September 1, 2015

Carson-Newman Bahamian sprinter enjoying family success

Shaunae Miller, sister of Carson-Newman track & field sprinter Shauntae Miller, received a silver medal in the 400m race at the 15th annual IAAF World Championships in Beijing last Thursday with a 49.67 second time.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.— Shaunae Miller, sister of Carson-Newman track & field sprinter Shauntae Miller, received a silver medal in the 400m race at the 15^th annual IAAF World Championships in Beijing last Thursday with a 49.67 second time.

The Bahamian sprinter finished right behind American Allyson Felix, who recorded a 49.26 second mark to take home the gold.

"We are really proud of her," Shaunae said of her little sister. "She did an excellent job. She went out there and did what she needed to do and really made our family proud."

Carson-Newman track & field coach David Needs compares the World Championships to being the Super Bowl of track races.

"The World Championships is the real deal," Needs says. "They determine who the best are in the world and for Shauntae's sister, Shaunae, to finish second in the world it is certainly a testament to where she is and where her level of training is right now."

Currently enrolled at the University of Georgia, Miller broke onto the national stage in the 2011 World Youth Championships, where she competed in and won the 400m at the age of 17. Miller also competed in the 2012 London Olympics.

After the impressive showing last week, Miller now plans to begin training for her next worldwide event.

"She just shut her season down as of right now," Shauntae said. "They are focusing on getting her ready for World Championships Indoor next year and then she will have the Olympics after that."

Needs is hoping the success of a family member for one of his team members can not only motivate her, but also the rest of the squad for the coming season.

"It never hurts when you have family members doing something like that because you can take a little piece of that with you," Needs said. "You have a group of people that see that and see the level of work and training being put in and they capture part of that by getting some of the similar workouts that can be used as building blocks.

With the Miller sisters being Bahamian natives, Needs believes the family success could also be important with recruiting track athletes from the particular region to come and compete at Carson-Newman.

"Anytime you are recruiting international students, especially students who might not know where Jefferson City, Tenn. is or Carson-Newman is, it's how those athletes are treated and how those athletes respond to your training and what kind of degrees they get," Needs said. "If you're successful with that then what is going to happen is those student athletes are going to want to come back. When they go home for the summer or over Christmas they are going to tell the people there that this is where you need to go and this is where you will be successful.

Shauntae, who already holds four Carson-Newman track & field records, is excited to get the upcoming season underway after seeing the success of her little sister.

"I'm really looking forward to next season," Shauntae said. "I know we share the same blood line and I definitely use her as motivation. I'm just excited to train hard and have a great time."

Carson-Newman will kickoff its indoor season in December before ramping up for the outdoor season at the beginning of March.

For complete coverage of the men and women's track & field teams, follow us on Twitter at @CNathletics and log onto cneagles.com.

-CN-