JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman track and field wrapped up the busy weekend today, Jan. 20, at the Finn Pincus and Vanderbilt Invitational with multiple top-10 finishes.
"Without a week of practice because of the weather, we far exceeded expectations this weekend," head track and field coach David Needs said. "It was a great weekend where we got to gain some experience and learn a lot at the same time".
During the second day of the Finn Pincus Invitational, three Eagles finished in the top-5 in the women's 5,000-meter run. Freshman Peyton Couch grabbed silver in the event in 18:58.21 while teammates Jenna Pittman (19:12.04) and Imke Van Gog (19:26.86) placed fourth and fifth respectively. Will Kolb placed eighth in the men's 5,000. He completed the race in 17:09.12.
"The Finn Pincus Invitational was a good meet for us to attend. We got to see where we are, and some of our younger athletes were able to gain some good experience which is really important to us," Needs said.
Brent Borden grabbed his second 10th-place finish on the weekend in the 1 mile today in 4:33.29. Teammate Bryson Burkett was the next Eagle to finish with a new personal record of 4:46.40. Burkett grabbed 22nd in the event. On the women's side of the event, McKenna Spaulding placed 12th in 5:50.67. Maggie Hope followed shortly after for a 15th-place finish in 5:54.37.
Christian Henry grabbed a top-20 finish in the men's 800-meter run. He placed 19th in 2:06.79. In the women's 800, Spaulding finished 13th in 2:37.34, a new personal best.
In the men's weight throw, Ian Salyer wrapped up the Eagles' day with a ninth-place finish and personal best mark of 14.40 meters.
"Salyer had a great day today," Needs said. "He broke the school record in the weight throw, and it was an awesome way to finish up at Roanoke".
The Eagles also wrapped up the second day of the Vanderbilt Invitational this afternoon, Jan. 20.
In the men's 60-meter dash preliminary event, Shemar Patten finished fifth in 6.88 seconds, allowing him to continue to the finals. Patten went on finish sixth in the finals in 6.86 seconds. Sade De Sousa placed 11th in the first round of the women's 60-meter dash in 7.63. Kadidja Sangare finished 12th in the women's 60-meter hurdles preliminaries. She finished the event in 8.86 seconds.
"Vanderbilt was a good meet. Some people ran the best of their career which I think we can attribute partly to the competition and partly to determination," Needs said.
Tytiana Wilson placed 15th in the women's 400-meter dash today with a final time of 57.35.
"I'm proud of the team," Needs said. "We saw great competition after a week of not getting much practice, and we came out with the right attitude. We are not a team who makes excuses, though. It was a good meet, and now it is time to see where we can build for next week".
Carson-Newman track and field will be back in action next weekend at the VMI Invitational in Lexington, Va. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
