CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Day one of the Catamount Classic came to a close for Carson-Newman with just a handful of events competing throughout the afternoon before the meet wraps up tomorrow at Western Carolina.
"The timing was unique with conference being one week away," Assistant Coach Tyler Stepp mentioned. "We limited the number of reps for them with this being that final tune-up but it was beautiful weather and the kids really responded well today."
Jahvad McDermott earned the top spot in the high jump for the Eagles clearing 2.00 meters on his third attempt to grab 10 points for C-N.
Madison Bunch rounded out the top-eight in the women's high jump for C-N clearing the bar at 1.51 meters. The height marks a new season and career-best for the freshman who is also a member of the Lady Eagles Basketball program.
Five C-N men's Javelin throwers rounded out the top-13 athletes in the event with two collecting points for the Eagles team.
Ross Ensley led the way with a distance of 46.33 meters for fifth-place and four points for C-N. Recent addition Trayzel Jureidini-Wyche earned seventh-place after his throw came in at 44.52 meters to earn two points.
Zeke Vance rounded out the top-ten throwing the javelin 40.50 meters. David Snodgrass (38.69 meters) and C-N swimmer Seth Hughes (38.39 meters) finished 12th and 13th respectively.
Samantha Gudger was the lone Eagle to claim points in the long jump after a 5.51-meter jump placed the senior in seventh, claiming two points for the team.
Shelby Reynolds posted a jump in the event at 5.12 meters finishing 12th out of 31 jumpers. Lexi Sczerba checked in at No. 26 with a jump of 4.30 meters.
"Samantha and Shelby did really well today and have been coming along," Stepp added. "Same goes for Ross in the Javelin. There have been improvements and we hope the marks will continue to come and improve."
Amy Zadroga captured two points for C-N in the women's javelin with a distance of 33.28 meters which was good enough for 7th-place, topping two throwers from ETSU and Western Carolina who finished eighth and ninth and two additional Catamounts at 11th and 12th.
In the men's long jump, C-N jumpers Kristofer Potts-Howard and Ray Artybridge posted top-six scores. Potts-Howard collected five points for the team with a fourth-place finish after clearing a distance of 7.06 meters to top Western Carolina long jumper Kevin Hires who cleared 7.02 meters.
Artybidge followed Hires at No. 6 with a distance of 6.94 meters. It's his third-longest jump of his career and the longest since the Buccaneer Invitational in Feb. of 2017 when he hit 7.18 meters.
A full slew of events is set for the final day of the Catamount Classic tomorrow starting at 10:00 AM with the men's decathlon.
The C-N men's team currently sit in 3rd with a total of 21 points while the women's side checks in at No. 12.
