WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A gold medal in the long jump by Joseph Oreva and a pair of silver medals in the pole vault helped the Carson-Newman track & field team open the weekend with early successes on day one of the SAC Indoor Championships.
Oreva claimed his second straight SAC Championship in the long jump after winning the event at the 2021 Outdoor Championships. The sophomore from Nigeria needed just one jump to win the championship, clearing a distance of 7.43 meters to take home gold in the event. That mark moves Oreva up to a tie with David Kizan of Lincoln (Mo,) for the eleventh longest jump in all of Division-II this season. The clearance is also a new conference record, beating the mark set by Christian Shouse at the 2020 meet.
�� Indoor, outdoor, The Doors, doesn't matter. @Oreviscoj claims his second straight SAC championship in the long jump and sets a new conference record in the event @CN_Track pic.twitter.com/wjRxB25OtG
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 27, 2022
Sam Cleek earned the first medal of the weekend in the pole vault, finishing second with a clearance of 4.58 meters. The mark is a new school record in the event, and is the second highest mark in SAC indoor track & field history. Cleek has competed in the pole vault just three times in his career, finishing inside the top-eight all three times and in the top-three twice. His second place finish is the highest finish for a Carson-Newman athlete in the event since Noah Robertson finished second at the 2018 SAC Indoor Championships.
�� Second-place finish in the pole vault
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 27, 2022
�� School record @CN_Track
�� Second highest mark in conference history
Have a day, @samuelcleek pic.twitter.com/HBKjtnJkgX
Abby Owens also took home silver in the women's pole vault with a clerance of 3.10 meters. Owens has finished either first or second in the pole vault at every SAC Indoor or Outdoor Championship she has competed in as a Carson-Newman Eagle. Owens has now recorded four straight top-five finishes in the event.
�� @CN_Track claims another silver medal in pole vault, this time on the women's side from Abby Owens pic.twitter.com/rat3eSdeeD
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 27, 2022
"Today was a good day," says Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Needs. "There were some pleasant surprises and some things happen that we didn't expect. Sam stepped up huge today. He was projected seeventh and finished second with a school record. Katie Smock had a great day running anchor leg after running a 5K. Joseph locked his place in for nationals today as well. We have sprinters in the 60 meter final, including Tia and Von who have been veteran leaders for us. I am pleased with day one but know that there is a lot to do tomorrow.
Six Eagles qualified for the finals in six different events on the track after day one of the SAC Championships.
Tytiana Wilson won her heat and finished fifth overall in the prelims of the women's 400 meter run. Her mark of 59.88 seconds ties her personal best as she won her heat by almost a full second.
Siphosethu Boya won his heat and finished third overal in the prelims of the men's 400 meter run. Boya's mark of 49.81 seconds was the fastest in his heat by almost three seconds.
Tia Davis will move on to the finals of the women's 60 meter run after finishing seventh overall in the preliminary round with a time of 7.84 seconds. Davis has finished inside the top-eight in the 60-meter run in 12 straight races dating back to the 2021 KMS Invitational.
Davis also qualified for the finals of the women's 200 meter run. Davis finished second in her heat and sixth overall in the prelims with a time of 26.22 seconds to move on to the final round tomorrow.
Devon Moore, Makanakaishe Charamba and Sterling Melancon will all compete in the finals of the men's 60 meter run. Moore finished third in the prelims and first in his heat with a time off 6.84 seconds. Charamba also won his heat and sits at fourth after setting a time of 6.92 seconds. Melancon also won his heat and sits with the sixth best time after day one in the event at 6.94 seconds.
Moore also qualified for the finals of the men's 200 meter run. The senior out of Baxley, Ga. won his heat and set the sixth fastest mark in the field with a time of 22.21 seconds.
Carson-Newman recorded 11 top-10 finishes and 10 personal bests on day one of the SAC Indoor Championships.
Freshman Sydney McCarty finished fourth in the women's long jump with a distance of 5.36 meters. McCarty tied third-place finisher Melody Jones in distance, but Jones earned the third-place honor after she completed six jumps without fouling. McCarty fouled twice in her six attempts. McCarty has started her career at Carson-Newman strong, recording four top-10 finishes in the event this season.
Courtavious Garrett finished fifth with a distance of 6.95 meters in the long jump. His teammate Christian Shouse finished right behind him at sixth with a distance of 6.94 meters.
Marlee Baker finished seventh in the pole vault with a clearance of 2.65 meters. Baker has recorded a top-10 finish in the event at seven of her last 13 meets.
Wilson just missed out on qualifying for the finals of the women's 200 meter run, finishing ninth with a time of 26.40 seconds.
The women's distance medley relay team of Imke Van Gog, Danielle D'Alesio, Karli Yarid and Katie Smock finished eighth with a time of 13:48.58. That beats the previous season best performance in the meet by over one minute.
The men's distance medley relay team of Christian Henry, Brett Lord, Trent Lovelace and Raymond Brugmans finished eighth with a time of 10:53.00.
Nathalie Schumacher set a personal best in the long jump with a distance of 4.56 meters. This is the second time Schumacher has competed in the event in her career. She failed to record a mark at the 2021 Buccaneer Invite.
Ian Salyer set a new personal best in the weight throw with a toss of 13.84 meters. Salyer's 12th place finish is his third top-15 finish in the event in his career.
Hunter Miller demolished his personal best in the mile by almost seven seconds, finishing the race with a time of 4:40.16. Miller has reset his personal best in the event at two straight meets.
Lauren Tabor set a personal best in the 400 meter run, finishing the race with a time of 1:03.48. Her teammate Klara Naude also broke her personal best in the event, finishing with a time of 1:05.68.
Tshenelo Lemao beat his personal best in the 60 meter run with a time of 6.97 seconds.
Christian Henry reset his personal best in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:00.79.
Delan Grant set a new personal best in the 200 meter run with a time of 24.02 seconds. Grant has reset his personal best in the event at every single meet this indoor season.
Katie Smock beat her personal best in the 5000 meter run by almost four seconds with a time of 18:53.22. Smock has rest her personal best in the event at two straight meets.
The Carson-Newman men currently sit in fourth place with 25.5 points after day one. The women sit at sixth place with 16 points. Queens sits at first in both the men's and women's team standings.
The Eagles return to the track tomorrow, Feb. 27 at 10:30 AM for the final day of the SAC Indoor Championship. Fans can follow along with a live video stream with a runnerspace plus account here or via live stats here.
