JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Track & Field comes off a historic indoor season as they now turn towards its outdoor campaign with the first meet this weekend at Montreat College.
A total of 16 school records were broken across track & field events for the Eagles which included three athletes who qualified for nationals across four events, and the school's first National Champion in any sport with Tanner Stepp's top finish in the high jump.
"We would have like to start the outdoor season sooner," Coach David Needs stated. "It was just one of those rare years where it didn't work out geographically for us. We wanted our whole team there and this meet fit that for us."
The Invitational in Montreat, N.C. will have a total of 22 teams in competition with the majority the weekend's events starting at 10:00 a.m.
South Atlantic Conference teams will include the Catawba College Catawba Indians and the Mountain Lions of Mars Hill.
The league released the preseason polls for the 2018 Outdoor Track & Field season earlier this month with Carson-Newman occupying the 4th spot on the men's side and 6th in the women's poll.
The poll results for the women's side marked the same finish to the 2018 indoor season, while the men's side saw Anderson and Tusculum swap places as well as Mars Hill and Lincoln Memorial.
David Needs' men's team collected 89 points in the poll, the same amount prior to the indoor season but the team was tied for third with Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears occupy the third spot on their own with 92 points.
Needs' women's team tallied 75 points, two higher than the indoor preseason poll but still held the same position.
"You want to do well against these conference teams and win a title but you also want to be a nationally contending team," Needs added. "We're excited about a couple additions for the outdoor season and they'll all have a chance to really compete for us."
Carson-Newman Watch List:
Men's:
Sprinter - Freshman, Devon Moore (Baxley, Ga.) - Moore was a national qualifier during the indoor season for C-N in both the 60-meter and the 200-meter dash, collecting second-team All-America with a 11th-place finish. Moore garnered the league's freshman of the year award following the league's inaugural season after posting second-place finishes in the indoor championship. Moore had the best time in the nation among freshman sprinters in the 200 at 21.43 seconds.
Distance: Senior, Luke Greer (Northhampton, England) - Greer broke two school records during the 2017-18 indoor season, with new bests in the 3000-meters and the 800-meter. Greer comes off one of the best cross country seasons in the nation in 2017 when he earned a trip to the D2 Cross Country National Championships.
Field: Senior, Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) - The first National Champion in SAC T&F history, and the first in C-N history in any sport during the D2 era went to the high jumper Stepp during the indoor season. Stepp cleared 2.17 meters on his third attempt, leaping from third-place to first. The senior jumper has went to nationals every single semester at C-N, collecting All-America honors for the sixth time this year. He was a perfect five-for-five in events during the 2017-18 indoor season in the high jump
Women's:
Sprinter: Freshman, Tia Davis (Ootlewah, Tenn.) - Davis collected two athlete of the week awards from the conference during the 2017-18 season. The freshman broke school records in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes in the opening weekend, and proceeded to break her own record two more times during the campaign in both events. Davis earned a spot in the 60-meter final during the indoor SAC T&F championships, notching a seventh-place finish at 7.91 seconds.
Distance: Junior, Bekah White (Knoxville, Tenn.) - White set personal best runs multiple times during the 2017-18 year in the 3000-meter and 5000-meter runs.
Field: Senior, Tori Gaul (Salisbury, N.C.) / Senior, Samantha Gudger (Bristol, Tenn.) - Gaul posted season high 3.72-meter jump in the pole vault narrowly missing out on a trip to nationals for C-N. She posted a first-place finish during the league indoor championships. Gudger is a dual-threat for C-N in both the long jump and high jump, also just missing out on Pittsburg, Kan. following the indoor season. Season-best jumps at (1.65m, high jump) and (5.72m, long jump).
2018 Men's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll
|
RANK |
SCHOOL (first-place votes) |
TOTAL |
|
1. |
Queens (10) |
116 |
|
2. |
Wingate (1) |
101 |
|
3. |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
92 |
|
4. |
Carson-Newman |
89 |
|
5. |
Coker |
68 |
|
6. |
Anderson |
63 |
|
7. |
Tusculum |
55 |
|
8. |
Lincoln Memorial |
47 |
|
9. |
Mars Hill |
41 |
|
10. |
Catawba |
30 |
|
11. |
Newberry |
20 |
2018 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll
|
RANK |
SCHOOL (first-place votes) |
TOTAL |
|
1. |
Queens (9) |
116 |
|
2. |
Wingate (2) |
102 |
|
3. |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
90 |
|
4. |
Coker |
80 |
|
5. |
Anderson |
77 |
|
6. |
Carson-Newman |
75 |
|
7. |
Lincoln Memorial |
52 |
|
8. |
Mars Hill |
46 |
|
9. |
Tusculum |
36 |
|
10. |
Catawba |
30 |
|
11. |
Newberry |
18 |
