BRADENTON, Fla.—Kevin Snead (Richmond, Va.) concluded a historic season for the Carson-Newman outdoor track and field program after claiming All-American statuses in both the men's 100 and 200 meter dashes in the final day of the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla.
The junior college transfer took the bronze in the 200 meter dash with a time of 20.87 seconds and finished fifth-overall in the 100 meter sprint following a time of 10.37 seconds.
Both contests were the finals round of the events after the preliminary stages cut the field to eight competitors over the course of Friday and Saturday. Snead's placing in both events makes the sprinter a two-time All-American for the outdoor campaign.
Snead also wrapped up the 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships with an All-American honor in the men's 60 meter dash to make it three All-American plaques for the junior in his first year a part of the Eagle program.
"Kevin wanted to win and that's what he came here to do and as a coach, you like those kind of people," coach David Needs said following the day. "He came in starting with the 100 meter and had a shaky start because of warnings that were issued, but he closed well and finished in fifth. That was good, not where he wanted to be, but he finished the race and did some good things.
"To come back an hour later to compete in the 200 meter dash was incredible. He was 6th coming around the corner but he closed fast. He finished strong and to have someone in our conference that finished in the top-three is this event for the entire nation is amazing."
Saturday's events were all about Snead as the sprinter was the only one out of the four Eagle athletes who made the voyage to the Sunshine State who competed on the final day of competition.
Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) concluded the men's high jump Friday evening with his fourth career All-American plaque after finishing the men's high jump with a fourth-place leap of 2.13 meters. The mark also matched the jumper's career-high in the event.
Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.) also took part in the events Friday evening as the junior wrapped up the women's high jump with a 21st-best leap of 11.89 meters. The mark was the second-best of Mill's career.
The Eagles' fourth participant at the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships was Tori Gaul (Salisbury, N.C.) who actually kicked things off for Carson-Newman on the opening- day. The sophomore claimed the 19th-best mark in the women's pole vault after clearing a 3.65 meter plateau.
The quartet represents the largest number of athletes Carson-Newman has ever sent to any NCAA Championship sector in the history of the program.
"We finished with a tie for 17th at the end of the day in overall points on the men's side and after not claiming any points last year in the Outdoor Championships, it's truly a testimony to our kids," Needs said. "I couldn't be any more proud of this team. I am proud of this program and this university. This was a really neat experience for our kids and the program. I just can't express in words how much I love these athletes."
Stay plugged into cneagles.com for continual offseason coverage of Carson-Newman track and field and continue to follow the team's twitter account at @CN_Track for offseason updates.
Carson-Newman Results
Kevin Snead: 100 meter dash: 5th- 10.37 seconds
200 meter dash: 3rd: 20.87 seconds
-CN-