JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - A record-breaking performance by Matthew Blackmon along with a provisional time in the 60 meter run by Makanakaishe Charamba led the Eagles at the first day of the ETSU Invitational.
In the first race of the day for Carson-Newman, Blackmon finished third in his heat in the 60 meter hurdles and third overall with a time of 8.64 seconds in his first ever race in a Carson-Newman uniform. The freshman out of Melbourne, Fla. beat the previous mark set in 2018 by Trent Brewington with a time of 8.74 seconds. The mark is also just 0.43 seconds away from a provisional mark for the NCAA DII Indoor Championships. Blackmon will compete in the finals of the 60 meter hurdles on day two of the ETSU Invitational on Jan. 15.
How about the freshman?!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 14, 2022
In his first ever race in a @CN_Track uniform, @Matthew_0708 sets a school record in the 60 meter hurdles.
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The sprints squad continued their dominance in the 60 meter run prelims. Charamba finished first in his heat with a time of 6.83 seconds, winning his heat by 0.11 seconds. The mark is a provisional mark for the NCAA DII Indoor Championships and moves Charamba into a tie with Tyrell Smith of CSU-Pueblo and Antonio Lay of Central Missouri for the 12th fastest time in all of Division-II in the event.
Of the top-8 qualifiers for the finals of the 60-meter run, four of them will represent Carson-Newman in the finals. Sterling Melancon began his sophomore season with a fifth place finish and third place finish in his heat in the event with a time of 6.93 seconds. Melancon has now finished inside the top-10 in 27 of the 29 races he has competed in as a member of the Orange & Blue.
In his second race as an Eagle, Siphosethu Boya finished second in his heat and seventh overall with a time of 6.94 seconds, 0.02 seconds faster than his previous time at the BSC Icebreaker. Devon Moore rounded out the top-eight and the finalists for the 60 meter run, finishing fifth in his heat with a time of 6.95 seconds.
Courtavious Garrett led the Eagles in the triple jump, finishing third in the event with a distance of 14.04 meters. The mark is an indoor personal best for Garrett, and is the fifth straight time he has finished in the top-10 in the event dating back to the 2021 Buccaneer Invitational.
With a distance of 14.04 meters, @courtg_10 finishes third in the triple jump with a new indoor personal best@CN_Track pic.twitter.com/cvr4HI42qA
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 14, 2022
On the women's side, Tytiana Wilson finished second in her hear and third-place overall in the 400 meter run in her first career race as an Eagle with a time of 1:00.44. Wilson finished with a faster time than seven Division-I athletes in the race.
In her first career meet, Tytiana Wilson finishes 3rd in the 400 meter run with a time of 1:00.44 @CN_Track
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 14, 2022
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The Eagles finished the day with 15 top-10 finishes and five new personal bests.
Morgan Stanton finished fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.50 meters. The finish is Stanton's highest career finish while at Carson-Newman, beating out her fifth place finish in the event at the 2021 KMS Invitational.
Tia Davis qualified for the finals of the women's 60 meter run. The current school record holder in the event finished sixth in her heat and seventh overall in the prelims with a time of 7.85 seconds. It is her eighth straight top-eight finish in the event dating back to the 2021 KMS Invitational.
Leah Sohm smashed her personal best in the 60 meter run by 0.24 seconds with a mark of 8.15 seconds. In her first race as an Eagle, Kennadi Yoder recorded a time of 8.44 seconds in the 60 meter run.
In her first collegiate event, Brooke Visser finished 10th in the triple jump with a mark of 9.19 meters.
Running in her first track & field meet as an Eagle, Imke Van Gog set a first-career mark of 6:10.97 in the women's mile.
After missing the 2021 season due to competing with the Carson-Newman women's soccer team, Abbigale Zander made her debut with the Eagles track squad, recording a time of 1:02.97 in the 400 meter run. Meanwhile, Amanda Clabo opened her Carson-Newman career with a time of 1:03.52 in the 400 meter run.
In her first 5000 meter run as a Carson-Newman Eagle, Katie Smock finished eighth with a time of 19:19.87.
On the men's side, Josh Finchum finished fifth in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.60 meters. The mark is good enough for Finchum's ninth career top-10 finish in the event.
Luke Smith finished 10th in the weight throw with a toss of 12.62 meters in his first time competing in the event. Fellow Eagle Ian Salyer finished 12th in his first career event as an Eagle, recording a best mark of 12.09 meters. Matthew Campbell recorded a new personal best in the event by 0.40 meters with a toss of 11.36 meters.
In his first meet as an Eagle, Olufemi Richards finished fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 13.38 meters. Camden Fritz finished seventh with a new personal best mark of 12.83 meters.
Christian Henry competed in the mile for the first time in his career at Carson-Newman, finishing 21st with a time of 4:42.04. His teammate, Trent Lovelace, finished behind him with a time of 4:47.82.
Austin Greer set a new personal best in the 60 meter run with a time of 7.06 seconds. Greer has lowered or tied his personal best in the event in four straight meets.
Delan Grant set a mark of 7.37 seconds in his first time running the 60 meter as an Eagle.
Taylor Dupler recorded a time of 54.12 seconds in his first career 400 meter run, while fellow freshman Brett Lord recorded a time of 55.68 seconds in his first career race in the event.
The men's 4x800 meter relay team of Christian Henry, Kirby Logan III, Hunter Miller and Channler Moran-Boothe finished seventh with a time of 8:53.39, beating out Division-I Wofford College.
Will Kolb recored an eighth place finish in the 5000 meter run with a time of 16:13.30, just missing out on a new personal best in the event.
"Overall we had a good day today," says Director of Track & Field and Cross Country David Needs. "It was so good to see the young guys like Matthew and Maka come out and dominate early. And getting to see young athletes such as Clabo and Zander and others finally make their debuts for us and have solid marks is great to see. The vets also did very well today, such as the sprints squad with Austin setting a new personal best. It was a solid first day back and I'm excited to see how we go up from here."
The Eagles will wrap up their time at the ETSU Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 15. The distance runners will compete in the 3000 meter run at 8:35 AM while the rest of the college events will begin at 12:00 PM with the men's long jump. A full schedule can be found at cneagles.com.
Fans can follow tomorrow's action on twitter at @cn_eagles or via live stats at cneagles.com
