Needs' unit riding high in return to Hickory

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Coming off what was arguably their best meet in recent history, Carson-Newman returns to competition this weekend when they head to Hickory, N.C. for the second time this season for Lenoir-Rhyne Classic on Saturday, April 6 from the Irwin Belk Track at The Moretz Sports Athletic Complex.

C-N grabbed 10 total victories last weekend in the Montreat College Invitational, their most in a single meet in at least five seasons, and had three athletes in Devon Moore, Tia Davis, and Kristofer Potts-Howard earn Athlete of the Week honors from the South Atlantic Conference.

In the Eagles first visit to L-R earlier this year for the Southside Power & Fitness Invitational, Coach David Needs' squad turned in nine total victories. With the season total sitting at 19 through two meets, the C-N men hold the No. 18 spot in the nation following the most recent USTFCCCA polls. The long jump group is currently ranked No. 1 in Division II with the Javelin event checking in at No. 12.

"One of the things as coaches you need to be cognizant of when you perform two weeks in a row is to do things correctly and make sure our legs are right," Needs said. "There will be some new and different events our athletes will do but we will also be mindful of some other athletes as you try to gear them up for the conference championships and nationals and keep them fresh. Our goals are to run fast at both of those and not necessarily win these midseason meets so we have to be careful how we handle that and we need to be strategic in how we go about it, but we are definitely going there to compete.

Hickory will also be the site of the 2019 SAC Outdoor Championships slated for April 18-20.

"That's a big reason why we are going," Needs said. "We could've found other meets closer but we want it to be a place they feel like they can have some familiarity with and take ownership of and that way we don't get overly caught up in something new."

Results for the meet can be found here. For further updates and news regarding C-N Track & Field, follow us on our social media pages @CNAthletics.  

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