LEXINGTON, Va. – Junior sprinter Devon Moore (Baxley, Ga.) stood on the podium in both the men's 60 and 200-meter dash finals Saturday to put a stamp of authority over the competition at the VMI Indoor Classic.
Running on the hydraulically banked surface at the Corps Physical Training Facility, Moore -ripped off a season-best 21.24 second mark in the 200 – the fourth fastest time in Division II to this point this year. The provisional qualifying time in the national championships later this year also improves his seeding for the South Atlantic Conference Championships later this month.
With speeds locked in, the looming conference meet and the national stage are about chasing hardware.
"I told Devon, now for the next two meets, I don't care what time he runs; I just want him to win," head coach David Needs said.
"And I challenged him today, I asked him, 'Devon, I need you to get a 21.30 or faster (in the 200) and he got a 21.20. He said, 'coach, you almost gave me a stomach ache asking me to be that fast.' But right now, he's fourth in the nation and he's the fastest guy in the region."
In all four competitions that Moore has attended during the indoor season, he has finished no worse than second in each finale that he has opted to participate in – winning every preliminary heat race to this point.
Not far behind Moore was teammate Toot Johnson (Rincon, Ga.) who came across the stripe at 22.02 – a new personal best for the sophomore.
Also continuing his dominance is freshman Christian Shouse (Jacksboro, Tenn.) who has exploded onto the scene as a do-it-all member of the Eagles. His personal best long jump length of 7.17m Saturday solidified his seeding further in the SAC meet while also provisionally qualifying him for nationals.
It is the second solo event that Shouse has qualified for on the national level, not withstanding his 14th-largest point total in the men's heptathlon in all of Division II.
Shouse followed up his long jump leap by staying in the field for the high jump, where his height of 2.05m earned him a share of first place.
Elsewhere in the field, sophomore Abby Hegarty smashed her personal best in the 200 with a finals time of 25.98 seconds. Teammate Tia Davis (Ooltewah, Tenn.) followed straight behind with a 26.27 – an improvement from two weeks ago at the Buccaneer Invitational. Faith Nelms (St. Petersburg, Fla.), who shined in Friday's 4000 DMR, clocked in at 26.71.
In the field, freshman Susan Nelson (Crossville, Tenn.) registered a distance of 4.92m in the women's long jump.
Overall, this weekend for Needs was a chance to see a group of his athletes improve seeding times for the approaching conference meet. In large part, his team of select individuals did just that.
"We've got the right people headed in the right direction," Needs said.
Action from the SAC championship meet at the JDL Fast Track in Winston Salem, N.C. is set for Feb. 29-March 1.
