GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's track team took runner-up honors and Adam O’Donnell was honored as the 2022 Mountain East Conference Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year here Tuesday as the MEC Track Championships concluded its three-day run at Glenville State.
Coach Justin Simpson's Hilltopper women had led throughout the meet only to see a late surge in Tuesday's running events boost Charleston past WLU for the women's team title. The fast-closing Golden Eagles finished with 217.5 points to 184 for the Black and Gold. West Virginia Wesleyan was a distant third at 122.5 with Wheeling (93) and Concord (49) rounding out the top five.
Kelsi Hulit, a returning All-Region thrower, played a major role in the WLU women's domination of the field events during the first two days. Not only did she sweep the shot put and discus titles, she placed third in the hammer and fourth in the javelin to add more than 30 points to the Hilltopper total.
The MEC recognizes event winners as first-team All-MEC honorees with runners-up earning second-team honors, making Hulit a two-time first-team selection for 2022. Her two victories accounted for two of the nine All-MEC awards earned by the West Liberty women. Hailey Carreon gave West Liberty three first-team berths with an impressive win in the 100 hurdles.
Kennedy Martin led the Black and Gold's second-team All-MEC honorees with two awards, placing second behind Hulit in the shot and discus. Lura Simons was runner-up in the javelin, Olivia Miller took second in the pole vault and Hannah Kemp notched a second-place finish in the 5000-meter run.
Zayne Brakeall broke her own school record in the heptathlon, racking up 3,600 points to earn second-team All-MEC honors.
On the men's side, O’Donnell’s major award completed a season “sweep” for the Hilltopper veteran as he had earned the MEC’s 2022 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year Award at the MEC Indoor Championships in February.
The versatile graduate student was a runaway winner in the decathlon for the second straight year while also earning second-team All-MEC honors with a runner-up finish in the long jump to go along with a fourth-place finish in the javelin.
Michael Harriman brought home West Liberty’s other first-team All-MEC plaque with an impressive win over a strong field in the 800-meter run.
Marshall Whipkey was WLU's fourth and final All-MEC honoree with a second-place finish in the javelin as the Hilltopper men settled for a fifth-place finish in the team standings after being edged out by Concord for fourth place by a single point.