De Sousa grabs First Team All-American honors
PITTSBURG, Kan.- Carson-Newman women's track and field athlete Sade De Sousa placed fifth in the women's 60-meter dash finals this afternoon, Mar. 9, at the 2024 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships to collect First Team All-American honors.
PITTSBURG, Kan.- Carson-Newman women's track and field athlete Sade De Sousa placed fifth in the women's 60-meter dash finals in 7.39 seconds this afternoon, Mar. 9, at the 2024 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships to collect First Team All-American honors.
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— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 9, 2024
Sade De Sousa runs a season-best 7.39-second 60 dash to grab 5th place and All-American status ����@CN_Track X #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/03FLrZS3TC
De Sousa ran the women's 60-meter dash finals in 7.39 seconds, a new season best time. She grabbed fifth in the event and earned First Team All-American honors for her efforts.
"It was a great race," head track and field coach David Needs said. "She came to nationals in the 16th seed and left top-five. It shows a lot of determination and willingness to compete".
During the 2023 NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships, De Sousa finished fifth in the nation in the 60-meter dash in 7.37 seconds. De Sousa set a new personal record with her performance and a new program record for Carson-Newman track and field. De Sousa and Kadidja Sangare became the first two female All-Americans since Tori Gaul in 2018 during last season's indoor nationals. De Sousa was the first-ever female First Team All-American in Carson-Newman track and field history after her performance last year.
"I'm proud of Sade. She did what it takes," Needs said. "She is a savvy competitor who understands what it takes to run her best in championships".
Sangare finished eighth in the long jump yesterday, Mar. 8, with a 5.93-meter leap. She became a First Team All-American with her performance and was the 59th All-American for Carson-Newman track and field since 2015. De Sousa's national achievement this afternoon marks the 60th All-American in nine years for the Eagles.
"Kadidja was our 59th All-American, and she finished with a 5.93 meter jump. Sade is our 60th All-American, and she did it in the 60 dash," Needs said. "It's an interesting play on those numbers. I'm just ecstatic for both of those ladies".
De Sousa will travel to Accra, Ghana to represent her home country Namibia in the Africa Games after her return to Mossy Creek.
"It's awesome to see Sade continue to compete at such high levels," Needs said. "She is not only the best in her conference or in Division II. She is among the best in the world, and she is going to continue to compete against the best of the best. Nationals was a great opportunity for us as a program, and we hope to continue this trend of running faster at nationals. Both Sade and Kadidja get better when the pressure is on, and that is a staple of who we are as a program".
Carson-Newman track and field wraps up the indoor season with two First Team All-American performances. Head coach David Needs will release the 2024 outdoor track and field schedule in the near future. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
