koumondji-blount socon 2026
Brockton Welling

Men's Track and Field

Men’s T&F takes fourth at SoCon Indoor Championships

Harris earns triple jump crown; Thomas, Koumondji take runner-up finishes

LEXINGTON, Va. – After amazing performances by multiple Keydets, the VMI men's track and field team earned a fourth-place finish at the 2026 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Corps Physical Training Facility.
 
Complete Results
 
The Keydets placed fourth overall with 71 points. Samford won for the 11th year in a row with 228 points while Furman placed second with 129. Western Carolina came in third with 123.5 points followed by VMI, Wofford (57), The Citadel (23) and UNCG (23).
 
Individual Titles
Freshman Deonte Harris won the triple jump with a first-place distance of 14.90 meters, a new personal best, for the top highlight of the day for the men's squad.
 
All-Conference Honorees
On top of Harris earning All-Conference honors with his first-place finish in the triple jump, sophomore Kevin Koumondji placed second in the 60m finals as a new personal-best time to earn a silver medal.
 
Battling an injury after his first jump, VMI junior pole vaulter Cameron Thomas placed second in the vault with a height of 5.07 meters to earn All-Conference accolades.
 
The 4x400 relay squad of Anthony Wilkerson, Taj Peace, Ben Hagerich and Rye Jackson placed second in 3:19.94 for All-SoCon recognition.
 
Excellent Performances
*Harris also competed in the 60m hurdles finals and came in fourth in 8.37 seconds
*Rye Jackson came in fifth in the 400m with a new PR time of 48.70 seconds
*Tazewell Rae came in eighth in the weight throw with a PR distance of 15.71m
*In the mile run, freshman Cameron Lambert placed 12th in 4:31.20
 
VMI Director of Track and Field Zack Scott
"Day two was a great finish for our men and a strong statement for where this program is headed. We closed the meet 4th overall with 71 points, and we did it with championship-level performances and depth across the board. Deonte Harris was phenomenal—SoCon champion in the triple jump (14.90m) and then came back to score again with a fourth-place finish in the 60m hurdles final.
 
"Kevin Koumondji delivered a big run in the 60m final for second, Cameron Thomas earned second in the pole vault, and our 4x400 group stepped up for a runner-up finish. Add in Zach Denton's long jump title, solid points in the shot put, and our DMR fighting through the full weekend, and that's the kind of complete meet we wanted. Now we build—this is momentum we can carry forward.
 
"We would like to sincerely thank Emily Fulton and Coach Sam Roberts, along with the VMI baseball program, for coming down both days before their home games to volunteer and help us run a first-class Southern Conference Indoor Championship. Their willingness to step in, serve, and support our operations made a real difference in delivering a quality championship meet."
 
Day 2 Men's Results 
  1. Samford 
 228.5 
  1. Furman 
 129 
  1. Western Carolina 
 123.5 
  1. VMI 
 71 
  1. Wofford 
 57 
  1. The Citadel 
 23 
  1. UNCG 
 23 
 
Day 2 Women's Results 
  1. Samford 
 151 
  1. Western Carolina 
 133 
  1. Wofford 
 128.5 
  1. Furman 
 94 
  1. ETSU 
 60 
  1. VMI 
 53.5 
  1. Chattanooga 
 27 
  1. UNCG  
The Citadel 		 8 
 
 
Day 2 Men's Champions 
Weight Throw  Jacob Thomas, Western Carolina – 17.14m 
Triple Jump  Deonte Harris, VMI – 14.90m  
Mile  Bryn Woodall , Furman – 4:03.70 
60m Hurdles  Bradley Franklin, Samford – 7.41* 
-Division I #1- 
60m   Bradley Franklin, Samford – 6.63*  
400m  Cole Grande, Samford – 47.32 
Heptathlon  Ben Thomason, Samford – 5,074 
800m  Zephaniah Carico-McLennan, Samford – 1:48.01 
200m  Caleb Yeary, Samford – 21.32 
5000m  Christopher Knight, Furman – 14:14.59 
4x4  Samford – 3:16.35 (Werner, Carico-McLennan, Meredith, Grande) 
 
Day 2 Women's Champions 
High Jump  Dorsey Parker, Samford – 1.73m 
Mile  Camryn Wennersten, Furman – 4.40.24 
60m Hurdles  Aaliyah Mbenda, Samford – 8.44 
60m  Naturale Faison, VMI – 7.60 
400m  Taylor Jennings-Ward, Wofford – 54.58 
800m  Jessica Edwards, Samford – 2:06.90 
200m  Micailah Cook, ETSU – 24.39 
5000m  Tessa Walter, Furman – 16:37.92 
Triple Jump  Sherika Christie, Wofford – 12.30m 
Weight Throw  Tyla Nicholson, ETSU – 16.77m 
4x4  Samford – 3:43.86 (Pardue, Lueders, Edwards, Chadwick) 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Ben Hagerich

Ben Hagerich

Distance
Junior
Cameron Thomas

Cameron Thomas

Pole Vault
Sophomore
Rye Jackson

Rye Jackson

Distance
Freshman
Kevin Koumondji

Kevin Koumondji

Sprints
Freshman
Tazewell Rae

Tazewell Rae

Throws
Freshman
Anthony Wilkerson

Anthony Wilkerson

Sprints
Freshman
Deonte Harris

Deonte Harris

Freshman
Cameron Lambert

Cameron Lambert

Distance
Freshman
Taj Peace

Taj Peace

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Ben Hagerich

Ben Hagerich

Junior
Distance
Cameron Thomas

Cameron Thomas

Sophomore
Pole Vault
Rye Jackson

Rye Jackson

Freshman
Distance
Kevin Koumondji

Kevin Koumondji

Freshman
Sprints
Tazewell Rae

Tazewell Rae

Freshman
Throws
Anthony Wilkerson

Anthony Wilkerson

Freshman
Sprints
Deonte Harris

Deonte Harris

Freshman
Cameron Lambert

Cameron Lambert

Freshman
Distance
Taj Peace

Taj Peace

Freshman