denton-socon-day 1 - 2026

Men's Track and Field

Men’s T&F off to great start at SoCon Indoor Championships

LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI men's track and field team is off to a great start after Day One of the 2026 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday at VMI's Corps Physical Training Facility. 
 
Day One Results – 2026 SoCon T&F Championships
 
All-Conference Honors
Junior Zachary Denton led the way by winning the individual title in the long jump with a distance of 7.26 meters to earn All-Conference honors and highlight the day for the men's team. He becomes the third straight Keydet to win the event, following Keyandre Midgett's titles in 2024 and 2025. 
 
Excellent Finishes
*In the 60m hurdles prelims, freshman Deonte Harris placed third with a personal record time of 8.28 seconds to qualify for the finals Saturday.
* Sophomore Tazewell Rae came in fourth in the shot put with a season-best distance of 15.67m. Elisha Williams was close behind in sixth at 14.91m
*Kevin Koumondji earned a personal best in the 60m prelims by placing fourth in 6.89 seconds to qualify for Saturday's final
* Sophomore Rye Jackson placed fifth in the 400m with a PR time of 49.31 seconds to qualify for the finals round Saturday
* Halim Hardnett came in fifth in the high jump at 1.94 meters and fellow freshman Vahin Middough placed seventh in 1.89 meters.
*The DMR team of Timothy Renquist, Matthew Kane, Ben Hagerich and Cameron Lambert placed sixth
*Hagerich came in 10th place in the 800 meter in 1:57, a season-best time
 
VMI Director of Track and Field Zack Scott
"Day one was a strong start for our men with multiple qualifiers and big momentum plays across the meet. Kevin Koumondji (6.89 PB) and Deonte Harris (8.28 PB) set the tone early, Rye Jackson added a 49.31 PB to move on, and Zach Denton's long jump win (7.26m) was a major statement. We also got valuable points in the shot put with Rae Tazewell in fourth and Elisha Williams in sixth, plus a season-best DMR (10:29.76). Now our job is to reset, come back tomorrow and finish."
 
 
 
 
Day 1 Men's Champions 
Long Jump  Zachary Denton, VMI – 7.26m  
Shot Put  Carl Henry, Samford – 16.14m 
High Jump  Arthur Chitty, Samford – 2.09m 
3,000-meter run  Brayden Seymour, Furman - 8:08.88 
DMR  Samford – 10:03.90 
 
Day 1 Women's Champions 
Pentathlon  Sherika Christie, Wofford – 3,794 points 
Shot Put  JT Shaw, Samford – 13.83m 
Pole Vault  Lindsey Havens, Samford – 3.94m 
Long Jump  Sherika Christie, Wofford – 6.05m 
3,000-meter run  Tessa Walter, Furman – 9:44.20  
DMR  Furman – 11:20.41* 
 
Day 1 Men's All-Freshman 
Long Jump  Daniel Coronell, Western Carolina 
Jack Stubbs, Samford  
Luke Durham, Samford 
Shot Put  Anthony Hawkins, Western Carolina 
Daniel Dounian, The Citadel 
High Jump  Josh Flack, Western Carolina 
Daniel Coronell, Western Carolina 
Halim Hardnett, VMI 
3,000m   Luke Huehn, UNCG  
Ben Beucler, Wofford 
Spencer Slayton, UNCG 
 
Day 1 Women's All-Freshman 
Pentathlon  Celia Gully, Western Carolina 
McCarey Beaty, Western Carolina 
Shot Put  Maggie Frana, Wofford 
Celia Gully, Western Carolina  
Journy Phillips, Samford 
Pole Vault  Morgan Edwards, Western Carolina 
Long Jump  Kiera-Lee Abrahams, Samford 
Kyndall Brundidge, Samford  
Lane Scales, Samford 
3,000-meter run  Tessa Walter, Furman  
Eliza Everett, ETSU  
Camryn Oates, UNCG 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Zachary Denton

Zachary Denton

Sprints
Sophomore
Ben Hagerich

Ben Hagerich

Distance
Junior
Keyandre Midgett

Keyandre Midgett

Hurdles-Jumps-Sprints
Redshirt Senior
Elisha Williams

Elisha Williams

Throws
Sophomore
Rye Jackson

Rye Jackson

Distance
Freshman
Kevin Koumondji

Kevin Koumondji

Sprints
Freshman
Tazewell Rae

Tazewell Rae

Throws
Freshman
Deonte Harris

Deonte Harris

Freshman
Matthew Kane

Matthew Kane

Distance
Freshman
Cameron Lambert

Cameron Lambert

Distance
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Zachary Denton

Zachary Denton

Sophomore
Sprints
Ben Hagerich

Ben Hagerich

Junior
Distance
Keyandre Midgett

Keyandre Midgett

Redshirt Senior
Hurdles-Jumps-Sprints
Elisha Williams

Elisha Williams

Sophomore
Throws
Rye Jackson

Rye Jackson

Freshman
Distance
Kevin Koumondji

Kevin Koumondji

Freshman
Sprints
Tazewell Rae

Tazewell Rae

Freshman
Throws
Deonte Harris

Deonte Harris

Freshman
Matthew Kane

Matthew Kane

Freshman
Distance
Cameron Lambert

Cameron Lambert

Freshman
Distance