South Atlantic Conference Release (Men)
South Atlantic Conference Release (Women)
VIDEO: Danilo Cardoso Interview
VIDEO: Natalie Schumacher Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – With a team performance that saw a collection of medals claimed at the ETSU Invitational last weekend, a trio of Carson-Newman athletes earned South Atlantic Conference track and field accolades.
Davon Moore (Baxley, Ga.) earned the AstroTurf Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week with his national qualifier mark of 6.71 seconds in the 60-meter dash, while high jumper Danilo Cardoso (Brazil) earned Indoor Field Athlete of the Week honors with a leap of 2.06m in Saturday's high jump finals.
German jumper Nathalie Schumacher rounds out the awards with her gold in the high jump last weekend at a mark of 1.68m.
It is the first athlete of the week honors for all three Eagles this season. Of the eight honorees spread across two weeks of the indoor season, half have been C-N athletes.
For Cardoso and Schumacher, the athlete of the week honors come after their first collegiate meets of their respective careers at C-N, each having to wait over a year for NCAA clearance to have the chance to participate in a sanctioned event. The practice and patience paid off.
"There are certain people that achieve certain things and you get really excited because you have seen what they've had to do get to that point," coach David Needs said. "The person on the surface that doesn't know that much about the team will just see two athletes that we have that won the high jump again for coach (Tyler) Stepp…What they don't see is the two athletes that had to come here and sit for a year, work real hard and practice and not get to compete...
"As a coach, that gives you extra joy because you can celebrate with them because you know how special it is to them with what they had to put into it to get to that point."
Schumacher's leap made her a provisional qualifier for the national championships later this year and is currently the tenth-tallest mark in all of Division II and the highest among all SAC schools.
In her first meet, she described herself as a little nervous but then relieved when she saw her mark lead the pack. But it was just the beginning of a long season that hopes to see more results atop the podium.
"For me, it was just a start, it was a really good start and I'm happy for that," Schumacher said. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
Cardoso's high jump also cracked the top-10 in eighth among all Division II men and is only behind teammate Christian Shouse among all SAC athletes. The two during the ETSU Invitational went bar to bar with one another before both eclipsing the 2.06-meter mark.
His preparation included working with coach Stepp each day to develop the routine of jumping, sprinting and strength and conditioning that got him to gold.
"We've been working on this for quite some time (and)…That keeps me healthy to be able to compete for the entire season," Cardoso said.
Moore, who also won the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week accolades, ran for a new school record in the 60 in just his first meet since returning to the team from football season.
All three athletes with continue to make progress throughout the end of the season when they travel to Salem, Va. for the Finn Pincus Invitational on Jan. 24-25.
