LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Carson-Newman track & field team flexed their muscles at the Tiger Paw Invite, winning two events and setting a pair of school records.
"I felt like we accomplished a few things today that we wanted to. says Director of Track & Field and Cross Country David Needs. "A few more provisional marks and some school records but overall we know we need to be a lot better. Our athletes had the challenge of a long day trip to a new facility but responded to the challenge well. As a staff we found a lot to celebrate but also found some areas that need a lot of work still too. I hate that the weather altered our ability to compete- that shouldn't happen for an indoor meet. But it is January and these things can happen."
Matthew Blackmon started the day with a bang for the Eagles, winning his heat in the 60 meter hurdles with another school record performance. Blackmon won his heat and earned the one seed for the finals with a time of 8.25 seconds, demolishing his old record set at the ETSU Invitational by 0.16 seconds.
Blackmon wasn't done, as he finished second in the 60 meter hurdle finals with another school record time in the event with a time of 8.22 seconds. The mark is also an NCAA Division II provisional mark and currently ties Blackmon with Samuel Dewitt of UIndy for the 29th fastest time in the country. Blackmon has either set or reset the school record in the event in all four career races he has competed in while at Carson-Newman.
"I don't think we've had a provisional qualifier in the 60 meter hurdles in awhile," says Needs. "I believe it was probably the 70s the last time we had one make noise at the national level. Matthew has run four races and set four school records, which is a completely different breed."
We're just going to go ahead and schedule this tweet for next week. @Matthew_0708 resets the @CN_Track record in the 60 meter hurdles for a fourth straight race with a second-place finish at the Tiger Paw Invite
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 28, 2022
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The men's sprint squad claimed the top four fastest times in prelims of the 60 meter run. Makanakaishe Charamba finished first with a time of 6.91 seconds, while Siphosethu Boya finished second with a time of 6.92 seconds, tying his Carson-Newman best. Sterling Melancon and Devon Moore both tied for third with a time of 6.93 seconds.
In the finals, the Eagles filled the podium with Moore winning the event championship with a time of 6.86 seconds, Melancon finishing second with a time of 6.87 seconds, and Charamba finishing third with a time of 6.88 seconds. The win is Moore's tenth career victory in the 60 meter run and his first of the 2022 indoor season.
������ A podium full of Eagles@ReallVon wins the 60 meter run at the Tiger Paw Invite while teammates @sterling949 and Maka Charamba finish second and third @CN_Track
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 28, 2022
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Moore also recorded a second place finish in the 200 meter run with a time of 22.08 seconds. This is Moore's 19th straight top-five finish in the event dating back to the prelims of the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In his first competition of the season, Joseph Oreva won the long jump with a jump of 7.24 meters. Oreva was one of just two athletes at the meet to reach the seven meter mark. The win is Oreva's fifth career win in the event. He has never finished lower than sixth in the long jump.
He's back
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 28, 2022
The school record holder in the long jump Joseph Oreva wins the event championship in is first competition of the season at the Tiger Paw Invite @CN_Track
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Oreva's teammate Courtavious Garrett finished third with a jump of 6.90 meters. Garrett has recorded eight straight top-10 finishes in the event dating back to the 2021 KMS Invitational.
Boya continued his strong start to the season, finishing second in the 400 meter run with a school record time of 49.07 seconds. The mark is a new personal best for Boya at Carson-Newman and his second straight second place finish in the event. The time is also the second fastest time in the event in facility history at the Norton Sports Learning Center. Teammate KJ Laribo finished tenth with a time of 51.26 seconds.
✅ School record
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 28, 2022
✅ Second-fastest time in facility history
Siphosethu Boya sets a new indoor record for the men's 400 meter run
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The Eagles finished the event with a total of 34 top-10 finishes and 20 personal best marks.
Nathalie Schumacher finished second in the high jump in her first competition of the season with a clearance of 1.55 meters. Schumacher, Sarah Bolton of Georgetown College and Henriette Halwas all cleared 1.55 meters, but Bolton earns the event championship due to clearing the mark in just one jump. It's the third straight meet that Schumacher has finished inside the top five in the event and the sixth straight indoor meet she has finished inside the top five. Her teammate Morgan Stanton finished seventh in the event with a clearance of 1.50 meters.
Abby Owens finished second in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.37 meters. Neveah Brown of Midway won the event championship after clearing the mark in just one jump. Owens has now finished in the top five in 11 of the last 13 events she has competed in. Marlee Baker finished fourth in the event with a clearance of 2.62 meters, her ninth career top-10 finish.
Tia Davis advanced to the finals of the 60 meter run with a time of 7.91 seconds, the second fastest time in her heat and third fastest in the prelims. Davis finished second in the finals of the event with a time of 7.80 seconds, her eleventh top-eight finish in the event dating back to the 2021 KMS Invitational.
