Gaul earns NCAA qualifier, Eagles resilient in Charlotte for JSU Invitational
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Carson-Newman Track & Field garnered the chance to experience the Irwin Belk Complex this weekend for the Johnson C. Smith Invitational.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Carson-Newman Track & Field garnered the chance to experience the Irwin Belk Complex this weekend for the Johnson C. Smith Invitational.
The site will host the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Championships as well as the NCAA Championships later this season.
"This weekend was mostly to gain some experience with the competition we saw but also to see the track and keep moving towards getting ready for conference," said Coach David Needs. "We got better but we have to keep moving forward. It's a matter of fixing some things and improving on it in the coming weeks."
Cierra Henderson and Tia Davis cracked two of the top-five marks in the 100 meter dash with Henderson finishing fourth at 12.52 seconds and Davis fifth at 12.58 seconds.
Davis turned in a new personal record in 200 with a time of 25.72 seconds. Shelby Reynolds turned in a 20th-place time at 27.45, as she also turned in a new college-best height in the high jump clearing 1.52 meters.
"I was really proud of Shelby today," Needs added. "She did well for her first time running and to come out with one of her college-best performances in the high jump is outstanding for her. It was also a great day for Grace Vinson as well."
The sophomore Vinson also turned in a personal record with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 10.02 meters. The mark finished well above her seed distance which started the day at 9.76 meters.
Four Eagles landed in the top-13 in the 800 meter run. Kathie O'Neill led all C-N athletes with a third-place finish and a new season-best time at 2:25.12.
Sarah Sharp (2:28.97) and Priscah Jemeli (2:33.51) finished 8th and 9th respectively, along with Hailey Coudriet's (2:37.69) new season-best time at No. 13.
Samantha Gudger took home top honors in the high jump clearing 1.57 meters. The aforementioned Reynolds sat in third in the competition with C-N's Madison Bunch in fifth at 1.47 meters and Stephanie Johnson in seventh at 1.42 meters.
Abby Tomkoski joined Vinson in the top-six marks for the triple jump with a fourth-place finish at 10.33 meters.
Kieran Showler-Davis earned a fourth-place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.57, slightly slower than his previous time in last weeks event at the Montreat Invitational.
Savion Smith (22.82), Noah Hill (23.04), and Drake McCowan (23.19) rounded out the top-15 performers for C-N.
Anthony Jackson had a top-eight finish in the 800 meter run with a time just over two minutes at 2:01.26.
Adan Vazquez earned a spot in the finals in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 16.71 seconds. Vazquez improved on that time in the finals completing the event in 16.46 seconds for sixth.
Caleb Agee was a third-place finisher in the 400 meter hurdles at 55.06 seconds. Vazquez held a new personal record in the event placing 11th at 59.86 seconds.
Jahvad McDermott and Tanner Stepp finished second and third in the high jump for C-N. McDermott cleared a height of 2.03 meters and Stepp cleared 1.93 meters before being pulled from the competition for safety reason. The National Champion high jumper has been a perfect six-for-six in 2017-18 in such events.
McDermott also claimed third for the Eagles in the triple jump with a distance of 14.28 meters.
C-N's javelin throwers continued their strong second week in a row with Trayzel Jureidini-Wyche turning in second-place with a throw of 46.23 meters. Three other athletes held the top-nine spots. Ross Ensley (44.07, 4th), David Snodgrass a personal record (41.29m, 7th) and Seth Hughes also with a PR (38.09 meters, 9th). Wyche at 14th at 25.25 meters.
Due to weather conditions, Carson-Newman will not compete tomorrow in the invitational.
A number of C-N athletes also competed in the High Point VertKlasse Meeting at the Dick Vert Stadium.
Tori Gaul posted a national qualifying mark in the pole vault clearing a mark of 3. 66 meters. The Salisbury, N.C. native narrowly missed an opportunity for nationals during the indoor season after clearing 3.72 meters at the league Championships.
The 3.66-meter vault is the highest for the senior in the outdoor event since April 28th when she cleared 3.68 meters at the Mountaineer Open. The height currently puts Gaul tied for 13th in all of Division II.
Amy Zadroga posted a third-place finish in the Javelin with a distance of 37.48 meters.
Noah Robertson is near tops in the region for the pole vault after clearing a height of 4.41 meters. The mark is the freshman vaulter's second highest of the year, including indoors in which he cleared 4.45 meters at the Buccaneer Invitational in February.
