The multis shine as the Eagles start new season at Liberty Kickoff
Wetzel and Moss make strong first impressions as Sam shows high potential in Lynchburg
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Carson-Newman indoor track & field opened its season at the Liberty Kickoff and saw strong performances in the men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon.
Sam Verrol (Petit Bordel, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Alden Wetzel (New Brighton, Pa.) excelled across the two days to crack the top five of the Group B Heptathlon. Wetzel, a transfer from Arkansas State, finished in fourth (4827 points), just behind the junior Verrol, who claimed the last spot on the podium with third (4945 points).
"I thought it was a really encouraging start," head coach Kieran Showler-Davis said. "It's very early, so for everyone to come out and put up the marks they did is very encouraging for the rest of the season."
Sam set the tone in Lynchburg, posting PRs in five of his seven events, including a pair of wins. He took first place in high jump, clearing 2.00m, and with a PR of 7.11 seconds, he was first to cross the line in the 60m. The junior took second in the long jump, 7.10m, and in the 1000m with a PR time of 2:56.48. He rounded it out with fifth place in 60m hurdles, 8.64 seconds, eighth in pole vault, 3.45m, and 10th in shot put, 9.66m, all new PRs.
"I know he had a few events he'd wish he had another go at, but overall, a great starting spot to improve on," Showler-Davis said. "You wouldn't really know that a few of his events he only started for the first time a few months back, so we're excited about where his ceiling could be."
Wetzel is new to the Eagles this season after transferring from Arkansas State. He set his PR in both the pole vault and the high jump.
The sophomore posted a new career-high 4827 points, finishing in the top six in six of the seven events. He took second in the 60m hurdles at 8.49 seconds and had a 12.27-meter shot put. Wetzel claimed sixth in the 1000m with a time of 3:00.33, in the pole vault at 3.65m, high jump at 1.85m, and in the 60m with a time of 7.17 seconds. Lastly, he was eighth in the long jump at 6.36m.
"I was happy with how [Wetzel] performed and even happier that he came through it injury-free," Showler-Davis said. "He had been training fantastically, but had a minor injury setback a few weeks back, which disrupted his preparation, so I think he'll have a great jump up next competition."
In the Group B Pentathlon, freshman Meiah Moss (Baxter, Tenn.) performed well in her collegiate debut. A South Atlantic Conference preseason athlete to watch, Moss notched sixth place (3083 points). Showler-Davis was impressed with her first start.
"Meiah took her first collegiate competition in stride, and it seemed like she'd been there before," Showler-Davis said. "She had a few PRs and a good score to build upon after Christmas."
Moss came in third in the long jump, 5.33m, and high jump, 1.59m. She also picked up fourth in the 60m hurdles in 9.28 seconds, added the sixth-best mark in shot put, 9.18m, but struggled in the 800m, finishing 12th.
Elsewhere in the event, freshman Gabriel Min also made his debut running in the 60m hurdles but failed to advance past the preliminary rounds with a time of 9.51 seconds. He also placed 19th in the high jump at 1.80m.
Quacy Virgo also made his first appearance in the 60m dash, notching a time of 7.24 seconds, but did not advance to the finals.
Next up on the docket is an hour trip north to Lexington, Virginia, for the VMI Colonel Bev Read Opener tomorrow.
"It's hard to replicate a competition situation in practice, so it will be fun seeing everyone go head-to-head with each other and put what they've practiced this fall into an event," Showler-Davis said. "Mostly, I hope they have a fun and enjoyable day of competing after a long break away from it."
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