COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Newberry College men's and women's track and field teams made the short trip to Columbia on Friday for the USC Indoor Open and brought home a few more school records, and another first-place finisher.

Sophomore Jase Hunter (McDonough, Ga.) brought home the first-place result for the Wolves with a 17.47-meter weight throw, eclipsing 57 feet for a Newberry record. It is Hunter's fourth first-place result in the weight throw in as many tries this season.

Parker Pitts (Prosperity, S.C.) and Jon Williams (Columbia, S.C.) took spots three and five in the same category, with throws of 16.46 and 15.89 meters, respectively. Hunter, Pitts and Williams still hold the top three positions on the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Performance List through the season's first month.

"We didn't have the entire team for this event, but our guys still made a huge impression and stepped up. I am so proud of them and their progress," said Jimmy Stephens, Newberry College Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. "Coach Morton and the coaching staff are doing an incredible job showing continued improvement at every event.

"After two years of building, our guys are bought-in and see what this program can become. To show up and see our team compete with many D1 schools and truly compete is awesome."

Zach Counts (Summerville, S.C.), a freshman, bested his own Newberry record in the shot put with a 14.63-meter, 48-foot heave for a top-10 showing in a field of 30 competitors.

Sophomore Davison Wright (Roebuck, SC) was the other Wolf to break a Newberry record – this one in the long jump. His 6.98-meter – nearly 23 foot – mark also earned him a top-five effort at the Open.

"The great thing about track and field is labels don't matter once you step on the track," Stephens continued. "Nobody cares if you're D1, D2, D3, NAIA, or JUCO. Our guys know that and they want to compete against whoever is there to run, jump, or throw against them.

"They get that now. No more starey-eyes or intimidation when we roll into a meet. Our guys now have the confidence and grit it takes to develop as an athlete."

On the women's side, Irma Watson-Perez (Sanford, Fla.) finished third out of 27 in the weight throw with a 16.36-meter effort. Andrea Pascual-Rivera (Tarragona, Spain) finished in the ninth position after a 14.74-meter throw. For her weight-throwing efforts, Watson-Perez remains in first on the SAC Women's Indoor Performance List, while Pascual-Rivera is fourth.

"This was an important meet for us. It was the first time we went up against some of our conference competitors," Newberry Head Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach Mashario Morton said. "We knew that coming in and we prepared ourselves all week. We had a lot of school records and PRs, but we aren't focused on the successes we have had this season. We know the job is not done and that's our focus this week going into conference championships."

Added Stephens: "We still have a long way to go to get to our goals, but we are right on track with our continued progress. We will rest up this week and get ready for the SAC Championships next weekend."

Those SAC Championships take place on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 25-26) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at the JDL Fast Track.