More First-Place Finishes in the Final Day of the Winter Classic
LEXINGTON, Va.- Eagles secure spots on the podium in the last day of VMI.
LEXINGTON, Va.- Eagles secure spots on the podium in the last day of VMI.
"What we challenged the team with this week was to give the very best performance we can. For the most part, we did that. Sade got a 60-meter win, and Matthew Blackmon is just consistently getting better when he gets on the track," head coach for the track and field team David Needs said.
Matthew Blackmon won gold in the men's 60-meter hurdles finals in 8.04 seconds. Sade De Sousa also secured a first-place finish in the women's 60-meter dash in 7.44.
"My mindset was quite relaxed. My coach just said to focus on my race and execute. I'm happy that I won. I just hope to have a good season. My goal is to be an All-American," track and field athlete Sade De Sousa said.
Courtavious Garrett took a 7.10-meter leap to claim fourth in the men's long jump. In the women's long jump, Kadidja Sangare placed second with a 5.87-meter leap. Shane Connell secured a second-place finish in the men's high jump with a clearance of 2.05 meters.
"It's been a tough semester for me so far as far as competing. I've been dealing with a couple of injuries. Last time I came here was a bit of a rough start. This time I started really strong and stayed consistent. It's just making sure I time it right so I can perform at my best. Next, I want to qualify for nationals and go to conference. I've got a good team this year, so we'll make sure that we get some good numbers up at conference," track and field athlete Shane Connell said.
Siphosethu Boya finished sixth in the 200-meter dash with a finals time of 21.93.
"It's huge to have somebody like Sipho Boya back. He's like the heartbeat of who we are as a team. He's always encouraging people and getting them to get better," Needs said.
Tytiana Wilson placed fifth in the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 57.47. Carson-Newman also competed in the men's 4x400-meter relay, placing third with a final time of 3:22.19. In the women's 4x400-meter relay, the Eagles finished fifth with a time of 4:01.54.
"In track, the strength of who we're going to be is being one body. Even when we don't know one person as well, we are going to cheer them on, and we are going to be involved in their performances. I'm proud of the team this weekend," Needs said.
Carson-Newman track and field is back in action on Feb. 9 at the JDL Team College Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Feb. 10 in Virginia Beach, Va. for Division II Pre-Nationals.
