ROME, Ga.—Two more individual champions and 16 all-SAA members added to Oglethorpe's season highlights as the Stormy Petrels wrapped up the conference season at the Southern Athletic Association Championships Friday and Saturday. Zachary Benner highlighted the combined effort with distinction as men's distance athlete of the year, the conference's top honor for the distance events.

The Petrels placed fourth overall on the men's side and fifth overall on the women's side.

While Benner's nod as athlete of the year, SAA champion and two-time all-SAA highlighted the men's side, Evan Thomas highlighted the women's side as SAA champion and three-time all-conference honoree. Thomas won the 400 meters while Benner won the 5k to bring home Oglethorpe's pair of championship trophies.

The Petrels also saw a strong mix of success in several events across the board. Jordan McQueen made all-conference in two individual events, Zeno Goss and Keri Edwards earned all-conference in an individual event and a relay, and Oglethorpe earned two all-SAA relay teams, one from both sides.

All-Conference Honorees

• Evan Thomas | SAA Champion / All-SAA first team, 400 Meters
• Zachary Benner | SAA Champion / All-SAA first team, 5000 Meters
• Zachary Benner | All-SAA second team, 10000 Meters
• Jordan McQueen | All-SAA second team, Long Jump
• Jordan McQueen | All-SAA second team, Triple Jump
• Philmon Laudat | All-SAA second team, 4x400 Meter Relay
• Noah Harmon | All-SAA second team, 4x400 Meter Relay
• Jordan McQueen | All-SAA second team, 4x400 Meter Relay
• Zeno Goss | All-SAA second team, 4x400 Meter Relay
• Evan Thomas | All-SAA honorable mention, 200 Meters
• Zeno Goss | All-SAA honorable mention, 800 Meters
• Keri Edwards | All-SAA honorable mention, Triple Jump
• Keri Edwards | All-SAA honorable mention, 4x100 Meter Relay
• Kirsten Wright | All-SAA honorable mention, 4x100 Meter Relay
• Malia Melton | All-SAA honorable mention, 4x100 Meter Relay
• Evan Thomas | All-SAA honorable mention, 4x100 Meter Relay

Women's Top Marks/Results

• Evan Thomas earned the crown in the 400 meters with a time of 57.53.
• Thomas also landed on the all-SAA team in the 200 meters with a third-place finish. Kirsten Wright followed in eighth place.
• Keri Edwards, coming off an all-American jump at the end of indoor season, placed All-SAA in third in the outdoor triple jump with a mark of 11.44 meters. Malia Melton and Amirah Ali followed in fourth and sixth, respectively, as the Stormy Petrels picked up a combined 14 points in the event.
• Oglethorpe's 4x100 meter relay stepped up big, placing third to earn all-SAA honorable mention with a time of 47.82. The team consisted of Keri Edwards, Kirsten Wright, Malia Melton and Evan Thomas.
• K. Wright and Thomas returned later in the day to join Kirsten Rose and Hannah Rhodes in the 4x400 meter relay, where the team landed sixth overall.
• K. Wright, after taking fifth in the prelim, moved up a spot in the final of the 100-meter dash with a fourth-place finish, earning five points.
• Mia Harris on Friday earned fifth in the javelin with a throw of 34.34 meters, collecting four points.
• Loni Gipson and Hailey Wright took fifth and eighth, respectively, in the high jump, scoring a combined four and a half points.
• Hannah Rhodes secured three points with a sixth-place finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase on Friday, posting a time of 12:05.

Men's Top Marks/Results

• Zachary Benner won the SAA title in the 5k with a time of 15:30. This followed his runner-up finish in Friday's 10k.
• Jordan McQueen took runner-up in both the long jump (Friday) and triple jump (Saturday), posting marks of 7.16 meters in the long jump and 13.88 meters in the triple.
• Charlie Monroe followed McQueen in Saturday's triple jump with a fourth-place effort.
• Oglethorpe's 4x400 meter relay garnered all-conference status with a runner-up finish in the final event of the championships. The relay consisted of Philmon Laudat, Noah Harmon, Jordan McQueen and Zeno Goss who ran 3:18.32.
• Zeno Goss and Noah Harmon took third and eighth in the 800 meters. Goss ran 1:53.97 while Harmon ran 1:56.88.
• Goss also took fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 49.47.
• Anthony Bonds picked up three points toward the team tally with a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. He moved up two spots from where he finished in the prelim.
• Oglethorpe's 4x100 meter relay, consisting of Mason O'Shields, Philmon Laudat, Anthony Bonds and Jordan McQueen, placed sixth in 43.47.
• Kaden Cooke took seventh in the high jump with a mark of 1.86 meters.

Day One Highlights | Women

• Malia Melton, Hailey Wright and Keri Edwards took fourth, fifth and sixth in the long jump to garner 12 points toward the team total. Melton jumped 5.52 meters, Wright 5.51 and Edwards 5.43.
• Mia Harris earned fifth in the javelin with a throw of 34.34 meters, collecting four points.
• Hannah Rhodes secured three points with a sixth-place finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase, posting a time of 12:05.
• Kirsten Wright secured a spot in the final of the 100-meter dash after taking fifth.
• Thomas posted the fastest prelim time in the 400 to advance to the final.
• Thomas ran the second fastest time in the 200, earning a spot in the final. Wright followed close behind in sixth, also earning a spot in the final.

Day One Highlights | Men

• Zachary Benner and Jordan McQueen had the top marks on the men's side in Friday's action, taking runner-up in the 10k and long jump, respectively.
• Anthony Bonds qualified for the final in the 100-meter dash.
• Zeno Goss did the same in the 400 meters with a time of 48.64.

Up Next

Oglethorpe will compete in one final qualifier to wrap up the regular season. After that, those who qualify will head to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, set for Thursday-Saturday, May 21-23, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.