Small Convocation of Eagles to Compete at KMS Invitational in Birmingham
For the first time in 329 days, the Carson-Newman track & field team will compete at the 2021 KMS Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama on Jan. 24.
Video: David Needs Interview Video: Ashton Abbott Interview
Video: Rachel Strayer Interview Video: Devon Moore Interview
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the first time in 329 days, the Carson-Newman track & field team will compete at the 2021 KMS Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama on Jan. 24.
27 athletes will compete across 20 different events at the historic Birmingham Crossplex. The field will feature athletes from NCAA Division I schools including Troy, Alabama A&M, Jackson State, Georgia State, Tennessee-Martin and Southern, along with a few of Carson-Newman's Division II rivals Erskine, West Georgia, Tusculum and Wingate.
"This meet should have a nationals feel," says Needs. "It's the right kind of competition on the right kind of service in the right place. The people that go for us this weekend need to be pathfinders and set the pace for us."
Devon Moore continued his dominance at Carson-Newman, entering the postseason field with the fourth-fastest time in the country in the 60 using his 6.69, his career best, at the Finn Pincus Invitational on Jan. 24, 2020. Looking at the 200, he entered the championships with the 10th best time in the country posting a spring-best of 21:24 at the VMI Indoor Classic on Feb. 14, 2020. He took home South Atlantic Conference titles in both events in 2020.
Moore was named the SAC's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2020 after earning the outdoor honor in 2019. The junior was named the SAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Week three times this season tallying the program's first Indoor USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week on Jan. 14. He earned the same honor during outdoor season in 2019.
"I'd have to say that my preperation is more mental than physical," says Moore. "This is a mental sport. The training helps but you have to have good mentals."
Ashton Abbott had one of the strongest finishes to the year for Carson-Newman, breaking the school record in the women's indoor weight throw at the 2020 SAC Indoor Championships with a toss of 14.12 meters. The Dawsonville, Ga. native is one of multiple Carson-Newman athletes who chose to use their extra year of eligibility given to them by the NCAA after the cancellation of spring sports.
"My biggest motivation would have to be my family," says Abbott. "They really have pushed me to continue my education and continue playing the sport I love."
The 2019-2020 athletics calendar was plastered with record breaking performances by Rachel Strayer. Strayer's dominance started in the 2019 cross country season, as she finished fifth in the South Atlantic Conference Championships and was named First-Team All-SAC. She became the first Carson-Newman runner to compete in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships since 2002.
Strayer finished in the top-10 in every race she competed in last season, including a third place finish in the women's 5,000 at the SAC Indoor Championships.
"We had a lot of training and hard workouts and long runs this offseason," says Strayer. "We had a couple of time trials to keep us motivated and in that race mentality but we're definitely ready to get back on the track."
10 freshmen will make their Eagle debut in Birmingham, including Nigerian native and former 2013 African Youth Long Jump Champion Joseph Oreva.
"We expect Joseph to do some great things," says Needs. "But we have so many on both the men's and women's sides that we're excited to see what they can do. There's some good young talent mixed in with the talent we have returning."
Following Sunday's meet, the entire Carson-Newman track & field team will compete in the VMI Winter Relays in Lexington, Va. on Jan. 29-30.
