HICKORY, N.C.— Day one of the South Atlantic Conference Track & Field Championships was a successful showing for the Eagles Friday afternoon as the club sported three wins on the day with a number of other top-tier performances on the Irwin-Belk Track on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.), T.J. Davis (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Marshall Shank (Granite Quarry, N.C.) all took home gold medals on the day to pace the Eagles out of the gates. Seniors Mills and Davis swept both the men's and women's long jumping events while Shank claimed his second SAC title in the men's pole vault in as many years.
"We had a very strong first day, but it's a two day track meet and we still have some work to do," C-N coach David Needs said. "How we respond tomorrow in the second day is what matters. We have to take advantage of the events we have remaining like the triple jumps and some throwing events. The running events are something we will need to push in. I am proud of our guys today but we still have some points out there to get."
Mills kicked things off for Carson-Newman's women with a first-place prize in the women's long jump. The senior recorded a personal-record in the event after leaping 5.81 meters to cruise to the blue ribbon. The provisional qualification mark was well out in front of the rest of the field as the second-place finisher, Coker's Da'Sha Jobes, tallied a 5.44 meter mark.
The Chattanooga, Tenn. native has now provisionally qualified in both the long and triple jumps on the season and currently sits around 25th in the nation in the long.
After missing a multitude of meets throughout both the indoor and outdoor campaigns because of injury, C-N women's pole vaulter Tori Gaul (Salisbury, N.C.) finally got things going with a second-place 3.61 meter performance. The junior reached the same height as first-place recipient, Kim Thiede from Queens, but surpassed the bar later in the round.
The height was the first bar Gaul has cleared all year but was still good enough for a provisional qualification. C-N's pole vaulter is coming off a sophomore campaign that featured two national qualifications in the event.
Shelby Reynolds competed in three events for the Eagles in the opening-day of competition at the SAC Championships and did so by turning in a top-10 finish in the high jump with a 1.47 meter mark. The freshman also turned in 10th and 13th place finishes in the long jump and javelin throw.
Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England) posted a finals qualification time in the 400 meter hurdle prelims by finishing sixth-overall with a time of 1:07.57. Sky McCarter (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Priscah Jemeli were the other two Eagles on the women's side to post top-10 times. The latter accomplished the feat in the 800 meter dash prelims while the former did so in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
The Carson-Newman men's team also showed out in the first day of completion as the squad put forth 15 top-10 finishes, eight top-five marks with two wins.
Though the men's long jump was the final event of the day, it sported a number of Eagles who posted impressive marks. Davis won the event to corral his third long jumping title of his career with the 7.26 mark. The jump was good enough for another provisional qualification and was the first championship for the senior since the 2015 season.
Kristofer Potts-Howard (Tullahoma, Tenn.) also claimed a top-five mark as the sophomore leaped his second-farthest mark of the season at 7.20 meters. The jump was good enough for third-overall and came in just five spots ahead of Timontrez Eady's (Duvall County, Fla) eight-place mark of 6.78 meters.
Ray Artybridge (Iva, S.C.) also competed in the event while posting a 6.66 meter mark for 11th-place.
"I am so proud of TJ. The long jumping in our conference is one of the best in the nation," Needs said. "How it went for T.J., Tiana and the rest of our athletes, I was really impressed. For T.J. to win it three out of his four years here is really, really impressive."
C-N's final top-finisher on the day was Shank in the men's pole vault. Much like Gaul on the women's side, the sophomore has been battling injuries for most of the year. Despite not being 100 percent, Shank hauled in his second SAC championship in as many seasons Friday afternoon with a mark of 4.41 meters.
Other notable finishes on the day include Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) in the men's long jump as the junior finished second with a 2.13 meter mark. The four-time All-American posted the same recording as Wingate's Isiah Kyle who took home the gold, but the latter reached the height earlier in the round to secure the first-place finish.
Stepp has placed second in the men's high jump for the second-consecutive season.
