Gudger bolsters mark, Eagles await dispatch on nationals
Fairfax, Va. – Carson-Newman wrapped up the Last Chance Invitational on Sunday in its attempt to improve on 2017-18 campaign marks to send its athletes to nationals next month.
Fairfax, Va. – Carson-Newman wrapped up the Last Chance Invitational on Sunday in its attempt to improve on 2017-18 campaign marks to send its athletes to nationals next month.
Athletes were split between George Mason and Winston Salem looking to push their way up the national rankings.
The top-16 marks in each event garner a trip to the biggest stage in D2 Track & Field, but roughly the top-20 athletes earn a trip depending on the strength of the event. A committee from each region will make those final decisions early next week.
In the women's long jump, Samantha Gudger compiled a distance of 5.72 meters which was the top distance between the three jumpers. Two athletes from George Mason jumped 5.57 meters and 5.52 meters. The distance for the senior jumper marked a new season-best and places her at 28th in the country and 3rd in the region, provisionally qualifying for nationals. She was off just 3cm from breaking a school record.
The native of Bristol, Tenn. also posted the top-spot in the high jump clearing 1.55 meters but fell short of her season best jump of 1.65, sitting the senior outside the top-30 in the event.
Devon Moore collected the top time in the 60 meter dash finals with a time of 6.89 seconds.
Moore comes off of the SAC Indoor Championships a week ago in which he collected the conference Freshman Athlete of the Year after posting two national qualifying times in the 60 meter and 200 meter dash en route to second-place finishes.
The freshman sprinter will compete next month at nationals in both the 60 and 200 meter dash as his time last week of 6.78 seconds in the 60 is 12th in the nation and top-two among freshman.
Moore's time in the 200 on Monday was an automatic qualifier at 21.43 seconds which is 10th in the nation and best among freshman.
Kieran Showler-Davis posted a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter finals at 6.85 seconds. The sprinter currently sits at No. 14 in the nation at 6.79 seconds, which should be could enough for a national qualifying time. Showler-Davis competed in Winston Salem, N.C. at the JDL Fast Track.
In the 400 meter dash, Caleb Agee turned in a time of 50.99 seconds which collected a second-place finish out of seven runners.
Kristofer Potts-Howard held the top distance in the long jump at 6.82 meters. The junior jumper collected the Field Athlete of the Year by the conference after notching top-four placements in three different events throughout the SAC Championships.
Pottts-Howard's longest jump of the year remains at 7.26 meters for 22nd in the nation, right on the fringe of a national berth.
Luke Greer posted a second-place time in the 5000 meters at 15:09.06 which posts the best time of his track career since a 16.12.83 time in March of 2017 at the LRU Southside Power & Fitness Invitational.
Tori Gaul pushed for a higher height in the pole vault after posting a 3.72 meter-best last week at the league championships. Although she failed to clear the higher bar, the senior sits at No. 19 in the nation in the event.
Amy Zadroga cleared a height of 3.20 meters but fell short of her career-best 3.42 which she set at the conference championships last week.
"When you go to a Last Chance meet you rarely get everything you want across the board," Coach David Needs said. "I really feel like these athletes can see improvements and learn from this weekend. It was fantastic to see some good marks today."
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