Both track & field squads projected fifth in the SAC outdoor preseason polls

Both track & field squads projected fifth in the SAC outdoor preseason polls

SAC Release - Women

SAC Release - Men

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Both the Carson-Newman men's and women's track & field squads were predicted to finish the outdoor season the same way they finished indoor at fifth place in the preseason polls released by the SAC on Tuesday, Mar. 22.

The women recieved 87 total points in the poll, while the men garnered 93. Queens was voted as the preseason number one in both the men's and women's polls. 

As a team, the Carson-Newman men's track & field squad recorded their highest ever national finish in outdoor track & field during the 2021 season, finishing 11th in the nation. The Eagles were guided by podium placements at the national championships by Isaiah Kyle in the high jump and Devon Moore in the 200-meter and 100-meter runs.

The men's team finished third at the 2021 outdoor national championships, guided by gold medals from Moore in the 200-meter run, Trayzel Juredini-Wyche in the discus, Joseph Oreva in the long jump, and the trio of Kyle, Shane Connell and Sam Cleek sweeping the podium in the high jump.

During the 2022 indoor season, the Carson-Newman men finished fifth at the conference championships, with gold medals coming from Oreva and Connell. Cleek did finish second in the pole vault and set a new school record in the event.

The Carson-Newman women finished ninth in the conference at the outdoor championships last season. Abby Owens led the Eagles with a championship in the pole vault last year.

Owens was instrumental in leading the C-N women to a fifth place finish during the 2022 indoor season at the conference championships, finishing second in te pole vault. Nathalie Schumacher earned the bronze medal in the high jump for the second straight indoor championship event. 

Four Eagles were named athletes to watch for the 2022 SAC outdoor track & field season. 

On the men's side, Trayzel Juredini-Wyche has already started the outdoor season with a bang, finishing second in the men's discus throw with a toss of 50.62 meters at the Lee Invitational. The Georgia native's throw is an NCAA provisional mark and is currently the eighth longest toss in Division-II. Juredini-Wyche has now recorded eight straight top-five finishes in the event dating back to the 2019 Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational.

The dual-sport athlete won the SAC outdoor championship in the discus last season while also placing third in the javelin. His toss of 53.09 meters in the discus at the 2021 Montreat Final set a new school record and was the 15th longest throw in all of Dvision-II during the 2021 season. 

During the indoor season, Juredini-Wyche competed at the SAC Indoor Championships in the shot put for the first time in his career. Finishing fourth in the event, he was a key part in the Eagles finishing fifth at the championships in Winston-Salem. 

Devon Moore looks to build off a succesful indoor campaign and continue his success in the outdoor season. The senior won the conference championship in the 200-meter run last season and finished second in the 100-meter run. His time of 10.30 seconds in the 100-meter run at the Lee Last Chance Meet tied his own school record and was the third-fastest time in all of NCAA Division-II last year.

Moore's 2021 outdoor season culminated with a trip to the 2021 Outdoor National Championships where he finished second in the 200-meter run and third in the 100-meter run, becoming the first-ever ten-time All-American in program history. 

Despite battling injuries, Moore finished the 2022 indoor season on a high note, finishing third at the SAC Indoor Championships in the 60-meter run. He also recorded an event win in the 60-meter run at the Tiger Paw Classic. 

Tia Davis will look to continue to push forward and move up the leaderboards during the 2022 outdoor season. Davis was a part of the women's 4x100 meter relay team that finished third in the SAC last season and set or reset the school record three times during the outdoor season. The quartet set the new mark at the Lee Last Chance Meet, running a time of 47.38 seconds. 

Davis has already competed this outdoor season, recording a fifth overall finish in the women's 100 meter run at the Lee Invitational with a time of 12.73 seconds. It is her highest finish in the event since the 2021 LR Bears Open where she also finished fifth. She also finished third in the women's 200 meter run with a time of 25.09 seconds. Davis has now recorded five straight top-five finishes in the event dating back to the 2021 SAC Outdoor Championships.

Schumacher will be all over the track for the Eagles this outdoor season. The junior from Germany has excelled at the high jump during her career, as she finished fourth in the event with a clearance of 1.65 meters at the 2021 SAC Outdoor Championships. Her mark of 1.70 meters at the 2021 Montreat Invitational earned her the event championship while also going down as the 18th highest clearance in all of Division-II women's track & field last season. 

This year, Schumacher has not only competed in the high jump, but has already competed in javelin, shot put and discus as well. This past weekend at the Lee Invitational, she finished seventh in the discus with a toss of 25.91 meters in her first time competing in the event. Schumacher then finished second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.60 meters. She has now recorded five straight top-three finishes in the event dating back to the 2021 Lee Invitational.

In the shot put, Schumacher finished sixth with a toss of 10.08 meters. The day ended for Schumacher with another top-10 finish, this time in the javelin with a third place finish and a throw of 32.96 meters, smashing her old personal best by over six meters.

The Carson-Newman track & field squad will look to build upon their success at Lee at the 2022 Montreat Invitational this weekend in Black Mountain, N.C. Fans can follow along with updates on twitter at @cn_eagles or online at cneagles.com.

 

2022 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll 

RANK

SCHOOL (first-place votes)

TOTAL

1.

Queens (10)

131

2.

Lenoir-Rhyne (2)

120

3.

Wingate

115

4.

Anderson

99

5.

Carson-Newman

87

6.

Limestone

86

7.

Catawba

71

8.

Tusculum

58

9.

Lincoln Memorial

55

10.

Coker

45

11

Newberry

34

12

Mars Hill

26

 

2022 Men's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll

RANK

SCHOOL (first-place votes)

TOTAL

1.

Queens (11)

132

2.

Wingate

116

3.

Limestone (1)

113

4.

Lenoir-Rhyne

104

5.

Carson-Newman

93

6.

Tusculum

81

7.

Catawba

71

8.

Lincoln Memorial

58

9.

Newberry

51

10.

Anderson

40

11

Mars Hill

39

12

Coker

26