A quartet of Eagles tabbed 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 outdoor season. Bronze medalist in the 60m during the indoor season, Rylan Jordan, is joined by fellow All-American Amine Kasmi. Along with Carlos Kouassi and Verrol Sam.
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 outdoor season. Bronze medalist in the 60m during the indoor season, Rylan Jordan, is joined by fellow All-American Amine Kasmi. Along with Carlos Kouassi and Verrol Sam.
Jordan ran a personal record 6.66-second time in the 60m finals and lunged across the line to take home bronze in a photo finish.
"It just shows all the hard work we put in and how my teammates have pushed me to be the best man I could be," Jordan said. "Also, how Coach Kieran has pushed me every single day, making sure I do everything properly. So big shout-out to coach Kieran, because I put my full trust in him and his program, because he is a genius when it comes to this.
The sophomore marks the 10th All-American in the last 10 years for Carson-Newman in the 60m, continuing a streak of excellence that includes his head coach, Kieran Showler-Davis.
"It just feels great, because looking back at our history, we've had amazing athletes," Jordan said. "So to be part of one of those athletes is an amazing feeling."
Amine Kasmi also joined the All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the 200m finals, at 21.03 seconds. Kasmi's fight displays the Carson-Newman Track & Field story in a strong light.
"We're not always ranked first or even in the top 10, and the guys just managed to find a way to make it into the finals," Showler-Davis said. "We always say, just if you can come in and do what you've done in the regular season, time-wise or mark-wise, that's going to put you in a good place. So, for the guys that came here this weekend, Rylan started as a 400-meter runner; that's what his main event was last year. Now he's first place, First Team All-American, and then Amine, the past two years, he's been basically the first guy out each year, and now he's First Team All-American."
Carlos Kouassi took home silver at the SAC Indoor Championships in the triple jump. The senior reached 14.97 meters, outdone by Newberry's Dwayne Weiters with a mark of 15.21m.
Meanwhile, Verrol Sam is coming off an indoor season where he picked up an All-Region nod from USTFCCCA in two events. Both came in the opening event at the Liberty Kickoff in the high jump, 2.00 meters, and the heptathlon, 4945 points.
The outdoor season started today at the Lee University Invitational, and the events will continue on Saturday at the Ray Conn Sports Complex.
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.
