Andre Morrison headlines men’s track and field athletes to watch
Favour Ekpepke, Rylan Jordan and Carlos Kouassi join Morrison as athletes to watch
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Four members of the Carson-Newman men's track & field team have been named SAC Athletes to watch in the upcoming season. Andre Morrison leads the group as the reigning 60m National Champion, Favour Ekpekpe, Rylan Jordan and Carlos Kouassi round out the group.
Morrison started his Carson-Newman career by breaking the school record 60m time set in 2020 by 13-time All-American Devon Moore with a 6.63 at the VMI Invitational. At the Music City Challenge, he broke his previous record with a 6.60 to win the 60m. He claimed bronze at the SAC Indoor Championships, with a time of 6.70 seconds.
Later, he set the record again after his blistering 6.59-second run to win the 60m National Championship, finishing the season with the eighth fastest time in Division II history.
He became the first 60m National Champion for Carson-Newman and the first individual national champion for the Eagles since Makanakaishe Charamba won the 100m and 200m dashes in 2023. Charamba has since gone on to represent Zimbabwe at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Morrison was also named USTFCCA Southeast Regional Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Ekpekpe returns to Mossy Creek after a stellar freshman campaign. Set a new 60m PR at the VMI Invitational with a 6.86 in the event semifinals, he later placed fifth in the event finals. Placed second at the VMI Invitational in the 200m in his first time running the event collegiately, setting a time of 21.72. He would later finish in third at the Music City Challenge and second at the Virginia Tech Challenge in the 200m.
At the SAC Indoor Championships, he came close once again, finishing on the podium in second with a 21.95 dash in the 200m finals.
Jordan also enters his sophomore season following a strong first year. He finished second in the 60m at the Finn Pincus Invitational with a 6.88, had the top preliminary time of 6.84, his current PR in the event. Ran the 200m at the VMI Invitational, setting a time of 22.16.
At the SAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, his 49.34 time in the 400m topped the time sheets in the preliminaries, he took second in the finals with a 49.29. He was also part of the 4x400m relay team that finished second.
Kouassi is the veteran among the four, back in Mossy Creek for his second season after spending the first four years at Cincinnati.
The Basel, Switzerland native made his C-N debut at the VMI Invitational, where he placed second in triple jump with 15.00m, and placed 16th in long jump with a distance of 6.55m, both being PRs on the season. He would win the triple jump at the Liberty Open with a 14.66m jump. At the SAC Indoor Championships, he finished fifth, jumping 14.13m in the finals.
Carson-Newman opened the season today at the Liberty Kickoff, with day two happening tomorrow. On Saturday, it will head to Lexington, Virginia at the VMI Colonel Bev Read Opener.
"Competition is the fun part of the year," Showler-Davis said. "These early meets give us a chance to knock off some rust and a gauge going into Christmas of where we're at individually."
These mark the only two events in December, before the season fully kicks into gear in the new year following Winter Break.
Stay connected with Carson-Newman track & field by following @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram, or by liking Carson-Newman Athletics on Facebook. Full coverage and updates are available at cneagles.com.
