Interview: David Needs

ROCK HILL, S.C.—The Carson-Newman women's track and field team was slated fifth in the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Preseason poll the league announced Tuesday afternoon as the Eagles tallied 33 total team-points in the voting. 

"Every year, it's great to be valued by your opponents in being good and part of that could be because we have been doing this awhile," coach David Needs said. "Also, we don't have to accept where we are now. We just know that there is work that comes with it."

C-N, who also finished the 2015 outdoor campaign with a fifth-place showing at the SAC Championships, return Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.) who received Field Athlete of the Year Honors at the meet a season ago.

Mills, along with Shauntae Miller (Nassau, Bahamas) and Priscah Jemeli (Eldorett, Kenya) were also named to the conference's watch list for field, sprint and distance events.  

The junior field specialist, Mills, was an All-Southeast Region Selection for the indoor campaign (2016) and outdoor season a year ago (2015) and was a provisional qualifier in the women's triple jump in the 2016 indoor season.  

Last weekend's outdoor season debut meet at the Power Sox Invitational saw Mills place first in the women's triple jump with an 11.54m mark.

Miller is C-N's current record holder in the women's 200m (25.87 seconds) and 400m (57.07 seconds), 4X100M Relay (49.04 seconds) and 4X400m Relay (4:09.64). The senior was a 2015 All-Region selection for the outdoor season and completed her junior campaign with one first-place showing at the Sewanee Invitational (1:09.39 women's 400m run).

Jemili ran a C-N best time in seven of eight cross country meets on the 2015 season. The freshman placed top-10 (9th) in the women's 5K at the South Atlantic Conference Championship Meet after posting a 19:14.3 time.

Teams who placed before Carson-Newman in the preseason poll includes Queens, Wingate, Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson.

The Cobras tabbed the top-spot in the league polls after accumulating six of eight first-place votes and fifty-five total team points. The Bulldogs came in right behind with 51 points and two first-place votes, while the Bears and the Trojans came in just ahead of the Eagles with 40 and 39 team points.  

Carson-Newman will be at it again this weekend on March 26 as the bulk of the squad will head to the Shorter Invite while Needs will also send the team's pole vaulters to the Winthrop Adidas Invitational.

Preseason Poll (First-Place Votes) - Points

1.       Queens (6) – 55

2.       Wingate (2) – 51

3.       Lenoir-Rhyne – 40

4.       Anderson - 39

5.       Carson-Newman – 33

6.       Mars Hill – 27

7.       Coker – 23

8.       Lincoln Memorial 15

9.       Brevard - 5

-CN-