January 14, 2017

Trio of Eagles provisionally qualify as C-N wraps up ETSU Invitational

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— Three more Carson-Newman track and field athletes provisionally qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships as the Eagles exit the East Tennessee State University Invitational following a successful day two of competition.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— Three more Carson-Newman track and field athletes provisionally qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships as the Eagles exit the East Tennessee State University Invitational following a successful day two of competition.

"It's been a good weekend and we have had a couple of really good days," C-N coach Needs said. "We have had four athletes provisionally qualify for nationals and others who have really improved by achieving person-bests. You look for both of those things every meet and we had a lot of those things. We are certainly proud."

Both Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Christian Stumpf (Johnson City, Tenn.) provisionally qualified in the men's high jump with marks of 2.07 meters while T.J. Davis (Chattanooga, Tenn.) gained the hornor in the men's long jump with a career indoor-best leap of 7.24 meters.

In the high jump, Stepp and Stumpf finished in second and third-place, respectively, despite both notching the same height as Appalachian State's Jordan Dale. The Division I jumper took home the gold because after clearing the 2.07 mark on his first attempt before bowing out in three attempts when trying to claim 2.10 meters.

Both Stepp and Stumpf cleared the 2.07 meter-high bar on their third attempt before also failing to surpass the 2.10 meter height, but Stepp was awards second-place after being the first of the two to clear the previous height of 2.04 meters.

Stepp, who is a four-time All-American in the event, improved greatly from the Eagles' first competition of the year at the JDL Kickoff Classic when the junior managed to tally only a 2.00 meter mark. Stumpf, on the other hand, posted the highest mark of his career on Saturday. Prior to the 2.07 meter clearance, Stumpf recorded a 2.03 meter tally at the same event a season ago.

"Both Tanner [Stepp] and Christian [Stumpf] did really well. Tanner is a little frustrated with how things turned out today but that's only because of the success he has already had," Needs said. "That was a personal-best for Christian. Not only does he have a personal-best today, but he also qualifies for nationals in the process. We are really excited that he keeps improving."

Davis also provisionally qualified in a jumping event for the Eagles on the day. The senior did so by notching a 7.24 meter mark on his second attempt of the day to record a second-place finish at the meet. The jump was the longest indoor mark of Davis career and the longest overall mark since the athlete recorded a sixth-place finish of 7.27 meters in the long jump at the 2015 Penn Relays.

"One of the things about T.J. [Davis] is, when he is focused, there is no one better," Needs said. "He was really focused today and was getting it done. He wanted to have a big day and wanted to do things the right way. When he does that, just watch out because he can do some pretty special things."

Tiana Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.) also provisionally qualified on the weekend as the senior leaped 11.58 meters Friday afternoon to place in the top-five in the women's triple jump on day one.

With the ETSU Invitational being only the second meet of the indoor season for Carson-Newman, and the first in over a month, Needs still mentioned there are a lot of things to work on before ramping up again.

"We have been off for a month and we need to run better as a team," Needs said. "We need to be more aggressive and to keep our form throughout the entire meet. Those are some things we can work on before we compete again."

Carson-Newman will split its squad in two on Jan 21 and 22 as the Eagles travel to the JDL Wake Forest Meet and Liberty Kickoff next weekend when competition resumes.

Carson-Newman Women

Long Jump: 15) 4.93 meters

Shot Put: 18) Christianna Smith 10.41 meters

29) Ashton Abbott 7.95 meters

32) Jasmine Johnson 7.62 meters

Carson-Newman Men

Long Jump: 2) T.J. Davis 7.24

7) Kristofer Potts-Howard 6.78 meters

15) Timontrez Eady 6.40 meters

High Jump: 2) Tanner Stepp 2.07 meters

3) Christian Stumpf 2.07 meters

DP: Celmen Bellamy