JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman track and field is headed home from the busy weekend with a slew of first-place finishes and personal bests.
"This weekend, I was pleased," head track and field coach David Needs said. "There were so many aspects of the program that we watched make progress in the right direction. From jumpers to sprinters to distance runners, it was just a great weekend all around".
Katie Smock placed first in the women's 3,000-meter run during the second day of the VMI Winter Classic. Smock won gold in 10:31.50, breaking her personal record as well as Carson-Newman track and field's program record for the event. Jenna Pittman placed fourth in the event in 10:50.00. In the men's 3,000, Brent Borden finished third with a new personal record of 9:10.80.
"I think we could tell pretty early on that Katie was going to have a big weekend," Needs said. "When she ran her 5,000 yesterday, we saw her beat her 3,000 time within that race, so it was clear that she was feeling good and moving in the right direction. To have her beat the shcool record is awesome. She shows so much consistency and dedication to what she does, and I'm excited to keep watching her this season".
Jeremiah Carroll won gold in the men's 60-meter hurdles finals. Carroll finished the race in 8.45 seconds.
"We got to see Jeremiah run his first-ever college race this weekend, and he ended up winning the event," Needs said. "He's a great addition, and he did a great job this weekend".
Sade De Sousa placed first in the women's 60-meter dash finals. De Sousa finished the race in 7.49 seconds. During the men's 60-meter dash finals, Dawson Jones placed second in 6.94 seconds.
"Sade won her race, which is really good for us," Needs said. "I think we've yet to see her run a perfect race, but she has been consistently putting good races together. As she continues to piece all of that together, I imagine we will see her continue to succeed".
Amine Kasmi grabbed gold in the men's 200-meter dash. Kasmi won the event with a 21.47-second sprint. Janaya Davis-Gainer placed 10th on the women's side of the event in 26.35.
In the men's high jump, Verrol Sam placed first with a new personal best mark of 2.05 meters. Oluwafemi Richards grabbed fifth with a 1.87-meter mark. Brooke Taylor competed in the women's triple jump and finished sixth with her 10.89-meter performance.
"I was proud of Verrol, grabbing a qualifying mark in high jump. He was a little banged up and sore from yesterday, so he almost didn't jump today. We watched him warm up, and he felt ready to go. He ended up having a great day. He's still got a ways to go, but he's also showing that consistent growth, and he had a good weekend," Needs said. "A lot of our athletes had personal best and season best marks this weekend, which is awesome to see. Even those who didn't hit those marks had a strong weekend. You look at a kid like Colton, for example, and you can see that he ran really fast".
Colton Lee grabbed bronze in the men's one mile run with a time of 4:20.60. Teammate Borden placed eighth with a new personal record time of 4:28.34. On the women's side of the event, Pittman stood third on the podium for her time of 5:22.05. McKenna Spaulding (5:32.90) and Grace Lathrop (5:35.39) finished seventh and eighth respectively. Spaulding ran a personal best, and Lathrop marked her best time of the season in the event.
"I feel really good about that distance group after this weekend. They competed well and really got after it. I'm proud of them. They all did a great job of encouraging each other, and I think that is part of why we saw so many of those personal best performances," Needs said.
During the women's 400-meter dash, Tytiana Wilson placed third. Wilson finished the race in 56.90, her best time in the event so far this season. Teammate Abbie Zander finished eighth in 1:00.36. In the men's 400-meter dash, Taylor Dupler placed 11th with a season best 51.23-second performance.
Raymond Brugmans placed seventh in the men's 800-meter run with a final time of 1:58.27. Imke Van Gog competed on the women's side of the event where she finished ninth in 2:26.93. Van Gog's performance marked a new season best time in the event.
C-N track and field also won the women's 4x400-meter relay. Teammates Myke'Lah McMiller, Lauren Tabor, Wilson, and Zander contributed to the win and finished the race in 3:58.09, a new season best time.
"We ran that 4x400 against a largely Division I field," Needs said. "You get to a place where you feel really good about those results. The competition was strong, and I'm proud of how hard that group worked".
The Eagles also competed at the Joe LaRocco Invitational this afternoon, Feb. 10. The C-N track and field coaching staff split the team up to take the Eagles' throwers to Salem, Va.
"I say this a lot, but it is really a credit to our staff that we can split up and see two different meets in one weekend," Needs said. "This meet gave our throwers an opportunity to compete against a big field. There was a lot of strong competition, and I'm confident that those athletes will be better for it. Our coaching staff is really outstanding, and everyone has bought into the idea that we have to take these athletes where they will get the best opportunities".
Ian Salyer grabbed an eighth-place finish in the men's weight throw this afternoon. Salyer finished the event with a 13.74-meter mark. Matthew Bretscher finished 11th in the men's pole vault with a 3.40-meter performance.
During the women's shot put event, Taylor Steele finished 23rd with a 9.24-meter mark.
"We feel pretty good about where we are overall," Needs said. "At the same time, we know we can always do better. We have conference championships in two weeks, and this was our last chance to really compete before then. When we get there, we have to step up to the challenge once again".
Carson-Newman track and field will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