In the men's 3000 meter steeplechase, C-N's Luke Greer (Abington, Northampton, United Kingdom) took home the broze with a 10:04.3 time while both Amos Korir (Eldorett, Kenya) and Kelvin Ronoh also claimed top-10 times in the event.
Carson-Newman sported three top-10 finishers in the men's javelin throw on the day with Christian Stumpf (Johnson City, Tenn.), Lee Wells (Buckhannon, W. Va.) and Ross Ensley. Stumpf brought home the silver medal with a throw of 51.17 meters while Lee and Ensley finished in fifth and eighth with marks of 47.23 and 42.27 meters, respectively.
The Eagles currently sit in third on the men's side with 60 total points while the women come in sixth-place with 24.50 points through day one. For the men, the Eagles trial only Queens (66) and Wingate (63) before the field drops off significantly to Mars Hill and Anderson in fourth-place with 26 points.
"Greer's third place finish was very inspiring and I was impressed. I could really go on and on, but again, we have more work to do," Needs said. "To be sitting in third with 60 points for our men, that's not bad. We just need to keep going for us to have a strong showing by the end."
Day two of events are scheduled to begin around 10:30 a.m. as Carson-Newman looks to build on an impressive day one to cap of the SAC Championships. Keep up with the Eagles on Twitter throughout Saturday by following the club's account at @CN_track. As always. A complete recap will be available at cneagles.com at the conclusion of the day.
Carson-Newman Women
Long Jump
1) Tiana Mills 5.81 meters
10) Shelby Reynolds 5.03 meters
17) Alexis Sczerba 4.41 meters
Javelin Throw
8) Christiana Smith 29.27 meters
11) Faith Long 22.61 meters
13) Shelby Reynolds 18.30 meters
High Jump
4) Shelby Reynolds 1.47 meters
Pole Vault
2) Tori Gaul 3.61 meters
1500 Meters
12) Lindsey Williams 5:24.54
13) Jennifer Warren 5:31.71
15) Ashlyn Page 5:40.85
400 Meter Dash Prelims
14) Jessica Capron 1:04.41
15) Natalie Bartos 1:08.42
800 Meter Dash Prelims
10) Priscah Jemeli 2:27.01
16) Jennifer Warren 2:38.26
400 Meter Hurdles Prelims
6) Holly Talbut-Smith 1:07.57 (q)
200 Meter Dash Prelims
11) Cassie Smith 26.21 seconds
16) Madison Pickel 27.11 seconds
3000 Meter Steeplechase
8) Skye McCarter 12:49.51
Carson-Newman Men
High Jump
2) Tanner Stepp 2.13 meters
4) Christian Stumpf 1.95 meters
8) T.J. Davis 1.85 meters
1500 Meter Run Prelims
13) Luke Greer 4:20.87
100 Meter Dash Prelims
11) Timontrez Eady 11.06 seconds
15) Noah Hill 11.20 seconds
17) Lonnie Williams 11.40 seconds
18) Drake McCowan 11.45 seconds
19) Jason Williams 11.55 seconds
400 Meter Dash Prelims
11) Jeremiah McCarter 50.65 seconds
14) Ray Tiller 50.80 seconds
800 Meter Dash Prelims
10) Anthony Jackson 1:59.31
21) Rafael Adame 2:18.86
22) Alec Bross 2:24.07
200 Meter Dash Prelims
8) Timontrez Eady 22.21 seconds (q)
14) Drake McCowan 22.68 seconds
3000 Meter Steeplechase
3) Luke Greer 10:04.3
9) Amos Korir 10:26.72
10) Kelvin Ronoh 10:31.82
Long Jump
1) T.J. Davis 7.26 meters
3) Kristofer Potts-Howard 7.20 meters
8) Timontrez Eady 6.78 meters
11) Ray Artybridge 6.66 meters
Pole Vault
1) Marshall Shank 4.41 meters
Javelin Throw
2) Christian Stumpf 51.17 meters
5) Lee Wells 47.23 meters
8) Ross Ensley 42.27 meters
14) Tanner Stepp 39.89 meters
22) Matthew Morgan 30.74 meters
-CN-
