PHILADELPHIA, Pa.— A select few from the Carson-Newman track and field team wrapped up competition at the historic 123rd annual running of the Penn Relays over the weekend that featured two top-10 marks for Kristofer Potts-Howard (Tullahoma, Tenn.) and a third-place finish from Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.).
"I am extremely proud of the way all nine of our athletes did this weekend. We had some guys who really came out and performed well in front of the biggest crowd they have probably ever performed in front of," C-N coach David Needs said. "Potts-Howard was phenomenal in both the long and triple jumps and Tanner finished us off strong with an excellent jump in the men's elite high jump. Great weekend all around."
The Penn Relays is the longest non-interrupted track and field meet in the United States, which dates back over a century, that takes place in the countries' oldest stadium, Franklin Field. Not only does the meet host collegiate programs from across the country, but the Penn Relay Carnival invites prep athletes all the way up to Olympic teams.
"We brought a bunch of guys up here this weekend looking to improve and work towards qualifying marks," Needs said. "Caleb Agee was seeded extremely low coming into the 400 meter hurdles and left with a finish of about 20 spots better. Our 4X100 meter relay team improved and beat a number of talented teams. Finally, Tanner in the high jump. It doesn't matter who or where he competes, he brings it every time. He had a great day and capped off the weekend well for us."
Over the weekend, Carson-Newman made its third-consecutive trek to the historic meet as the Eagles sent a program-high nine athletes to take part in 2017's edition.
Carson-Newman actually began action Thursday afternoon with Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.) in the women's long jump. The 2017 South Atlantic Conference Champion in the event placed 26th overall with a mark of 5.37 meters.
Mills, who is the only woman participant from Mossy Creek at the 2017 Penn Relays, also took part in the triple jump Friday afternoon and completed the task with an 11th-place finish of 11.64 meters. The mark was the fourth-best of the season for the senior while nearing besting her mark of 11.71 meters set at the league champions where Mills took home a second-place showing.
The Eagles continued the meet Friday afternoon as all four men long jumpers competed in the event in the early afternoon hour. Led by Potts-Howard's seventh-place showing, all four long jumpers finished in the top-35 on the day.
Potts-Howard led the way for the Eagles with a leap of 7.10 meters. The leap was the third-longest of the season for the sophomore as the 7.44 meter mark at the Tennessee Rust Busters on March 25 still ranks as his personal-best.
The Tullahoma, Tenn. native's mark in the long jump is the best C-N long jumping mark at the Penn Relays since Davis's fifth-place jump of 7.28 meters back in 2015.
As for Davis, the senior came in a few paces behind his teammate in 19th-place with a 6.82 meter mark. Behind the two, Timontrez Eady (Duvall County, Tenn.) and Ray Artybridge (Iva. S.C.) finished 32nd and 34th, respectively, in the event.
All four of the above for mentioned have jumps that surpass the 7.00 meter mark in their careers as Davis won the event at the SAC Championships three times in the last four season. The only time the Chattanooga, Tenn. did not bring home the gold at the SAC Championships during his career was at the 2016 games where Artybridge stole the show.
Another Eagle who made the most of their first trip to the historic Penn Relays was Caleb Agee in the men's 400 meter hurdles. The freshman, who is coming off a SAC Championship in the event, finished the contest with a time of 55.42 seconds. Coming into the weekend, Agee was seeded 51st out of 70 participants.
Friday's final event that the Eagles took part in was the men's 4X100 meter relay. Coming off a meet where the team was disqualified due to dropping the baton, Potts-Howard, Eady, Noah Hill (Nashville, Tenn.) and Artybridge finished in the top-half of the field.
The four finished the relay with the 41st-best time on the day of 42.53 seconds. Just a couple of the Division I programs the team finished in front of were Villanova, Penn State and Florida State.
Saturday concluded the weekend festivities with the men's triple and high jump as Potts-Howard, Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Christian Stumpf (Johnson City, Tenn.) took part in the events.
The horizontal jumper, Potts-Howard- concluded his impressive weekend with another top-10 finish as the sophomore placed eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.43 meters. His third-farthest jump of the season, the Tullahoma, Tenn. native sits just inside the nation's top-50 in the event.
Carson-Newman's final participant of the weekend was Stepp in the men's elite high jump. The select few who competed in the elite category included only seven Division I athletes, along with Mossy Creek's representative. C-N's Stepp placed third-overall with a 2.12 meter jump.
"For Tanner to jump that well on this stage is a testiment to the athlete he is," Needs said. "It's pretty remarkable what he did. They were all jumping well in that field today. When you put it in perspective, it is one of the best I have seen."
Only South Carolina's Tye Williams and Notre Dame's Matthew Birzer finished ahead of Stepp as the former recorded a first-place height of 2.25 meters while the latter came in second with a 2.16 meter mark. The Jefferson City, Tenn. native sits third in the nation in the event.
The Eagles will continue to focus on individual times and marks as the outdoor season draws to a close over the course of the next two weeks. Carson-Newman sports a number of provisional qualifiers who are hoping to make that final push into the 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla. in late May.
Long Jump: 26th- 5.37 meters
Triple Jump: 11th- 11.64 meters
Long Jump: 7th- 7.10 meters
Triple Jump: 8th- 14.43 meters
Long Jump: 34th- 6.38 meters
T.J. Davis
Long Jump: 19th- 6.82 meters
Long Jump: 32nd- 6.43 meters
4X100 Meter Relay: 41st- 42.53 seconds
High Jump Elite: 3rd- 2.12 meter
High Jump: NH
400 Meter Hurdles: 39th- 55.42 seconds
