Track and Field announces coaching changes and promotions

Posted: Oct 14, 2021

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Director of Track & Field and Cross Country David Needs announced the promotion of Kieran Showler-Davis to Associate Director of Track & Field and of Kris Potts-Howard to Jumps Coach and the addition of Austin Gramann as a graduate assistant and Josh Baker and Whitney Lee as pole vault coach and distance assistant coach.

The promotions and new hires come after the departures of Luke Greer, Sam Gudger, Mike Morrison, and Tyler Stepp.

"We're sad to lose all of our former coaches but we know that they'll go on to do great things," says Needs. "We lost Luke Greer, the greatest male distance runner in school history, Sam Gudger who is going to do great things at Princeton, and Mike Morrison who really developed our pole vaulters into a great squad. I also can't say enough good things about Tyler Stepp who led the team to its first Division II national champion while he was here but he's going to do great things in the private sector. You can't replace these coaches but you can build off the impact they made and this staff will do that."

Kieran Showler-Davis enters his first season as Associate Director of Track & Field. It is his third season as Sprints Coach and second season as Recruiting Coordinator at Carson-Newman.

During the 2021 track & field season, Showler-Davis helped guide Devon Moore to four All-American selections between the indoor and outdoor seasons. Moore won the SAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the 100 meter run and placed second in the 200 meter run. At the NCAA Division II National Championships, Showler-Davis helped guide Moore to the silver medal in the 100 meter run and the bronze in the 200 meter run. Moore became the first ever SAC men's track & field athlete to be named SAC Male Track Athlete of the Year in back-to-back seasons when he won the award after the 2021 season.

Showler-Davis was also instrumental in the coaching of Sterling Melancon. Melancon finished in the top-10 of 24 of the 26 races he competed in during the 2021 indoor and outdoor seasons and became the first Carson-Newman freshman to be named an All-American since 2018 after earning second-team honors after placing 11th in the 100 meter run at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships.

"Kieran is an exceptional recruiter," says Needs. "The kids he has recruited here have already raised the level and expectations of this program. Kieran also brings passion and a steady hand. He's competed in international competition against some of the best in the world and brings that calmness and a system that works for us as a coach. It was an easy promotion for me because I see how hard he works and how dedicated he is and he will continue to try to build this program up."

Kris Potts-Howard spent the 2021 season as a graduate assistant. Potts-Howard was instrumental in coaching Joseph Oreva during the 2021 track & field season. Oreva broke a 44 year-old record in the indoor long jump at the 2021 ETSU Invitational with a jump of 7.75 meters. Just eight minutes later, Oreva jumped a distance of 7.84 meters, a new school record and a mark that stayed as the longest jump in NCAA Division II for the entire indoor season. Oreva went on to finish fourth at the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, earning his first career All-American honors.

"Kris is very disciplined," says Needs. "He is what we call a 'tracky.' He understands the fundamentals and did a great job assisting coach Stepp last year and in coaching our hurdlers last season. Kris was a natural hire for us because he's someone we trust and will do a good job. Hopefully we can help mold him into the coach we all know he can be."

Austin Gramann enters his first year as a graduate assistant with the Carson-Newman track & field team after graduating from Carson-Newman in 2021.

The Jefferson City, Tenn. native was a force in the hammer throw, discus, weight throw and shot put during his time with the Eagles, recording 17 top-10 finishes across all four events while wearing the orange and blue.

Gramann left his mark on the history books during his senior year, breaking the school record for outdoor men's hammer throw that had stood since 1979 with a toss of 44.07 meters at the Montreat Invitational. Gramann demolished his own record at the same venue just two months later at the Montreat Final with a throw of 47.74 meters.

"Austin is a guy who will do whatever you ask him to do," says Needs. "He is a quality person and you can trust him to get the job done. Him and Draven Green battled back and forth for school records during their time competing here and now Austin gets to coach him. Austin is also genuine and he will never be fake with anyone on this team and that will take him far in his coaching career."

Josh Baker will focus on coaching the Eagle pole vault squad. Baker is the father of current Eagle Marlee Baker, who finished fourth at the 2021 SAC Outdoor Championships in the pole vault. Baker was the coach of the first pole vault program at Letcher County High School in Whitesburg, Ky. taking two pole vaulters to the state championships every year from 2014-17 and recording a pair of top-five finishes. Baker became the pole vault coach at Morristown East High School in 2018, coaching the Hurricanes to their first-ever state apperance in the event.

Whitney Lee returns to Mossy Creek after eight years away. The former Carson-Newman cross country coach saw great success as the head coach for the Eagles, leading the women's cross country team to the SAC Championship in 2002 and 2005 and the NCAA Southeast Region Championship in 2002. Lee earned three SAC Coach of the Year awards in his time at Mossy Creek, coaching twenty-two (28) All-Conference performers (19 women; 9 men) and thirteen (16) All-Region performers (13 women; 3 men). So far this year with Lee, the men's cross country team has already broken their school record for average time at a 5K race, while the women have reset their school record for average time at a 5K race twice.

"I feel like this staff is passionate and can help develop student athletes," says Needs. "This is the largest squad we've ever had and not only do we want to coach them on the field but we also want to help develop their minds and hearts and make them better people during their time at Carson-Newman. We have coaches who are not going to look at student athletes as numbers but as people and individuals with a heart. Whether they're the greatest athlete on the team or are struggling to perform, we're going to invest in them no matter what."

To keep up with the Carson-Newman track & field and cross country teams, stay locked and loaded onto cneagles.com or follow the team on twitter at @CN_Track.