NEW ORLEANS, La. - After sliding down three spots to 20th last week, the Carson-Newman men's track & field team is up one spot to 19th in the latest USTFCCCA Track & Field Ratings Index announced on Monday, May 23.
The no. 19 Eagles sit right behind Queens as the only two SAC teams ranked in the USTFCCCA TFRI before the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships begin in Allendale, Mich. on Thursday, May 26. West Texas A&M enter the championship meet as the no. one ranked men's team in Division-II.
Carson-Newman will be represented by six total men's athletes at the national championships this weekend.
The men's 4x100 meter relay of Siphosethu Boya, Makanakaishe Charamba, PJ Lotharp and Devon Moore enter the NCAA Outdoor National Championships as the number four seed with a school record time of 39.93 seconds. The quartet has won the event championship at every single race they have competed in.
Individually, Boya holds a qualifying time in the 100-meter run. His time of 10.30 seconds set at the Outdoor Music City Challenge is tied with Moore for the school record and is tied for the 12th-fastest time in Division-II. Boya has finished no lower than fifth in the event this season, including taking home the silver medal at the 2022 SAC Outdoor Championships.
The SAC Freshman of the Year will compete in his first NCAA Outdoor Championship as Makanakaishe Charamba gets his shot in the 100 and 200 meter runs. The Harare, Zimbabwe native finished with the 15th fastest time in Division-II in the 100-meter run, recording a time of 10.35 seconds en route to a gold medal at the SAC Outdoor Championships. In the 200-meter run, Charamba's time of 20.84 seconds set at the Lee Flames Invitational is the ninth-fastest in Division-II.
For the first time in his career, Joseph Oreva is headed to Allendale to compete for the long jump national championship. The sophomore holds the second farthest mark in all of Division-II, recording a mark of 7.77 meters at the LSU Joe May Invitational. Oreva finished third at the event, finishing above several Division-I athletes. The Port Harcourt, Nigeria native also won the SAC Championship in the event for the second straight season with a mark of 7.50 meters.
Trayzel Jureidini-Wyche makes his first career trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, competing as the eleven seed in the discus. The senior's toss of 53.81 meters at the Montreat Invitational broke his own school record and was at one point the third best throw in the country. Jureidini-Wyche has recorded 14 straight top-10 finishes in the event, including a gold medal at the 2022 SAC Outdoor Championships.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships begin on Thursday, May 26 in Allendale, Mich. Fans can follow along with updates and more info at cneagles.com.