MORROW, Ga. – For the fifth straight year, throughout the summer, the Clayton State Sports Information Office is counting down the Top-10 stories of the year following an impressive 2018-19 campaign.
Today, we release the No. 3 story of the season – Women's Track & Field Delivers Season for the Ages. Make sure to check
www.ClaytonStateSports.com every Friday to catch the latest release.
Story No. 3: Women's Track & Field Delivers Season for the Ages
Clayton State women's track & field would produce a 2018-19 campaign that would see eight program records fall, 10 All-Peach Belt Conference honorees, a PBC Individual Champion, the first meet championship in program history and a fourth place national finish for an individual who would earn All-American recognition.
That's a lot to unpack so let's start from the beginning.
When it came to records, that would be the purview primarily of junior
Nia Elmore (Hinesville, Ga.) and it would start right away with a
200-meter record falling at the season opening BSC Panther Indoor Icebreaker (11/30).
She would
reset the 60-meter mark at the Emory CrossPlex Invitational (1/20) the next meet before teaming with junior
Jasmine Radford (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and sophomores
Corta'Nasha Mutcherson (Savannah, Ga.) and
Chaviya Jackson (Albany, Ga.) to
break a decade old 4x400 relay mark at the Carolina Challenge (2/1).
Those outings would lead to Elmore earning the first United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
(USTFCCCA) All-Region honor of her career, doing so in the 60-meters.
Performances like that would continue during the outdoor season but it would be a team performance for the ages at the outset of that campaign that headlined the Lakers efforts. On March 2 the program would
deliver the first meet victory in its history, finishing 1-of-14 at the Savannah State Eye Opener behind three wins and 10 first place finishes.
Team accomplishments and records would collide three weeks later at the Emory Invitational (3/23) as Clayton State
finished an impressive 2-of-31 and Elmore took down her own 100-meter record (again!). Having done it multiple times in her career already one could not say it would be a fluke to do it again, but to
take down that mark for a second consecutive meet, as she did the following week at the Emory Classic (3/30) was still impressive.
Once again records and accomplishments would come together, this time over the course of three days at the 2019 Peach Belt Conference Championships. On Day 1 on April 18 sophomore
Dalania Clardy (Riverdale, Ga.)
took home Third-Team All-PBC honors in the long jump while Elmore posted another record time in the 100-meters, finishing in 11.92 for her 20
th program record.
The second day would surpass the first as the 4x100 relay of Elmore, Jackson, Radford and junior
Shockera Betty (Tallahassee, Fla.)
earned All-PBC Third-Team recognition and Johnson set the program record in the heptathlon. While no records would fall on the final day, it would rival both previous days combined as the Lakers claimed five more All-Conference honors.
Headlining that group was Radford,
who repeated as PBC Champion in the 200-meters and Elmore, who earned Second- and Third-Team honors in the 100- and 200-meters, respectively. Mutcherson would add a Third-Team performance in the 400-meters and Johnson notched a runner-up finish in the high jump.
Hitting on all cylinders, that success would continue for Radford the following week at the Don McGarey Invitational (4/27) as she
broke the program record in the 200-meters by two tenths of a second.
It would be
Johnson's turn to continue the tremendous season for the Lakers, and she would earn the opportunity to do so in her very last jump at the Mount Olive Last Chance Meet (5/12). She would clear a height of 1.72-meters in the high jump which would result in her
earning a berth in the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships. On top of that, two days later she would join Radford as
USTFCCCA All-Southeast Region honorees.
She would prove worthy of that honor as she accomplished things at the national championships a week later that no Laker had ever done in the high jump.
Facing the toughest field in all of Division II, she would place fourth nationally – coming just one jump away from a national championship – and earn All-American honors in the process.
That performance would lead to the team tying for 39
th out of 68 with only Johnson competing, truly an impressive feat to cap one of the most impressive seasons the program has had.
The Schedule
Every Friday throughout the Summer and leading up to the 2019-20 preseason, the SID Office will release the list one at a time beginning with the No. 10 story on June 7. The No. 1 story in Clayton State Athletics, as chosen by the Sports Information Office, will be released on Friday, August 9.
Countdown to the Top-10 Clayton State Athletics Stories from 2018-19
No. 1 – Coming August 9
No. 2 – Coming August 2
No. 3 – Women's Track & Field Delivers Season for the Ages (July 26)
No. 4 – Men's Golf Returns To NCAA Tournament With Tremendous Campaign (July 19)
No. 5 – Major Hires and Record Department Numbers Highlight 2018-19 (July 12)
No. 6 – Women's Basketball Returns to NCAA Tournament for 13th Time in 15 Years (July 5)
No. 7 – Men's Track & Field Delivers Multiple Individual League Championships (June 28)
No. 8 – Undefeated Start Leads Women's Soccer Back to PBC Tournament (June 21)
No. 9 – Men's Basketball Garners Record-Setting Honors (June 14)
No. 10 – Men's Soccer's Late Run and Individual Accomplishments (June 7)
Honorable Mention (May 31)
