Eagles rank third and sixth in SAC to open indoor season

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Posted: Nov 26, 2019

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Preseason rankings for the South Atlantic Conference men's and women's indoor track and field season were announced Tuesday with the men checking in at third and the women at sixth, respectively.

"We as a staff are excited to start the indoor season," head coach David Needs said. "With so many great returning athletes and some excellent new additions, we are excited to see them compete. We believe we have a men's and women's team that is not only built to compete in the conference but nationally, too.

"Our team has worked hard in the fall to get ready for the start of the season, now it is time to turn hard work into measured results."

Carson-Newman earned 89 points in the men's division and 69 points in the women's division.

Queens earned first place in both the men's and women's vote with 110 points for the men and 109 points for the women. Lenoir-Rhyne finished second in the polling across both sections with 98 points for the men and 101 points for the women.

Sprinter Devon Moore (Baxley, Ga.) will continue to be an impact member of the indoor team. In his 2019 indoor season, the junior finished seventh in the 60-meter dash during the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships with a 6.86. A two-sport athlete at Carson-Newman, Moore was named the SAC's Indoor Freshman of the Year back in 2018 and has qualified for nationals in both of his campaigns as an indoor sprinter.

Graduate student Conal McCambridge (United Kingdom) highlights the distance team for the Eagles. A cross country athlete from the fall season, McCambridge most recently headlined the group for C-N at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regionals with a 35^th place finish.

Jumper Jahvad McDermott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) leads the men's team in field events. The senior won first place in the SAC Indoor Championship in the triple jump last year with a 14.88m mark. He finished 11^th in the triple jump at the NCAA Championships last season with an 14.80m leap.

On the women's side, junior Tia Davis (Ooltewah, Tenn.) is the front runner for the sprinters. In the 2019 SAC Championships, Davis finished sixth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.88 and second in the 200-meter race with a time of 25.79.

Sophomore Rachel Strayer (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) is a bright spot among a group of talented distance members for C-N. A cross country athlete, Strayer is the first individual female Carson-Newman runner to be selected to attend the National Championship in cross country since Aubrey Morris in 2008. In the cross country women's 6k, she set a personal best of 21:39.60 at the championship event on Nov. 23.

In the mile run last year, Strayer finished seventh in the SAC Championships with a time of 5:22.61.

Nathalie Schumacher rounds out the C-N women's team in field events as a player to watch for the upcoming season.

Opening up the indoor track and field season is the Bast-Cregger Invitational set for Dec. 6-7 in Salem, Va.

2019 SAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll

Rank	School	Score	1^st Place Votes
1	Queens	110	10
2	Lenoir-Rhyne	98	0
3	Wingate	89	1
4	Carson-Newman	89	0
5	Catawba	72	0
6	Tusculum	65	0
7	Coker	54	0
8	Newberry	39	0
9	Lincoln Memorial	34	0
10	Mars Hill	33	0
11	Anderson	32	0

2019 SAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Poll

Rank	School	Score	1st Place Votes
1	Queens	109	9
2	Lenoir-Rhyne	101	2
3	Wingate	93	0
4	Tusculum	77	0
5	Catawba	71	0
6	Carson-Newman	69	0
7	Coker	54	0
8	Anderson	45	0
9	Mars Hill	42	0
10	Lincoln Memorial	34	0
11	Newberry	20	0