Interview: Kevin Snead

Interview: Tanner Stepp

Interview: Tori Gaul 

NEW ORLEANS— The Carson-Newman indoor track and field team will have three representatives at the indoor nationals in Pittsburg, KS as Kevin Snead (Richmond, Va.), Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Tori Gaul (Salisbury, N.C.) each received word that they will be making the trip to compete against the nation's best.

To qualify for indoor nationals, each athlete must be ranked in the top 16 in the event to get an automatic bit. Circumstances call for additional athletes to make the cut and sometimes up to 20 athletes per event make the trip to indoor nationals.

Snead, Carson-Newman's first automatic qualifier, will be competing in the men's 60m dash when the meet commences on March 11-12. The Richmond, Va. native is capping off his first season at Carson-Newman in impressive fashion since transferring in from Pima Community College during the summer of 2015.

Named the fifth-fastest football player who also runs track nationwide by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Snead has won multiple meets this season in the 60m dash, including a season-best mark of 6.73 seconds at the UCS Invitational on Feb. 20. 

The time also extended his own C-N program record of 6.77 seconds the junior set earlier in the season and moved him into the top-five for Division II in the event.  .

"It's truly a blessing to be able and to go out and compete for a national championship," Snead said. "I have been working hard all season to get here, so now is the time."

Stepp, who is coming off a two-time All-American freshman campaign a season ago, is set to head back to nationals where he finished with a fifth-place showing of 2.05m last year in the men's high jump. Sitting out the first three meets of the season with a hamstring injury, Stepp rested and is adamant on placing even better this go around.

"It's pretty much the same for me as last year," Stepp said. "I am going to go in there and do my best like I do in every meet. I had some injuries early on but trained the best I could in the weight room and tried to get stronger for now. My coaches have pushed me hard and motivated me to continue to get better and so far it has worked."

The Jefferson City, Tenn. native recorded a career-best of 2.14m in the event at the Camel City Invitational earlier this season on Jan. 29. The school record holder is currently ranked No. 6 in Division II for the event. 

Gaul will be the lone women's representative from Carson-Newman's indoor squad who will be competing at nationals. The sophomore set and extended the Eagle's women's pole vault record several times this season that ended with a 3.90m vault in her last competition at the UCS Invitational on Feb. 20.

Currently ranked as Division II's eighth-best women's vaulter, Gaul will be competing in indoor nationals for the first time in her career.

"I am so excited. This is something that I wanted last year but I just wasn't there yet," Gaul said. "For me to be at this level right now, it's an incredible feeling and it almost feels surreal and that I haven't even processed that I will be going yet. I came off an injury early in December and have just trained every day to get stronger and faster and to just do everything I needed to do to make bars. For me, I have to treat this like a regular meet. Whatever place I finish in is fine as long as I performed at the best of my ability. That's what really matters to me."

Co-hosting 2016's edition of indoor nationals will be Pittsburg State University and the Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau and action will be taking place at the Robert W. Plaster Center on Pittsburg State University's campus.

Stay up to date on all three of Carson-Newman's indoor track and field athletes when they begin competition in 11 days at cneagles.com and on twitter at @CN_Track.   

-CN-