Men Third, Women Eighth at SAC Championships
Carson-Newman finishes third for the men’s side and eighth on the women’s side after the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
HICKORY, N.C. – Carson-Newman finishes third for the men's side and eighth on the women's side after the South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The Carson-Newman men highlighted the conference championships with wins from Carlos Kouassi, the 4x100 Relay, 4x400 Relay, Oluwatimi Williams, and Favour Ekpekpe.
Carlos Kouassi (Basel, Switzerland) won gold in the men's triple jump with a season best 14.98m for a new 17th best mark in Division II this season.
Oluwatimi Williams (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has continued to impress in his throws this season, culminating in a South Atlantic Conference Championship in the discus throw with a distance of 53.16m, placing second in the shot put with a distance of 16.12m only being outdueled by Mars Hill's Jesse Shelton.
Favour Ekpekpe and Amine Kasmi (Brussels, Belgium) went first and third, taking gold and bronze in the 200m with times of 21.05 and 21.31. Ekpekpe set his record time of 20.69 in the preliminary round, the seventh fastest in Division II this season.
Both the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams became SAC Champions as the 4x100m relay team set the fourth fastest Division II time this season with a 39.78 and the 4x400m team set the 35th best Division II time this season of 3:14.10 to win the SAC Championship.
Rylan Jordan (Johnson City, Tenn.) impressed as the conference's indoor freshman of the year had the best 400m preliminary time setting a new PR at 47.47 going even faster in the final at 46.99, but a PR from Lenoir-Rhyne's Havyn Spain pushed him ahead giving Jordan the silver medal.
Other medalists on the men's side included Oluwafemi Richards in the high jump earning bronze clearing a height of 1.96m. Jeremiah Carroll, Colten Lee, and Dawson Jones all just missed the podium placing fourth or fifth in their events.
The men finished third overall by team score with 92 points, the hosts Lenoir-Rhyne came in second with 134 points, while Wingate won the conference championship with 220 points.
The women placed eighth overall with Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne going a familiar one-two in the team standings.
Sydney McCarty (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Brooke Taylor (Knoxville, Tenn.) both finished on the podium in the long jump with Taylor taking home bronze with McCarty finishing in gold position for the SAC Championship with a distance of 6.14m. Brooke Visser placed sixth in the event.
Taylor also finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 12.03m to take home her second bronze of the championship meet.
No other Lady Eagles took the podium with the next best finishes being seventh in the women's 100m from Sade De Sousa (Namibia), Tylee Hefney (Dandridge, Tenn.) placing eighth in the pole vault, and ninth place finishes in the 400m and high jump from Tytiana Wilson (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Kendall Whitehead (Maryville, Tenn.).
The 4x100m relay team also finished in fourth with a time of 47.17.
Carson-Newman Track and Field will next turn its attention to the LR Last Chance Meet back in Hickory, and the Lee Last Chance Meet in Cleveland, Tenn. to end the regular season. After that, the qualified Eagles will travel to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colo.
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