CULLOWHEE, N.C.- Carson-Newman track and field kicked off the Catamount Classic with a slew of new personal records this afternoon, April 19.

"I'm proud of the groups who competed today," head track and field coach David Needs said. "We had some breakthrough performances".  

In the women's 1,500-meter race, Jenna Pittman finished 11th with a new personal best time of 4:54.34. Teammate Imke Van Gog also set a new personal record in 5:01.37, landing in 17th. McKenna Spaulding (5:17.44), Maggie Hope (5:20.06), and Nicole Griffith (5:30.32) finished 23rd, 25th, and 31st respectively. Spaulding and Griffith set new personal best times with their efforts. 

"Jenna is a great competitor, and she performed well in the 1,500," Needs said. 

Brent Borden finished 11th in the men's 1,500 with a new personal record of 4:01.91. Teammate Garrett Wilson finished the race in 4:07.80 to grab 16th. Bryson Burkett set a new personal record in 4:09.69 to grab 22nd. Will Kolb landed in 31st in 4:23.78, and Sam Cline finished 32nd with a new personal best time of 4:25.59. 

"Katie did awesome in her event," Needs said. "Brent and Garrett performed well too. All of those athletes deserve to be recognized for their efforts". 

Katie Smock won bronze in the women's 5,000-meter race this evening, April 19. Smock finished the event in 18:27.29. Christian Henry ran for the men and finished 16th in 16:40.50. 

"I'm so proud of Christian and his personal record in the javelin," Needs said. "James and Maggie also had personal records. I'm really happy with that group". 

In the men's javelin throw, Henry placed eighth with a new personal record. He wrapped up the event with a 43.06-meter performance. Teammate James Duncan also threw a personal best with a 40.73-meter mark to finish 10th. Burkett finished 17th with a new personal best mark of 36.46 meters. For the women, Kellie Ivens finished 14th in the event with a 24.37-meter mark. Teammate Hope grabbed a personal record with 23.23 meters to finish 15th. Itzel Ayala-Renteria grabbed 18th with a 22.67-meter performance, and Autumn Brazzel finished 23rd with a 10.66-meter mark. 

"It was great to see the javelin and distance crews raise our level and build on continued strong performances," Needs said. "We are looking forward to continuing that trend tomorrow". 

Carson-Newman track and field will compete in the second day of the Catamount Classic tomorrow, April 20 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Live results can be found HERE. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.