CLEVELAND, Tenn. - After completing their most successful event of the outdoor season so far, the Carson-Newman track & field team heads to Cleveland, Tenn. for the Lee Flames Invitational.
The first day of the meet begins on Friday, Apr. 9 at 3:00 PM with the women's hammer throw. Distance races and the 200 meter run will begin on day one on the track at 5:30 PM. Day two of the meet will begin on Saturday, Apr. 10 at 9:00 AM. NO FANS WILL BE ALLOWED IN ATTENDANCE.
The field will be one of the toughest that the Eagles will see this outdoor season. Division-I powerhouses Campbell, Mercer and North Florida are set to compete in Cleveland, along with North Alabama, Tennessee Tech, Stetson, UT-Chattanooga and Tennessee-Martin.
Host Lee is a powerhouse in their own right at the Division II level. Other Division II programs set to compete include nationally ranked squads Ashland, Alabama Huntsville, Tiffin, Finlay, and Mississippi College, along with conference foes Queens, Wingate, Limestone, Lincoln Memorial, Tusculum and Mars Hill. A total of 41 teams will have at least one athlete compete this weekend.
Last time the Eagles competed was back on Mar. 26-27 at the Montreat Invitational. The men's team finished the meet as event champions, earning 108 total points. The women's team finished ninth with 39 points.
Three Eagles earned provisional marks at the event, lead by Nathalie Schumacher. The Germany native won the high jump with a clearance of 1.70 meters, 0.06 meters higher than the second place finisher. The jump, at the time, made Schumacher the unofficial number one jumper in the nation at the Division II level. She now sits at ninth in the nation entering the weekend.
Schumacher has won five events between the indoor and outdoor season and five of the last seven events she has competed in.
The women's 4x100 relay team of Amanda Lowe, Tia Davis, Morgan Bailey and Timaya Ray set a new school record with a time of 47.68 seconds, good enough for a third place finish. Lowe and Davis were also members of the original record holding quartet that ran a time of 48.01 seconds in 2018.
With a time of 47.68 seconds, the team of Amanda Lowe, @mo_baileyyy, Timaya Ray and Tia Davis set a new outdoor 4x100 relay record for @CN_Track at the Montreat Invitational. pic.twitter.com/4YoySNEuVX
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) March 28, 2021
"Morgan is a hurdler and after being hurt in the indoor season, she really stepped up to join that team," says Director of Track & Field and Cross Country David Needs. "Her and Timaya are both very quiet but they're very good at what they do and those four along with coach Kieran have done a great job of working well together."
Devon Moore continued his dominant 2021 season, winning the 100 meter run with a national qualifying time of 10.51 seconds, beating the second-place runner by 0.15 seconds. That time sits the Baxley, Ga. native at eighth in the nation.
Moore also set a provisional mark in the 200 meter run, winning the event with a time of 21.24 seconds, also ranked as the eighth fastest in the nation.
Shane Connell set a new personal best in the high jump with a clearance of 2.05 meters to win the event and set a provisional mark. The freshman from Manchester, England sits at a nine-way tie for 16th in the nation.
Isaiah Kyle, who did not compete at the Montreat Invitational, sits at seventh in the nation with a clearance of 2.11 meters back at the LR Bears Open.
"Our goal is to be the best we can and the last event was unique by keeping a team score, but to be the best team there out of 31 schools was really good," says Needs. "But each of our groups had a good understanding on how we got better and we were all pleased with the success we had this weekend."
Carson-Newman has never competed in an outdoor event at Lee University. The last time the Eagles competed in an outdoor event in the state of Tennessee was on May 4, 2019, at the University of Tennessee Challenge. Current assistant coach Kris Potts-Howard finished third in the long jump with a distance of 7.17 meters.
Austin Gramann is the last current Eagle track and field athlete to compete at an outdoor meet in the Volunteer State, also competing at the 2019 University of Tennessee Challenge. The Mossy Creek native finished 11th in the hammer throw with a toss of 39.22 meters as a junior.
This weekend's field of athletes is stacked with some of the best athletes at the Division II level. Moore will face Tyrique Davis-Giles of Alabama Huntsville and Tevin Richardson in the 200 meter dash. Davis-Giles sits at fourth in the nation with a run of 21.10 seconds, while Richardson sits at sixth in the nation with a run of 21.19 seconds.
Raymond Brugmans will have a tall task in the 800 meters, going up against Timothy Doyle and Jared Vazquez of Division I North Florida and Pace Clark of Division I Campbell.
The men's 4x100 meter relay team will compete against the Tiffin A team that is the only Division II men's relay team to record a time under 40 seconds in the past two seasons.
In high jump, Isaiah Kyle, Connell, Sam Cleek, and Danilo Cardoso will all compete, with Christian Shouse making his 2021 debut against the number two high jumper in all of Division II Cameron Burrows of Tiffin. Burrows sits just 0.03 meters ahead of Kyle will a clearance of 2.14 meters.
Joseph Oreva will make his outdoor debut as a Carson-Newman Eagle in the long jump. The freshman out of Port Harcourt, Nigeria was number one in all of Division II for indoor with a jump of 7.84 meters and finished fourth in the nation at the NCAA Indoor National Championships.
On the women's side, Schumacher will face sixth ranked Marissa Gwinner of Tiffin. The sophomore Dragon has a clearance of 1.73 meters, just 0.03 meters higher than Schumacher's.
In the 1500 meter run, Rachel Strayer will face former Big South Champion Dorus Ewoi of Division I Campbell.
"We feel like other than nationals that this is going to be one of the best meets that we've competed at" says Needs. "You have teams coming to compete and it'll be great to see how they rank from a national standpoint. It's a good measuring stick for where we are before we head to the conference meet."
Following this weekend in Tennessee, the Eagles will have a week off before heading to the Tarheel state for the third time this season with conference championship aspirations for the 2021 SAC Outdoor Conference Championships in Hickory, N.C. beginning on Apr. 24.
