JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman track and field left the first day of the Vanderbilt Invitational and Finn Pincus Invitational with standout performances, including freshman Amine Kasmi's 21.49-second winning 200-meter dash.
Freshman Kasmi won the men's 200-meter dash during the first day of the Vanderbilt Invitational. Kasmi placed first in 21.49 seconds, recording the 10th fastest time in NCAA Division II. His first-year teammate Quacy Virgo placed 12th in the event in 22.09.
"Today was a great day," head track and field coach David Needs said. "It was a great run from Amine to hit a provisional qualifying time and win the meet on his first race. When you are here and competing against not only great Division II schools, but also Division I athletes and SEC schools, it gives you some perspective on how special your athletes can be when they perform at that level".
Another freshman for the Eagles, Verrol Sam, grabbed a sixth-place finish in the men's high jump this afternoon with a 1.99-meter clearance. Oluwafemi Richards placed ninth in the event.
"Our men competed well in the high jump, and it was good to see them competing at that level," Needs said. "I'm also proud of our ladies who jumped really well today. It was a great day all around".
Kadidja Sangare placed sixth in the women's seeded long jump event with a 5.94-meter mark. Teammate Sydney McCarty grabbed 15th in the event with a 5.56-meter leap. In the unseeded section, freshman Savannah Goodwin placed ninth with a 5.47-meter performance.
Katie Smock wrapped up the day for the Eagles with an eighth-place finish in the women's 5,000-meter run. Smock finished the race in 18:10.98.
"We are excited about how today went at Vandy, but we can't let it define our tomorrow," Needs said. "This is the kind of meet you want to be at where the competition is good and you get to see where you stand. Now, it's about focusing on what we can do in these circumstances to be the absolute best we can be".
Sangare will compete tomorrow in the women's 60-meter hurdles prelims at 1:00 p.m. A trio of Eagles will compete in the first round of the women's 60-meter dash at 1:45 p.m. Sade De Sousa, Tytiana Wilson, and Janaya Davis-Gainer are set to hit the track. The first round of the men's 60 dash will take place at 2:05 p.m. where Kasmi will race with teammates Dawson Jones and Shemar Patten.
At 3:00 p.m., Brooke Taylor will appear for the Eagles in the women's triple jump event.
Wilson will race in the women's 400 at 4:10 p.m. with teammates Lauren Tabor and Myke'Lah McMiller. Taylor Dupler and Ethan Blaylock will compete for the men directly after. Garrett Wilson and Raymond Brugmans will hit the track for the men's 800-meter run at 5:25 p.m. before Colton Lee takes on the 3,000 at 6:45 p.m. The Eagles will complete their time at the Vanderbilt Invitational with the women's and men's 4x400-meter relays at 7:30 p.m. and 7:50 p.m. respectively. Live results for tomorrow's events can be found HERE.
"We've got a decent size group at Roanoke as well," Needs said. "That group will have a big day tomorrow, and I'm proud of the efforts they are making".
During the first day of the Finn Pincus Invitational, Brent Borden rounded out the top-10 in the men's 3,000-meter run. Borden finished the race in 9:14.41.
The second day of competition in Salem, Va. will begin tomorrow, Jan. 20 at 10:00 a.m. with the men's and women's long jump events. The men's shot put and women's weight throw events will also begin at 10:00 a.m. Eagles Matthew Campbell and James Duncan are set to compete in the men's shot put. Campbell will compete again in the men's weight throw with teammate Ian Salyer at 12:15 p.m. SaMaura Shannon will wrap up the field events for the Eagles during the women's shot put at 2:00 p.m.
C-N track and field's distance runners will be in full swing during day two of the Finn Pincus Invitational. Borden will hit the track again with teammates Will Cable, Sam Cline, Bryson Burkett, Tyler Jones, and Christian Henry in the 1 mile run at 10:35 a.m. tomorrow morning. Maggie Hope, Steffi Johnson, and McKenna Spaulding will run in the women's 1 mile event at 11:10 a.m. The Eagles will get a two-hour break before competing in the 800-meter run. The men will race first at 1:10 p.m. where Henry will compete again. Johnson, Hope, and Spaulding will race with teammate Karli Yarid in the women's 800 at 1:30 p.m. Will Kolb will race in the men's 5,000-meter run at 3:15 p.m., and Imke Van Gog, Peyton Couch, and Jenna Pittman will run in the women's event at 3:35 p.m.
The Eagles will wrap up the Finn Pincus Invitational tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relay event. Find live results HERE.
"We are really optimistic for tomorrow. We are going to see some different athletes in different races, so we are ready to work hard and hopefully see some more of those results," Needs said.
Carson-Newman track and field is back in action to wrap up the busy weekend tomorrow morning at both the Vanderbilt Invitational and Finn Pincus Invitational. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
