WINSTON SALEM, N.C.— The Carson-Newman indoor track and field team concluded competition on the weekend at the JDL Fast track's UCS Invitational Saturday afternoon with two top-five finishes on the men's side on a day that sits just two weeks away from the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.
"Today we had a group of people who came out to finish the indoor season strong as well as to improve in their regional rankings," assistant coach Randall Freeman said following competition. "I think we were resilient today and we made it a point to be focused on consistency."
Marshall Shank (Granite Quarry, N.C.) recorded the third-best mark in the men's pole vaulting sector as the sophomore tallied a 4.35 meter mark. The Eagle beat out a number of Division I athletes in the competition while only stepping aside for William and Mary's Derek O'Connell and Lucas Wratschko.
For the second-consecutive day, Kevin Snead (Richmond, Va.) competed in the men's 60 meter dash and did so Saturday with a fourth-place finish of 6.83 second time. The senior outperformed his preliminary time of 6.89 seconds earlier in the day to qualify for the final round.
Friday at the Tiger Paw Invitational, Snead placed sixth-overall in the finals round with a season-high 6.75 second time. The time was only two, one-hundredths off his career-best of 6.73 seconds and was all but good enough to lock himself in for another trip to the Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Snead finished 10th in the men's 60 meter dash a year ago at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships to take home his first of three All-American plaques on the year.
"Kevin showed great resilience today while battling a sinus infection," Freeman said. "Though he ran in back-to-back days while feeling under the weather, He still posted a decent time that was in qualifying range."
Other notable days on the men's side included Anthony Jackson (Manchester, Tenn.) in the men's 800 meter run. The sophomore finished the trial with a 2:01.86 time to take home the 14th-best performance on the day.
On the women's side, Carson-Newman witnessed Priscah Jemeli (Eldorett, Kenya) finish 20th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:27.51. Sky McCarter (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Rebekah White (Rockford, Tenn.) also competed on the day in the 3,000 meter run and do so by claiming 27th and 36th positions on the day.
Carson-Newman coach Davis Needs will likely send a number of his athletes who are on the cusps of qualifying for the national competition to some type of Last Chance Meet in the coming weekend. For that information and more, stay tuned into cneagles.com.
Carson-Newman Men
800 meters
14) Anthony Jackson 2:01.86
60 meters
Prelims: 6th- Kevin Snead 6.89 seconds
Finals: T4th- Kevin Snead 6.83 seconds
3,000 meters
33) Amos Korir 9:29.42
37) Kelvin Ronoh 9:41.14
One Mile Run
24) Luke Greer 4:33.42
Pole Vault
3) Marshal Shank 4.35 meters
Carson-Newman Women
800 meters
20) Priscah Jemeli 2:27.51
3,000 meters
27) Sky McCarter 11:41.68
36) Rebekah White 12:52.27
One Mile Run
46) Lindsey Williams 5:52.63
-CN-
