VIDEO: David Needs Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—Following three outdoor meets to begin the 2017 track and field season, the Carson-Newman track and field team is prepped and ready for the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Track & Field Championships that is set to begin on Friday, April 14, on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C.
Coming into the 2017 campaign, the coaches around the league voted the Eagles to finish fourth (men) and sixth (women) by season's end after fourth and fifth-place finishes a year ago leaving the conference meet.
"We have to get the very best of our athletes in the events that they are in. It says a lot about how you perform in a championship situation," coach David Needs said. "How you compete in a meet like this depends on who you are and how you view these types of situations. Where we finish as a team has a lot to do with where our hearts and mentalities are. There are other people there and they are going to be giving their very best and I wouldn't' be surprised if there are a couple of qualifying marks that will come out of this weekend."
With hopes of improving on the preseason rankings, C-N will look to score well in the overall point totals on both the men and women's side of competition. The strategy will stray a bit form the norm as the mindset for most meets is to post the best individual qualifying marks with hopes of gaining a spot in the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Many C-N athletes will be competing in a number of events that are not their forte as they will try to rack up as many points as possible. Many of the jumpers will take part in all three leaping events while the sprinters and distance runners will also pull multiple duties.
"Most meets, we want good times, good distances and good marks. This meet is all about beating the person you are competing against," Needs said. "Ideally, we want good times to go along with that, but this weekend is all about the place you finish in. This is really the only meet we compete in all year where we stress the place you finish in as what matters.
"For our athletes, it's going to be a little bit different thought process. They will be trying to beat the person next to them instead of just trying to be the best position they are currently in."
Carson-Newman currently sports a number of qualifying marks on the season. These athletes will look to improve upon their season-bests while also giving their team the best chance to take home the gold.
In the men's long jump, Kristofer Potts-Howard (Tullahoma, Tenn.), Timontrez Eady (Duval County, Fla.) and T.J. Davis (Chattanooga, Tenn.) all posted qualifying marks at the Tennessee Rust Busters to kick off the outdoor campaign. Potts-Howard also posted a qualifying mark in the triple jump on the weekend as well.
Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) has qualified in the men's high jump already this season but the junior will be looking to take home a first-place finish for the first time in his career in the SAC Championships. He, alongside fellow high jumper Christian Stumpf (Johnson City, Tenn.), finished second and third, respectively, a year ago.
2015 SAC Women's Field Athlete of the Year, Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.), has posted a qualifying mark in the women's triple jump, but will also be competing in a number of events such as the high jump and javelin thrown. Mills finished second in the triple a year ago in the meet and third in the long jump.
"We are going into the weekend with the mindset of winning and we look forward to the challenge," Needs said.
Keep up with the entire Carson-Newman track and field team this weekend in the SAC Championships by following the squad's Twitter account at @CN_Track. A complete recap following each day of events will also be available at cneagles.com.
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