�� Hard to find just four top performers for @CN_Track today.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 29, 2022
�� Event championships for @ReallVon and Joseph Oreva
�� Second place finishes for Nathalie Schumacher and Tia Davis
All on top of a pair of school records and 34 total top-10 finishes pic.twitter.com/sbmbTzjK5f
Davis also recorded a second place finish in the 200 meter run with a time of 25.90 seconds. Davis has finished inside the top-10 in the indoor 200 meter run in five straight meets dating back to the 2021 Buccaneer Invitational. Her teammate Timaya Ray finished 10th with a time of 26.75 seconds.
Freshman Sydney McCarty continued her strong start, recording her first career top-three finish with a personal best mark of 5.46 meters in the long jump. McCarty finished just 0.01 meters behind second-place finisher Luna Senica of Lindsey Wilson. The mark is also 0.14 meters further than her previous mark set at the ETSU Invitational.
Tytiana Wilson finished fourth in the 400 meter run with a new personal best time of 59.88 seconds. In her three career races, Wilson has finished inside the top-10 in all three of them so far as a Carson-Newman Eagle. Abbie Zander finished sixth in the event with a new personal best time of 1:00.80, while teammate Morgan Bailey finished seventh with a time of 1:02.06 in her first time competing in the event. Amanda Clabo recorded her first individual top-10 finish, placing tenth with a new personal best time of 1:02.53.
Shane Connell finished tied for second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.91 meters. It is Connell's second straight second-place finish and his seventh straight top-three finish in the event. His teammate Sam Cleek finished tied for fifth with a clearance of 1.86 meters.
Later in the day, Cleek recorded his second top-five finish of the day with a third place finish in the pole vault, tying his personal best with a clearance of 4.30 meters.
Raymond Brugmans finished fifth in the mile with a new personal best time of 4:26.36. Trent Lovelace set a new personal best in the mile by almost eight seconds with a time of 4:39.49.
Brugmans just missed out on a school record time in the 800 meter run, finishing third with a time of 1:57.50. The mark is just 1.28 seconds from tying the school record set by Luke Greer in 2019. Christian Henry finished eighth in the event with a time of 2:05.01.
Tshenelo Lemao just missed on qualifying for the finals of the 60 meter run, finishing 10th with a time of 7.08 seconds.
In his first time competing in the 3000 meter run, Will Kolb finished 10th with a time of 9:15.33. Hunter Miller set a new personal best in the event with a time of 9:41.20, beating his previous mark by almosy nine seconds.
Brooke Visser recorded her first career top-eight finish in the triple jump with a mark of 9.87 meters, a new personal best.
Ian Salyer recorded his first career top-10 finish, placing 10th in the weight throw with a personal best toss of 13.04 meters on his third attempt. Teammate Matthew Campbell recorded a new personal best in the event with a throw of 11.67 meters, his second straight week resetting his personal best.
In her first time competing in the 3000 meter run, Imke Van Gog finished fourth with a time of 11:05.88. Katie Smock finished sixth in her first time running in the event at Carson-Newman with a time of 11:08.75.
Oluwafemi Richards finished ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.53 meters.
In his first competition in a Carson-Newman uniform, Matthew Bretscher finished sixth with a clearance of 3.85 meters.
Morgan Bailey ran a personal best of 8.21 seconds in the 60 meter run, beating her old time by 0.14 seconds.
Olivia Fanning set a new personal best in the mile, beating her old mark by over 13 seconds with a time of 6:04.16. Fanning has set a new personal best in the event every time she has competed in the mile.
In her first time competing in the 400 meter run, Lauren Tabor recorded a mark of 1:04.08 and finished 14th.
Jackson Bostick set a new personal best in the 400 meter run with a time of 52.80 seconds, while Taylor Dupler improved on his opening mark from two weeks ago with a new personal best time of 53.77 seconds in the event. Brett Lord also set a new personal best in the event with a time of 54.40 seconds.
Jade Mattison set a mark of 4.57 meters and an eleventh place finish in her first time competing in the long jump for the Eagles.
Kirby Logan III competed in the 1000 meter run for the first time in her career, finishing 19th with a time of 2:51.86.
Karli Yarid set a personal best in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:48.24, beating her previous mark by almost 16 seconds.
Delan Grant set a personal best in the 200 meter run with a time of 24.14 seconds.
"It's nice to see our young competitors go out and compete hard and want to win," says Needs. "Seeing so many personal bests fall was a treat today, but we can still do a lot to get better before conference and nationals."
The Eagles will make a return trip to Johnson City, Tenn. for the Buccaneer Invitational at East Tennessee State on Feb. 4-5. For more information on the Carson-Newman track & field team. follow along at cneagles.com.
