JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman track and field is headed to the VMI Invitational this weekend for a two-day meet beginning Friday, Jan. 26.
Carson-Newman track and field is back together after a split weekend where the Eagles traveled to both the Finn Pincus Invitational and Vanderbilt Invitational. This weekend, the team will head to Lexington, Va. to compete in the Corps Physical Training Facility.
"I have to credit a great assistant coaching staff becase the fact that we could split the team up and go to two different places is a testament to their quality," head track and field coach David Needs said. "This week, with the chance to travel as a team, it really simulates what we need to be ready to do when we get to the conference meet. So, in this situation, we want to make sure that our athletes are prepared".
The first day of competition will begin on Friday, Jan. 26 at 2:00 p.m. Weight throw and long jump events will kick off the meet at 2:00 p.m., and the 4x800-meter relay events will begin at 3:00 p.m.
Both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdle events will consist of qualifying and preliminary rounds during the first day of competition. Those who qualify for the finals will race again on Saturday, Jan. 27.
"This meet at VMI gives us a great opportunity, again against Divsion I and Division II opponents, to see how good we are in a situation where we are going to run rounds, have prelims and finals for events, and also run some of those relays," Needs said. "It's a good opportunity for us to gain some experience".
The second day of the VMI Invitational will begin at 9:00 a.m. with men's high jump. Running events are set to begin at 10:00 a.m. with the mile. The full meet schedule can be found HERE.
"A lot of people ran really well last week," Needs said. "For those that did well, it's about improving again. We had a great performance, now can we have a second great performance. We have to pattern those kinds of successes to get us to the conference meet and nationals".
The Eagles will look to pattern not only those successes from the prior week's performance, but also the triumphs of last season's trip to Lexington, Va. C-N track and field attended the VMI Invitational last indoor season and left with a number of first-place finishes and personal records.
Sade De Sousa placed second in the women's 200-meter race with a time of 25.05. De Sousa also grabbed gold in the women's 60-meter race with a new personal record of 7.41 seconds in the event. Kadidja Sangare placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal best of 8.81 seconds. Sangare found the podium in the women's long jump to best another personal record and garner a third-place finish with a clearance of 6.00 meters. Sydney McCarty (5.61 meters) also secured season best performances in the women's long jump. Tytiana Wilson stood on the podium for her second-place finish in the women's 400-meter race. She finished in 56.79 seconds.
On the men's side of competition, Brent Borden placed fourth in the mile in 4:31.17. Christian Henry secured a personal record in the event with a time of 4:32.00. Colten Lee placed top-five in the men's 3,000-meter race with a time of 8:55.08.
"The VMI Invitational is very efficiently run, as you would expect from the Virginia Military Institute. It's run very well," Needs said. "It happens fast, and it moves well. It also gives our athletes a chance to go compete on a great surface against great opponents which we hope translates to running great times and jumping great distances. This is the right situation because it gets us in a position where we can be successful".
Carson-Newman track and field is headed to the two-day VMI Invitational beginning this Friday, Jan. 26 at 2:00 p.m. Live results can be found HERE. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
