LEXINGTON, Va.- Carson-Newman track and field left the first day of the VMI Invitational with a slew of national qualifying marks and spots in the finals.
"We had a good meet today," head track and field coach David Needs said. "So far, we are very pleased and proud of the way our athletes are competing".
Amine Kasmi ran a personal best in the 60-meter dash preliminary event in 6.92 seconds this afternooon, Jan. 26. Kasmi finished first in the prelims, grabbing a provisional qualifying mark. Teammate Tshenolo Lemao finished second in the prelims with a new personal record of 6.94 seconds. During the 60-meter semifinals, Dawson Jones finished first with a 6.83-second qualifying time. Kasmi grabbed third in the semis with another qualifying time of 6.90 seconds. Both Jones and Kasmi are headed to the finals for the event. The men's 60-meter dash finals are scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 27 at 12:25 p.m.
"We did well in the prelims. Now, we have to go out and do the same thing tomorrow in the finals," Needs said. "For Dawson to have one of the best qualifying times was a great thing to see. We are hoping to continue that trend as we work hard during our second day here at VMI".
In the women's 60-meter dash prelims, Tytiana Wilson finished eighth in 7.90 seconds. Sade De Sousa grabbed the first spot during the semifinals for the event in 7.55 seconds, a national qualifying time. De Sousa will compete in the women's 60-meter dash finals tomorrow, Jan. 26 at 12:30 p.m.
During the men's 60-meter hurdles prelims, Shemar Patten landed in fifth in 8.48 seconds to grab a provisional mark in the event. Kadidja Sangare finished first in the women's 60 hurdles prelims with a 8.78-second season best time. Sangare earned a national qualifying time in the event. The men's 60-meter hurdles finals will begin tomorrow afternoon at 12:15 p.m. with the women's event following directly after.
In the women's 5000-meter run, Peyton Couch placed second in 19:00.91. Teammate Imke Van Gog ran a season best time of 19:12.22 to finish fourth. Will Kolb ran a season-best time in the men's 5,000-meter event. Kolb finished the race in 16:47.07 to place 13th.
The Eagles wrapped up the running events with a win in the men's distance medley relay. Ethan Blaylock, Raymond Brugmans, Colton Lee, and Garrett Wilson contributed to the team's win. The quartet finished the event in 10:34.53. On the women's side of the event, Jenna Pittman, Myke'Lah McMiller, McKenna Spaulding, and Grace Lathrop placed fourth in 13:23.30.
"For our distance medley team to go out there and do what they did is really awesome," Needs said. "They ran really well, and they fought to compete the whole time. That is the most we can ask from our athletes, and I'm really proud to see that effort".
C-N also found success during today's field events. Verrol Sam placed second in the men's long jump with a 7.19-meter leap. Sam now holds the 33rd best mark in the event in NCAA DII. Teammate Camden Fritz grabbed 16th in the event with a 6.43-meter performance.
"I'm proud of all of our athletes today. Our runners had a great day, but for all of our other athlets to have they day they did is really exciting," Needs said.
Sangare placed second in the women's long jump. She finished the event with a 5.90-meter mark.
Freshman Kendall Whitehead grabbed a new personal best and sixth-place finish in the women's long jump with a 1.52-meter mark in the event. In the men's weight throw, Ian Salyer finished 16th with a 13.11-meter mark.
"Certainly, we can always improve and get better. We are at that midway point in our indoor season, so we are looking for that steady improvement and willingness to compete," Needs said. "We will continue to evaluate that as we move forward tomorrow. For tonight, we are happy with what we saw".
The Eagles will be back in action tomorrow, Jan. 27 at 9:00 a.m. for the second and final day of the VMI Invitational. Live results can be found HERE. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
