JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A new season is nearing closer for the indoor portion of the 2019-20 track and field schedule as the Carson-Newman Eagles will travel to Salem, Va. for the Bast-Cregger Invitational this weekend at Roanoke College.
C-N is one of 19 universities that will be in attendance for the two-day event. C-N is also one of three schools in the South Atlantic Conference who will have a presence at the meet with Lincoln Memorial and Queens in attendance as well. Division I programs, such as Radford will compete in the women's division, while a variety of Division III programs will also add to the diverse talent pool at the event, now in its fourth year.
"We have a great team," head coach David Needs said. "I think we have a team of great individuals who are collectively a great team. We're going to be doing some things at this meet that are really good, and I'll be even more excited when we get everybody here and can compete in the spring."
Roughly two-thirds of Needs' squad will be in attendance over the weekend, with several cross-sport athletes resting in preparation for the spring season. Still, the Bast-Cregger Invitational serves as an opportunity for freshmen to shake off any first-time jitters competing at the collegiate level, returning athletes to assess their development and for another opportunity to set qualifying times for the national championship.
Highlighting last years' performance is senior Caleb Agee (Floyd, Va.), who took home first in the 800 meters at 2:01.23, while sprinter Tia Davis (Ooltewah, Tenn.) earned first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.90 and junior Abby Tomkosky (Dandridge, Tenn.) who won the triple jump with a mark of 10.85m.
For the men's team, jumper Jahvad McDermott is entering into his final season with the Eagles, and Needs is sure he'll be looking to make the most of the opportunity.
"We're really pushing him early because we know his season and his competition ends at the (NCAA) Indoor National Championships," Needs said. "I'm really excited to see what Jahvad has been doing, he's been working hard to really get it done."
On the women's side, graduate transfer Hannah Beth Moorhouse (Morristown, Tenn.) will be looking to make an immediate impact for C-N in the high jump. Originally from Belmont University, Moorhouse took second in the high jump with a leap of 1.58m at the MTSU Invitational in 2018.
"The ability to see her jump in a Carson-Newman uniform, we're really excited about it," Needs said.
Each day will feature a mix of men's and women's events, with multi events beginning the Friday slate of competition at 1:30 p.m. and ending with the men's pole vault at approximately 9 p.m.
Saturday's competition is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. before the men's and women's 4x400 meter relay caps off the weekend at 6:00 p.m. tentatively.
Live results will be provided by Snap Timing, which you can access by clicking here or by checking back at CNEagles.com for recaps of each day.
