The Lenoir-Rhyne Outdoor Women’s and Men’s Track & Field Teams finish first and second in 2023 SAC Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Polls, respectively.

In the women’s poll, the Bears shared the top spot with Wingate, with each program receiving six first-place votes and 116 total points.

At the SAC Indoor Championships, LR finished in second place behind Wingate; but there are some strong athletes that could give the Bears a chance to place on top in the spring.

The conference announced the three Bears to watch out for in the outdoor season are Alexis Brown and Melody Jones on the track and Kennedy Conner in the field.

Brown is coming off winning the first national championship in program history in the 200-meter dash; the sprinter also took home the Freshman of the Meet honor during the SAC Indoor Championships.

Jones, awarded the Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet during the SAC Indoor Championships, finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Meanwhile, for the SAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet, Conner won the women’s pentathlon with her score of 3189 at the conference championships. The senior won three of the five events within the competition, the 60-meter dash, the long jump, and the high jump.

In the men’s poll, the Bears finished behind Wingate, who were the SAC Indoor Champions. LR received one first-place vote and 111 total points.

The SAC announced on Friday that the three male athletes to watch out for this spring are Sulaimane Bangura and Dario Matau on the track and Jacob Wadsworth on the field.

Bangura, the transfer from Emmanuel (Ga.), qualified for the NCAA Championships last season and finished sixth place in the 400-meter race.

For Matau, the sophomore had a pair of second-place finishes in the 60-meter sprint and 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Lastly, for the SAC Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Meet, Wadsworth took fourth place in the men’s pentathlon. The senior earned first place finishes in the 60-meter dash and 1000-meter race within the event.