June 28, 2011

Winston-Salem, NC-Paige Hamilton (Columbus, OH) will represent Salem College at the 2011 United States Collegiate Figure Skating Championships, which will take place July 21- 24, in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Last year representing Salem, Hamilton placed 20^th in the nation. The U.S. Collegiate Championships are held every summer and they are the only figure skating event in the country open solely to high-level, full-time college students.

During her first-year at Salem, Paige participated on the Soccer and Track Teams as well as the Dance Company.  She was named to the dean’s list and is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta. 

Salisbury, NC-The Salem College track team earned three medals at the Livingstone Classic this past weekend. Courtney Hedgecock (San Diego, CA) recorded Salem's highest finish ever as she earned a silver medal in the 1500 meter run. Hedgecock finished the race in 5:38, just two seconds behind the race winner.

Natali Olveda (Salinas, CA) earned a bronze medal in the 800 meter run (2:51). She also finished in fourth in the 1500 (5:45). Mackenzie Schmidt (Columbus, OH) was just one spot from a medal when she finished in fourth in the 400 meter run (1:05).

Salem's relays also had a strong day. The 4 X 400 relay consisting of Schmidt, Akaya McElveen (New Haven, CT), Steph Hubbard (Sanford, NC) and Tatum Justice (Jacksonville, NC) also earned a bronze medal. The 4 X 400 B relay finished in fourth, and so did the 4 X 100 A relay.

The track team returns to action this weekend when they travel to Lynchburg College on April 9th.

Wilmington, NC- The Salem College track team ran at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Seahawk Invitational this past weekend against mainly NCAA Division I competitors. Each member of the Spirits team improved in at least one event from the first meet of the season at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Courtney Hedgecock (San Diego, CA) and Natali Olveda (Salinas, CA) both ran excellent 5,000 meter races. Hedgecock ran a 21:12 and Olveda took off 55 seconds from last week to run a 21:14 race. Hedgecock also took 14 seconds off of her 1500 meter run (5:37) and Olveda took 12 seconds off (5:43).

Two Salem relay teams scored in the meet. The 4 X 100 consisting of Alana Carroll (Dallas, TX), Amanda Orsino (Sauquoit, NY), Je'Lesa Jefferson (Fayetteville, NC), and Akaya McElveen (New Haven, CT) scored two points. One of Salem's three 4X400 teams also scored 2 points and that team consisted of MacKenzie Schmidt (Columbus, OH), Hedgecock, McElveen, and Tatum Justice (Jacksonville, NC). Stephanie Hubbard (Sanford, NC) took off 14 seconds in her 800 meter run, and her sister Samantha took off 5 seconds from last weeks 200 meter time.

The Spirits track team returns to action on April 2nd when they travel to the Livingstone College Invitational.

Hickory, NC-The Salem College track team competed in its first-ever meet today in a constant downpour of rain at Lenoir Rhyne. The Spirits competed against seven NCAA Division II programs in the meet, which was not scored. Mackenzie Schmidt (Columbus, OH) had the best finish of the day for the Spirits, coming in sixth overall out of 23 competitors in the 400 meter race (1:05.8).

Natali Olveda (Salinas, CA) had a strong 5,000 meter race, finishing in 8th overall in 22:09. Akaya McElveen (New Haven, CT) had two top ten finishes. She finished 8th in the 200 and 10th in the 400 meter race. Salem had their best event in the 400 meter race with Schmidt and McElveen in the top ten, and Tatum Justice (Jacksonville, NC) and Kellie Younger (Ledyard, CT) in 11th and 12th place. Courtney Hedgecock (San Diego, CA) had a strong 1500 meter race finishing in 13th of 22 runners (5:50).

Salem returns to action next weekend when they will run in the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Invitational.

Head Coach: Jay Callahan

Winston-Salem, NC-The Salem College Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) just finished their collection of used shoes as part of the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) shoe drive. All of the SAAC programs from the member institutions in the GSAC collected shoes to support Soles4Souls. SAAC and SAAC President Tatum Justice were able to collect thirty-two pairs of shoes, which have been sent to the conference office in LaGrange, GA.
The GSAC and its nine member institutions are hoping to gather 500 pairs of used shoes to donate to the Soles4Souls organization. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. 

The charity distributes these shoes to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away nearly 12 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 7 seconds). The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States.

Charlotte, NC-Head Coach Shawn Marek finished in second place in the Charlotte Amica Insurance Half Marathon in a time of 1:13:35. Marek is the Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Salem. The race had 3,227 total competitors, and Marek also won his age bracket.

He ran a 5:38 per mile split and a 33:59 10-kilometer split. The Amica Insurance Half Marathon was a part of the Thunder Road Marathon festivities in Charlotte. Ethan Coffey of Knoxville, TN was the overall winner in a time of 1:11:06.

Head Coach: Jay Callahan

Winston-Salem, NC-Salem College is delighted to announce it will sponsor an outdoor track and field program instituted for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Athletic director Kim Fierke said the new program is in response both to the needs of current student athletes and to interest expressed by students being recruited to Salem.

"I am truly excited about this program and the opportunity it will provide for current and future students," she says. "I'm also pleased that this program will fall under the leadership of Shawn Marek, our cross-country coach, who has had such a positive impact on the program.

The track and field program will be a varsity sanctioned sport and follow guidelines instituted by the NCAA, to which Salem belongs.

According to Coach Marek, "The addition of outdoor track and field will help Salem continue to grow into a sought-after athletics program in the NCAA Division III.  I am excited to lead our team and to continue to inspire our student-athletes to succeed, both athletically and academically."

Anyone interested in more information may contact Coach Marek at shawn.marek@salem.edu or physical education at extension 2690.