Needs Announces 2023 Outdoor Track and Field Schedule
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman head track and field coach David Needs has released the 2023 outdoor track and field schedule this afternoon, Mar. 15.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman head track and field coach David Needs has released the 2023 outdoor track and field schedule this afternoon, Mar. 16.
Carson-Newman track and field is set to compete for the next seven weekends before heading to the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships beginning Wednesday, May 3.
"Much like indoor, we look for the best track, the best competition, and even the best weather. In some cases, it's important to see if we will be there again later in the season," head track and field coach David Needs said.
The first of the upcoming weekends will entail the Trojan Opener hosted by Anderson University. The two-day meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 17 and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Mar. 18. This will be the Eagles' first time opening an outdoor season in Anderson, S.C.
"We are heading to Anderson this week because we know that conference championships are in Anderson. It's a lot about planning those ways to get to that track a couple times before we get late into the season", Needs said.
The Eagles will then head to the Montreat College Open for another two-day meet beginning Friday, Mar. 24. This will be the sixth time Carson-Newman track and field has competed at the Pulliam Stadium in Black Mountain, N.C. since 2017, excluding only the year 2020 when the event was cancelled along with the remainder of the outdoor track and field season.
In last season's trip to Montreat College, Carson-Newman men's track and field left the meet in second place while the women stood atop the podium with a third-place finish. Some familiar names competed in the men's 4x100 relay in last year's outing, winning the event in 40.90 seconds. Makanakaishe Charamba, Tshenelo Lemao, Siphosethu Boya, and PJ Lotharp each raced a leg to earn a national qualifying mark.
The Eagles will also take part in the Lee Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 25. The event is in Cleveland, Tenn. and will begin at 10:00 a.m. with field events. The Eagles attended the event during the 2022 outdoor season, where Abby Owens won her first event championship of the year with a clearance of 3.45 meters in the women's pole vault. Courtavious Garrett won his first-ever career championship event in the long jump with a 6.82-meter leap.
"We'll do a lot of split meets this year. That's something we haven't done traditionally a lot. But, for example, we'll take half the team to Montreat and half the team to Lee. I think that plan fits what we need right now. We are going to look to see where the need is and where the performance needs to be better. In doing that, we can see where we can maximize our performance from our athletes," Needs said.
C-N track and field will travel to the Texas Relays to compete in Mike A. Myers Stadium beginning Friday, Mar. 31 and continuing through Saturday, Apr. 1.
"We chose to attend the Texas Relays this year because we know we will see a great level of competition there, and it will give us an opportunity to secure some of those qualifying marks," Needs said.
Another split weekend for the Eagles will begin Friday, Apr. 7 at the two-day Flames Invitational in Cleveland, Tenn. and Tennessee Invite in Knoxville, Tenn. both begin at 10:00 a.m. The University of Tennessee will host its two-day meet at the Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium. The Eagles will
Anderson University will host the Electric City Invitational on Friday, Apr. 14. The meet will begin at 12:00 p.m. on Friday and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Apr. 15.
The Eagles will head to Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday, Apr. 22 for the LR Bears Invitational at the Irwin Track at Moretz Sports Athletics Campus before traveling to compete at the Vanderbilt Challenge beginning Friday, Apr. 28.
The 2023 South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held Wednesday, May 3 and Thursday, May 4. The conference championships will be held at Anderson University in Anderson, S.C. to end the regular outdoor season.
Following the close of conference competition, the Eagles will head to the Lee University Last Chance Meet on Saturday, May 13 in hopes of securing national qualifying marks for the 2023 NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The national meet will be held May 25-27 at the Neta & Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl in Pueblo, Colo.
"I'm excited for the season, and I think the athletes are all excited for the season. One thing I am ready for is to break our Devon Moore. He's the most decorated All-American in Carson-Newman history. I think he's anxious to remind people that we have some fast people at Carson-Newman that some may have forgotten. You know, we also have some people we know that ended the indoor season really well that are going to continue to grow throughout the outdoor season and hopefully peak at just the right time," Needs said.
Carson-Newman track and field is set to begin the 2023 outdoor season at Anderson University this weekend. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
