LEXINGTON, Va.- Makanakaishe Charamba and Matthew Blackmon post top times in day one of VMI.
Makanakaishe Charamba finished third in the men's 60-meter prelims with a time of 6.83 seconds. Charamba continued to impress in the semifinals as he posted a personal best performance in 6.74 seconds for a third-place finish.
Matthew Blackmon ran the 60-meter hurdles semifinals in 8.07 seconds earning himself the fastest preliminary time in the event along with a first-place finish. Blackmon broke the Carson-Newman track and field school record in the event this afternoon for the eighth time in his career as an Eagle.
"I just had to come in and run really fast. Coach and I have been working on putting feet down in between hurdles really fast and focusing on form. I came in and executed. I'm proud, but we have to move onto tomorrow and execute tomorrow. I'm not satisfied. I'm focused on getting faster and improving," track and field athlete Matthew Blackmon said.
The rest of the Carson-Newman track and field team also started strong at the VMI Winter Classic after posting multiple top-five finishes this afternoon.
Courtavious Garrett placed fourth in the men's triple jump with a 14.69-meter attempt. In the women's 60-meter race, Sade De Sousa finished second in both the prelims (7.56 seconds) and semifinals (7.49 seconds). Nathalie Schumacher placed fifth in the women's high jump with a 1.60-meter clearance, and Abby Owens competed in the women's pole vault and finished fourth with a 3.51-meter clearance.
"It's about coming in with the right mindset and getting focused. Looking at tomorrow, we have to get in bed at a good time, rest, and come back ready to compete," track and field athlete Abby Owens said.
Siphosethu Boya also showed out today as he finished sixth in the men's 60-meter prelims with a 6.90 second run. Boya then ran a 6.86 to finish seventh in the semifinals for the event.
The Eagles are back in action to finish out the VMI Winter Classic tomorrow morning in the Corps Physical Training Facility beginning at 10:00 a.m. Make sure to stay up to date on cnealges.com.
