MONTREAT, N.C. – Carson-Newman opened their 2018 outdoor season with a bang on Saturday at the Montreat College Invitational.
The meet had a total of 22 teams in competition with the majority the weekend's events including South Atlantic Conference foes in the Catawba College Catawba Indians and the Mountain Lions of Mars Hill.
"It was a great starting point today, but obviously there are some things we want to continue to work on and get better at," Coach David Needs stated. "You don't want it to be the high mark of your season just yet but for a couple kids to come out and do what they did in their first meet was incredible."
Kieran Showler-Davis claimed a first-place time in the 100 meter dash at 10.34 seconds, marking the second-fastest time in all of Division II. The next closest sprinter came in from Cumberlands at 10.66 seconds.
"It felt real good to get back out there," Showler-Davis said, who was a second-team All-American in the 60 meter dash during the indoor season. "Nice to finally open my legs up and get to run over a longer distance. The finish definitely can give me a confidence boost moving forward."
Drake McCowan turned in a 14th-place time at 11.34 seconds followed by Savion Smith at No. 17 crossing in 11.41 seconds. DJ Luster competed in his first event of the season after sitting out the indoor season due to injuries, turning in a time of 12.12 seconds.
Showler-Davis notched runner-up in the 200 meter distance with a final time of 21.20 seconds.
Tia Davis and Cierra Henderson finished 1A and 1B in the 100 meter dash with the winning time ultimately awarded to Davis at 12.37 seconds. Both runners share a new school record in the event. Amanda Lowe also claimed a top-eight spot grabbing two points at No. 7 with a time of 12.74.
Henderson won the 200 meter dash and set a new school record with a time of 25.27 seconds. Davis came in at No. 4 with a time of 25.72.
Trayzel Jureidini-Wyche topped all throwers in the men's discus at 44.09 meters. Logan Pender also threw for a top-eight spot at No, 5 with a distance of 40.38 meters. Draven Green (34.99 meters) and David Snodgrass (33.45 meters) came in at 10th and 13th respectively. Trayzel also competed in the Javelin, cracking fourth place with a distance of 46.60 meters. Ross Ensley sat right behind him at No. 5 with a distance of 43.52 meters. Snodgrass' distance came out to 39.05 meters, just outside the top-eight.,
Kelvin Ronoh turned in a second-place finish in the 3000 meter steeplechase with an overall time of 10:33.14 to collect eight points for the men's team.
Indoor National Champion in the high jump Tanner Stepp continued his torrent 2017-18 as he remains undefeated in events after a first-place finish clearing 2.05 meters. The native of Jefferson City, Tenn. is a perfect six-for-six since December.
Jahvad McDermott claimed a second-place finish at 2.00 meters to grab eight points.
The 800 meter run for the women's had two Eagles in the top-eight grabbing points for David Needs' squad. Sarah Sharp (2:28.41) and Priscah Jemeli (2:29.09) turned in fourth and fifth-place performances respectively.
Jennifer Warren (2:38.93) and Hailey Coudriet (2:39.87) held the 16th and 17th positions for C-N.
In the women's 1500 meter run, three C-N runners occupied the No. 11-13 positions as Lindsey Williams (5:15.96), Kathie O'Neill (5:16.41) and Bekah White (5:18.55) recorded finishes in the top-13 out of 27 runners.
Jessica Capron just missed grabbing points for the team in the 400 meter dash with a tenth-place finish at 1:05.19.
Anthony Jackson earned two points in the 800 meter run with a seventh-place finish at 2:00.83. Jared Eddy (2:13.94) grabbed 26th-place.
Cameron McKinley (4:39.10), Patrick McCarty (4:39.25) and Brandon McKinley (4:49.49) all competed for the men's side in the 1500 meter run.
Adan Vasquez finished just outside of the top-eight in the 110 meter hurdles at No. 9 with a time of 16.33.
Jeremiah McCarter grabbed two points for C-N in the 400 meter dash finals with a seventh-place mark at 50.58 seconds. Ray Tiller came in at 15th for C-N with a time of 52.87 seconds.
Abby Tomkoski was a 5th-place finisher in the triple jump for the Eagles with a distance of 10.39 meters.
Kristofer Potts-Howard, the athlete of the year for the SAC during the indoor season, jumped 13.89 meters in the triple jump for a third-place mark. He also cleared 1.70 meters in the high jump with a placing of 12th.
Three Eagles grabbed points for the team in the high jump as Samantha Gudger and Madison Bunch both posted 1.50 meter marks for 5th and 6th place. Stephanie Johnson rounded out the eight at 1.40 meters.
In the women's 4x400, Bunch, Capron, O'Neill and Shelby Reynolds checked in with a time of 4:22.12 for sixth-place.
On the men's side of the event, the foursome of Caleb Agee. Ray Tiller, Jeremiah McCarter and Anthony Jackson checked in at third-place with a time of 3:28.46.
Blake Hill sat in the top-eight in the shot put with a distance of 12.44 meters followed by Green at No. 14 (11.16m) and David Snodgrass in 18th (10,81m)
Samantha Gudger took second place in the long jump with a distance of 5.47 meters, edging out teammate Shelby Reynolds in third at 5.18 meters. Lexi Sczerba sat outside the top-10 with a distance of 4.45 meters.
Ray Artybridge led the C-N jumpers in the same event clearing a distance of 6.87 meters good enough for second-place.
Agee grabbed third in the 400 meter event with a time of 54.05. Vasquez sat right outside the top-10 with a time of 1:00.39.
