BOONE, N.C. – The USC Upstate men's and women's track and field teams recorded strong results at the Mountaineer Split Indoor Open Track Meet today hosted by Appalachian State.

On the women's side, senior Joan Tangwar (Eldoret, Kenya) posted a school record with a winning time of 2.18.43 in the women's 800-meter dash. She beat her previous school-best of 2:19.71 set at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at ETSU in 2010.

"I thought we had a pretty good start to our indoor season," said Upstate head coach Natalie Smith. "Everyone on the team understands how quickly this part of the season goes so I believe that they are all focused in on getting better as we will be competing for the indoor conference championships in a month."

In the women's one mile run, the Spartans claimed first, second and third places. Tangwar once again claimed first with a time of 5:08.64, while seniors Carolyne Chelulei (Eldoret, Kenya) and Jemeli Sang (Eldoret, Kenya) posted times of 5:14.45 and 5:15.07, respectively. Upstate sophomore Ashley Edmond (Hopkins, S.C.) earned a third-place finish in the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 27.66.

For the Spartan men, junior Brandon Curry (Anderson, S.C.) set a school record in the 55-meter hurdles with a third-place time of 7.89, passing his previous mark of 8.00 set at the Vince Brown Invite in 2010. Senior Perrish Goggins (Columbia, S.C.) took top honors in the men's high jump with mark of 2.05-meters, while junior Kenneth Sugishita (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) claimed second in the shot put and third in the weight throw. Sugishita registered scores of 15.61-meters in the shot put and 15.67-meters in the weight throw.

Upstate posted the top-four finishes in the men's one mile run as junior Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) led the way with a time of 4:22.63. Junior Davey Dennison (Carlisle, Pa.) earned second-place honors with a time of 4:28.14, while sophomore Andrew Kipchumba (Eldoret, Kenya) took third with a time of 4:24.37. Sophomore Joey Daversa (Chesapeake, Va.) claimed fourth, crossing the line in 4:35.00.

"It was really good to see our upperclassmen lead the way with Goggins, Kemboi, Sang, Curry, Tangwar, Chelulei and Sugishita leading the way for our team," Smith said. "They are all really fun to watch and all of them carry a lot of pride for themselves and the Spartan Green. I believe they represent us well."

Dennison won the men's 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.74, while Kipchumba earned second-place, finishing in 2:01.78. The high-finishes continued to roll in for the Spartans as junior Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla.) tallied a first-place finish in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:44.29, while freshman Matt Caputa (Haddon Heights, N.J.) came in third with a time of 2:58.84. Sophomore Matt Johnson (Elgin, S.C.) recorded a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line in 23.03.

"We are building in quite a few events and hoping to put some of our athletes in position to win an A-Sun championship and help us move up in the team rankings this season," Smith said.

Upstate returns to action Jan. 27, traveling to Johnson City, Tenn., for the Niswonger Invitational hosted by ETSU. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.