The Eagles head Back to the Tar Heel State to Compete in the 2022 SAC Championship

Spooner Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, TENN. - Carson-Newman heads to Salisbury, N.C., to race in the 2022 SAC Championships hosted by Catawba College. The Eagles will trek to Salisbury for the second time this season.

The Eagles' last trip to the Tar Heel State was successful as they took home fifth and sixth-place honors in the season's opening race. Brent Border earned a top-ten finish in his Eagles debut with a time of 27:02.9. Freshman Grace Lathrop led the Women's team, along with solid performances from Imke Van Gog and Katie Smock.

"It's a tough course. It is not a fast course by any means," Head Coach Mike Spooner said. "It's got three or four different surfaces on it and a lot of twists and turns. It is a course designed to be slower."

The Eagles are coming off a tough race in Huntsville, AL. The race contained more than 450 runners. The Eagles had a few bright spots with solid performances from Van Gog, Hunter Miller, and Borden.

The women finished 30^th out of 50, led by Van Gog's 18:37.9 time. The men finished 33^rd behind Borden's 25:28.6 time in the 8K race.

"It was good for us to go to a meet like that before going to conference," Spooner said. "What I saw was a chance for us to learn a lot and not to let our heads hang low. We talked about how we could handle this meet. We can use the next two weeks to improve and get ready for conference."

Last season, the women's team finished seventh, and the men ninth at the event. The women were led by Rachel Strayer, who had won all-SAC for the third straight season. Strayer finished 19^th in the race. The men were headlined by Raymond Brugmans, who finished 50^th with a time of 26:47.5 in the race.

The women will kick off at 9:00 A.M., and the men will follow at 10:30 A.M.

For more information on Carson-Newman athletics, visit CNEagles.com or follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter.