Dolgin shines and breaks C-N pole vault record at VMI Colonel Bev Read Opener
Brooke Taylor, Blayne Jackson and Rylan Jordan, twice, also took first place in events as the Eagles showed out
LEXINGTON, Va. – Cadence Dolgin (Lebanon, Tenn.) rewrote the Carson-Newman indoor track & field history books with his pole vault performance on Saturday at the VMI Colonel Bev Read Opener. The freshman broke the C-N pole vault record, clearing a height of 4.70 meters to take first place in the event.
Assistant coach Sam Cleek held the record, 4.58m, which he set back in 2022. Today, on his birthday, he coached Doglin to a new C-N record.
VIDEO: Cadence Dolgin breaks Carson-Newman pole vault record
"What a great full circle moment, I'm sure Coach Cleek is a little sad to see his record go, but I know he's super happy it's Cadence," head coach Kieran Showler-Davis said. "A great opener that [Dolgin] can really build off of and hopefully break it many more times this indoor season."
Fellow freshman, Logan Smith (Chattanooga, Tenn.), also made his collegiate debut in the pole vault. His mark of 4.10m put him in fourth place.
The Eagles also saw success in both the men's high jump and women's long jump.
Blayne Jackson (Kodak, Tenn.) continued the trend of impressive debuts, taking first place in the high jump, clearing an even 2.00m.
Jackson also participated in the long jump, in a group where the Eagles had five of the top eight marks. Emmett Watson (Johnson City, Tenn.) came in second at 6.83m, with Dawson Jones taking fourth, 6.57m, to highlight the top finishers.
South Atlantic Conference Preseason Athlete to Watch, Brooke Taylor (Knoxville, Tenn.), started her senior season on a high note. She took first place after registering 5.82m on her jump, just 0.02m off her PR.
Taylor also set her 60m dash PR at 7.86 seconds in the preliminary round and took sixth in the finals.
"Brooke had a great day on the track and in the long jump," Showler-Davis said. "She looks like she's shaping up for a big year."
Three more Eagles finished in the top six of the women's long jump: Ava Clark (Greenville, Tenn.), fourth with 5.02m, Kendall Whitehead (Maryville, Tenn.), fifth at 5.00m, and Eliza Collins (New Market, Tenn.) in sixth at 4.96m. It was PRs for both Clark and Collins.
In the weight throw, Zayne Sharpe (Knoxville, Tenn.) notched 10.71m to take fourth in the men's group, with Lizzy Hall (Dandridge, Tenn.) picking up third in the women's group behind her PR of 11.29m.
On the track, Rylan Jordan (Johnson City, Tenn.), another SAC Athlete to Watch, took first place in both the 60m dash and the 300m race.
The 60m finals featured all members of Showler-Davis's squad, as Carson-Newman had set the top eight times in the preliminary rounds. Jordan's 6.75-second time set a new PR for the sophomore, Emmett Watson (Johnson City, Tenn.), 6.84, and Merlin Silveri (Nantes, France), 6.87, completed the top three.
In the 300m, Carson-Newman took the top two spots behind Jordan's 33.70 seconds for first, with Favour Ekpekpe (Nigeria) taking second at 33.89 seconds. Dawson Jones and Ethan Blaylock (Knoxville, Tenn.) also finished in the top eight in fifth and sixth, respectively.
"I thought Rylan Jordan had a great day in both the 60m and 300m," Showler-Davis said. "His 60m time was a 0.09 PR, and he did his thing in the 300m from a standing start. Favour Ekpekpe, Merlin Silveri and Emmett Watson also had very productive days."
Another freshman, Torance Brady (Parrish, Fla.), made his debut and took third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.70 seconds.
Rounding things out, senior Sade de Sousa (Namibia) took third in the women's 60m finals in her season debut, 7.59 seconds. Trishanie Warner (St. Kitts and Nevis) finished second in the women's 300m with a time of 39.64 seconds.
"I was impressed with all the freshman, who all had great meets and didn't let the occasion of their first collegiate meet get to them," Showler-Davis said. "Moving forward, I'm excited to see everyone build off this performance. We saw this as a rust buster and used it mainly as a quality training session in a competitive environment. In the break, we'll continue to sharpen and hopefully take another jump forward in our results."
The Eagles will take the rest of December off before returning to action in the new year on January 10 at the Tryon International Collegiate Opener in Mill Spring, North Carolina.
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