JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - In its 2018 trip to the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, Carson-Newman came away with a National Champion and two additional All-America performances. Three Eagles will have a chance to follow up a historic year this weekend in Pittsburg, Kan. on March 7-8 at the Robert W. Plaster Center.
Tanner Stepp earned the first National Championship in C-N history during the D2 era when he cleared 2.17 meters in the high jump. Kieran Showler-Davis and returning sprinter Devon Moore each earned second-team All-America honors in the 60-meter dash.
Moore, Jahvad McDermott, and Luke Greer will all represent the Eagles in three separate events through the two-day championship meet. The latter of the two will compete on Saturday with Moore slated to run in the 60m prelims on Friday in order to crack the top-eight for Saturday's finals.
The native of Baxley, Ga. Moore earned All-South Atlantic Conference plaudits in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, the latter of which he earned a second-place finish. The 60m season-low time of 6.79 seconds is third in the Southeast Region as Moore received All-Region honors in the event including the 200m. He will compete in just the 60m this weekend after holding the eighth-best time in the nation.
"Having been there last season, the nostalgia of the experience is gone and he wants to win," Coach David Needs said. "He got to share in Tanner's National Championship experience last season and knows what that looks like. He has been working hard to have the best technical race he can so that he can take the next step."
"This is a big weekend for myself and Carson-Newman Track & Field," Moore said. "I'm anxious but I'm also motivated due to the level of competition that I'll be facing. I look forward to running against the best in this division and hopefully, I'll set a new standard for myself."
McDermott grabs his first NCAA appearance when he will compete in the men's triple jump. The product of Brooklyn, N.Y. took home the title in the event at the South Atlantic Conference Championships last weekend with a jump of 14.88-meters that helped earn him Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year honors from the league and the ultimate trip to nationals. The leap is a current program record and career-best for McDermott as he sits at No. 15 in the nation. McDermott was also an All-Region athlete this season.
"Jahvad may be the most confident athlete I have ever coached," Needs said. "He has no fear and would compete in any event to help the team. What is even scarier is that he always expects to win and cares little for personal bests."
Luke Greer's time in the 5000-meter run of 14:16.82 checked in as the 14th-best time in all of Division II landing the Northhampton, England native a trip to NCAA's for the second time in 2018-19 after appearing in the NCAA Cross Country Division II Championships. Greer recently took conference titles in both the 5000 and 3000-meter runs last weekend and was also a All-Region performer.
"I am excited to see Luke perform at indoor nationals especially since his stellar performance at cross country nationals," Needs said. "He is a strong performer on the national stage because he is so driven. Each race is another chance to prove himself."
"Training has gone well up to now and I'm still riding the high from winning my first ever conference championships," Greer said. "Excited to once again compete against the best in the nation and I'm hoping that I can represent C-N to the best of my ability."
A total of 540 participants, 270 men, and 270 women will compete in the championships. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.
Stay tuned in to @CNAthletics on our social media pages and cneagles.com for all coverage this weekend.
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