VMI men’s track and field athlete Cameron Thomas won the pole vault event on May 11 during the first day of the 2026 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The event is hosted by Western Carolina.
The opening day results are important for VMI as they set the tone for the rest of the championship meet. Thomas cleared a height of 4.90 meters (16′ 0.75″), earning him All-Conference honors in the pole vault for a third consecutive season.
Other notable performances included sophomore Rye Jackson qualifying for Tuesday’s final in the 400 meter after placing fourth overall in preliminaries with a time of 48.83 seconds. Zachary Denton finished fourth in the long jump with his best distance this season at 7.07 meters, while freshman Deonte Harris placed sixth in the preliminary round of the 110-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.95 seconds to qualify for finals.
Additional finishes saw sophomore Camden Gonzales take eighth place in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:03.99, followed by teammates Timothy Renquiest and Colin Crenshaw finishing ninth and tenth respectively. Senior Isaiah Blount secured twelfth place in javelin throw at a distance of 41.41 meters, and Tazewell Rae finished fourteenth in hammer throw with a mark of 40.71 meters.
VMI Director of Track and Field Zack Scott said, “Our men did a great job setting the tone early today. Cameron Thomas getting the conference title in the pole vault was a huge way to start the meet, and Zach Denton and Camden Gonzales continued to build momentum with valuable team points. On the track, Deonte Harris’ 110m hurdles and Rye Jackson in the 400m put themselves in strong positions heading into finals, and we have a hungry group ready to compete tomorrow. We know there’s still a lot of meet left, but I’m excited about where this team stands heading into day two.”
Field events will resume Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., beginning with men’s discus throw; running events are scheduled to start at 2 p.m., starting with men’s four-by-100 relay.
