JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— Seven Carson-Newman athletes posted top-20 finishes on the day as the Eagles flied high in day one of the David E. Walker Track & Field Kickoff Classic Friday afternoon at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn.
After taking 35 days off away from competition for the end of the fall semester finals and the Christmas holidays, the Eagles took the stage at ETSU's Mini-Dome as Division II's lone representative.
"A little rust was evident from the one month layoff, but I thought overall we did a pretty good job today," coach David Needs said. "We purposely went a week earlier than last week because we wanted to shake the rust off a little sooner.
The other six Division I universities present were Western Carolina, Kennesaw State, Alabama State, ETSU, Georgia State and Appalachian State.
The first event of the afternoon was the 200m run where Carson-Newman showcased 11 Eagle sprinters.
Freshman Timontrez Eady (Duval County, Fla.) paced all C-N runners with a 22.73 second time in the event to place 12th overall. Matt Rust (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Kristopher Potts-Howard (Tullahoma, Tenn.) finished a few paces back from Eady, logging 22.85 seconds and 22.95 seconds, respectively, for the 18th and 21st best times.
All three sprinters broke a previous C-N indoor record in the 200m run.
"For all three of those guys to go sub 23 seconds in the 200m run after the break was a positive and to be at this point is great right now will put us in good position going forward throughout the season," Needs went on to say.
Noah Hill (Nashville, Tenn.) and Aaron Seward (Charlotte, N.C.) also picked up top-20 finishes at 24th and 29th place in the 200m, as the duo recorded 23.07 and 23.45 seconds. David Luster (Jacksonville, Fla.), Cole Potter (Tullahoma, Tenn.), Jerimiah McCarter (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Matthew Melton (Powell, Tenn.) all placed 31-35 for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman only had two compete in the women's 200m run, as Jessica Capron's (Nassau, Bahamas) 28.61 pace placed 41st and Briana Hunter (Greenville, S.C.) came in two-slots behind at 43rd with a 29.21 time in the run.
The second event Eagle athletes took part in on the afternoon was the long jump.
After breaking his own school record of 7.18m in the event last month at the Appalachian Open, Davis took a backseat to Eady today. The freshman narrowly edge out Davis by one one-hundredth of a meter as his 6.85m leap notched his teammates' 6.84m efforts in the event. Both athletes placed in the top-10 overall, as Eady's mark scored eighth and Davis's jump was good enough for ninth place.
Randall Freeman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) also competed in the long jump. The senior leaped 6.43m into the 17th position overall.
On the women's side, Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Samantha Gudger (Bristol, Tenn.) combined for two top-20 tallies for Carson-Newman. Mills's 5.50m mark placed 13th and Gudger's 5.30m jump came in at the 20th position.
"There was some really good things as far as improving today," Needs said. "We will get better tomorrow and are certainly looking forward to it."
Carson-Newman will be back in action tomorrow at the David E. Walker Track & Field Kickoff Classic. Events are set to begin at approximately 10 a.m.
Carson-Newman Women
200 Meter Dash
41) Jessica Capron 28.61
43) Briana Hunter 29.21
Long Jump
13) Tiana Mills 5.50m
20) Samantha Gudger 5.30m
Carson-Newman Men
200 Meter Dash
12) Timontrez Eady 22.73
18) Matt Rust 22.85
21) Kristopher Potts-Howard 22.95
24) Noah Hill 23.07
29) Aaron Seward 23.45
31) David Luster 23.68
32) Cole Potter 23.76
33) Jeremiah McCarter 23.79
34) Matthew Melton 24.13
Long Jump
8) Timontrez Eady 6.85m
9) T.J. Davis 6.84
17) Randall Freeman 6.43m
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