FAIRFAX, Va.— With the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships approaching in the coming weeks, Carson-Newman sent six athletes to the George Mason Last Chance Meet Sunday afternoon with the hope that they could improve their national rankings.
"It was a great weekend and a great experience. Part of the process of being a collegiate athlete is to expand how you learn and grow," Carson-Newman coach David Needs said. "This trip was an educational and athletic trip as we went all around Washington D.C. It was a great meet that presented a lot of pressures. They all did great and I am extremely proud of them."
The Eagles who made the voyage to the District of Columbia were sprinter Kevin Snead (Richmond, Va.), high jumpers Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Christian Stumpf (Johnson City, Tenn.), and long jumpers T.J. Davis (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Kristofer Potts-Howard (Tullahoma, Tenn.) and Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
Snead and Stepp are virtual locks for the postseason play as the duo currently sit fifth and seventh in their respected events. The sprinter, Snead, competes in the men's 60 meter dash and has a fastest-time of 6.75 seconds on the year at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 17. Stepp leaped a season-best 2.11 meters at the Buccaneer Invitational on Feb. 2 in the men's high jump to crack his provisional qualification.
In Sunday's competition, Snead ran a 6.94 second time which was good enough for a spot in the finals round while Stepp leaped the third-best mark at the competition with a 2.00 recorded height.
Other Eagles who were on a mission to crack the nation's top-16, which is the cutoff point for the national stage, were Stumpf, Mills, Davis and Potts-Howard.
Stumpf notched a provisional qualification after recording a 2.07 meter leap in the high jump at the East Tennessee State University Track & Field Invitational on Jan. 13. The sophomore seeks his first trip to the national stage, but the Eagle who is currently 20th in the nation in the event recorded a sixth-place jump of 2.00 meters at the George Mason Meet.
Davis is currently just outside the cutoff as the senior sits at 19th in the nation following an indoor career-best of 7.24 meters at the ETSU Invitational on Jan. 13. Looking for his first-ever trip to the national stage, Davis posted another solid mark of 7.22 meters Sunday afternoon which was good enough for a second-place finish.
Potts-Howard's longest leap of the year was 7.06 meters at the Buccaneer Invitational on Feb. 2, but the sophomore is currently on the outside looking in with a ranking outside the top-50. Still, Potts-Howard recorded a top-five mark of 6.97 meters in the horizontal leap Sunday afternoon.
C-N's only woman competing on the weekend was Mills in both the long and triple jumps. The senior has a season-best leap of 11.54 meters in the triple and 5.70 meters in the long jump, but also needed to have a stellar weekend as the All-Region performer is ranked in latter half of the top-50 in each coming into the weekend.
Sunday afternoon, Mills recorded two top-three finishes in the events with a second-place leap of 12.03 meters in the Triple jump and a 5.49 meter mark in the long for a third-place finish. Mills's mark in the triple jump propelled the senior into the top-20 in the nation in the event.
Wednesday morning the field for the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field will be announced as a number of Eagles will be waiting patiently to hear of their name will be called. Once the announcement has been made there will be an article on cneagles.com discussing the Eagles who will be making the trip to the national stage.
Carson-Newman Women
Long Jump: Tiana Mills 3rd- 5.49 meters
Triple Jump: Tiana Mills 2nd- 12.03 meters
Carson-Newman Men
60 meter dash: Prelims – Kevin Snead 4th – 6.94 seconds
High Jump: Tanner Stepp 3rd- 2.00 meters
Christian Stumpf 6th- 2.00 meters
Long Jump: T. J. Davis 2nd- 7.22 meters
Kristofer Potts-Howard 3rd- 6.97 meters
-CN-
