Video: Eric Phillips Interview
HICKORY, N.C. - Battling weather conditions and schedules changes throughout the week, Carson-Newman banded together as the men's team earned a third-place finish for the second time this year with the women finishing at No. 4 in the team standings at the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships from the Irwin Belk Track at The Moretz Sports Athletic Complex.
The C-N women were picked to finish fifth in the conference following the outdoor SAC preseason polls released in March with the men tabbed at No. 4. Coach David Needs' women's program held the No. 3 position most of the way through the final day but were edged by Wingate who received 12.5 points more. The men's side grabbed a total of 124 defeating the Bulldogs for the second-straight championship who came away with 85.
"What we were able to do from a team standpoint this weekend was incredible and something that will be memorable in looking back on for a long time," Coach David Needs said. "Everyone came through this weekend where they chipped in points across the board and that's what its all about at these meets; laying it all out on the line fighting and competing. There were some individual performances we were very happy with but I think the story of this weekend is what we were able to do with the program as a whole."
The Eagles were able to come away with 50 total points in distance events on the weekend with 29 from the men and 21 from the women. C-N did not record a single point in any distance event in the 2018 Outdoor Championships.
"This week has been what we have been training for," Coach Eric Phillips said. "That's been the game plan from the get-go is we are going to contribute to this family. I'm very proud of these young men and women. It's so special, I'm at a loss for words. It's been a fun weekend here."
After collecting a conference championship in the 10k on Thursday, senior Luke Greer earned his second of the weekend with the top mark in the 5000-meter run at 14:55.50, lapping two runners in the process. It's the Northhampton, England native's fourth SAC title of 2019 after collecting victories during indoors in both the 5k and 3k races.
Greer's efforts earned him the league's Track Athlete of the Year. C-N has had an Athlete of the Year honored at each of the last three SAC Championships as he joins Jahvad McDermott (2019 indoor) and Kristofer Potts-Howard (2018 indoor).
"Such a great way to end my conference career," Greer said. "I have had so many ups and downs at this event so I'm pleased to have ended it with this award. Huge thank you to the rest of my team for the support throughout the season. I definitely could not have achieved this without them."
McDermott and Potts-Howard finished first and third respectively in the triple jump to receive a total of 16 points. The Brooklyn, NY native McDermott cleared 14.82 meters, his second-highest mark of the season with Potts-Howard following at 14.56 meters. James Wilson rounded out the top-five with a jump of 14.20 meters.
The senior jumper McDermott also chipped in a second-place mark in the high jump at 1.95 meters before missing out on 2.00m. Christian Stumpf came in at No. 4 after clearing the bar at 1.90m.
Junior Caleb Agee repeated as the league champion in the 400-meter hurdles for the third-straight season after a run of 54.13 seconds. Holly Talbut-Smith followed up with a stellar performance of her own in the event to grab the silver medal with a time of 1:05.34 and eight points for the team. The Crawley, England product had competed in just three meets prior to the championships after sitting out all of 2018.
"The pressure of defending a title is definitely there," Agee said. "It's weird doing this as a junior especially coming as a freshman because you set the bar for you so early on and there's that pressure to compete at that mark every single time. The conference is getting so much better in every event we do so I'm super blessed to be able to continue to do what I'm doing. I was ecstatic for Holly. She's very incredible and I've joked with her so long about this. To be able to be in lane six and finish second overall is incredible and I'm just super proud of her."
Kathie O'Neill continued her strong weekend with a silver medal and all-conference run in the 1500-meter run collecting a time of 4:43.11.
Ashton Abbott came away with points for C-N in the discus with an eighth-place mark on a throw of 35.25 meters. Trayzel Juredini-Wyche grabbed runner-up in the event and eight points clearing a distance of 45.53 meters, a new season-best mark.
The women's 4x100 relay team of Samantha Gudger, Abby Hegarty, Amanda Lowe, and Tia Davis grabbed second-place and a silver medal in the event recording a time of 48.26 seconds.
Freshman Devon Moore posted back-to-back silver medal finishes in the 100 and 200-meter races after fighting through sickness throughout the week. The native of Baxley, Ga. turned in a time of 10.46 seconds in the 100 sprint and 21.56 seconds in the latter. Freshman teammate Toot Johnson earned his first outdoor all-conference honor with a 10.76-second run for fifth-place.
The aforementioned Davis grabbed the runner-up placement in the 200-meter dash with a time 25.37 seconds, barely being edged by Saidah Hardwick of Lenoir-Rhyne who came in at 25.34 seconds. Earlier in the day, Davis grabbed all-conference recognition with a fourth-place time in the 100-meter dash at 12.39 seconds.
Gudger earned the silver medal in the high jump after clearing 1.62 meters on her third attempt. The winner, Lucy Walliker of Queens, cleared the same height but did so on her second jump ultimately taking the title.
Abby Tomkoski also received points for C-N rounding out the top-eight in the triple jump after clearing 10.50 meters.
☑️ ✌️ SAC Championships for @LukeGreer_ on the week, four total including indoor.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 20, 2019
☑️ 3️⃣ straight league titles for Caleb Agee in the 400-meter hurdles! pic.twitter.com/MWw9OjKvN9
Needs' squad will now turn their eyes to the Tennessee Challenge which is slated to take place on Friday, May 4. Stay in touch with news regarding C-N Track & Field and C-N Athletics at cneagles.com
Male Teams
| PL | Team | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queens (N.C.) | 205 | |
| 2 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 156 | |
| 3 | Carson-Newman | 124 | |
| 4 | Wingate | 85 | |
| 5 | Tusculum | 81 | |
| 6 | Catawba | 47 | |
| 7 | Coker | 45 | |
| 8 | Lincoln Memorial | 31 | |
| 9 | Anderson (S.C.) | 24 | |
| 10 | Newberry | 11 | |
| 11 | Mars Hill | 5 |
Female Teams
| PL | Team | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 222.5 | |
| 2 | Queens (N.C.) | 179 | |
| 3 | Wingate | 96.5 | |
| 4 | Carson-Newman | 84 | |
| 5 | Tusculum | 57 | |
| 6 | Anderson (S.C.) | 43 | |
| 7 | Catawba | 34 | |
| 8 | Mars Hill | 33.5 | |
| 9 | Coker | 27 | |
| 10 | Lincoln Memorial | 25 | |
| 11 | Newberry | 14.5 |
-CN-
