wando: Oliver Hill 1-2, RBI; Owen Ravenel 1-3, RBI.
▪ Records: Carolina Forest 21-11.
This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Friday’s area sports briefs."