USTFCCCA Release
NEW ORLEANS - The accolades continue to roll in for Devon Moore and Joseph Oreva as they were named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Year on Friday, Mar. 5.
"We are extremely excited to have these accolades," says Director of Track & Field and Cross Country David Needs. "It is certainly about talent but it is also about hard work. Both Devon and Joseph have not just been content with strong performances at competitions, but also bring the same mindset each day to practice."
Moore has been steadily adding to his trophy case since arriving in Mossy Creek. The senior from Baxley, Ga finished the regular season as the highest-ranked athlete in the region in any event.
"Devon has been incredibly consistent for four years with us and having a great relationship with his sprint coach, Kieran Showler-Davis," says Needs. "They are able to communicate what is needed each day and continue to perform at a top level with all the distractions and obstacles of the COVID era."
After finishing third and recording a false start in his first two 60 meter races of the season at the KMS Invitational in January, Moore has won seven straight races in the men's 60 meter to close out the indoor regular season. Moore has won 16 out of his last 20 races in the indoor 60 meter, his worst finish being in the finals of the 2019 Division II Indoor Championships where he finished seventh with a time of 6.86 seconds. His run of 6.74 seconds in the 60 meter at the UIndy Last Chance Meet ranks him fourth in the country
At the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championships, Moore did not finish the race in the 200 meter. Since then, the senior out of Baxley, Ga. has raced in the 200 meter in the indoor season 13 times, placing first in seven races, inluding winning two straight this season. His time of 21.44 seconds at the VMI Winter Classic ranks eighth in Division II this season.
Oreva has made an immediate impact in Jeff City, becoming one of the most succesful freshmen in any sport in Carson-Newman history.
The Port Harcourt, Nigeria native obliterated the 44 year old indoor school record in the long jump with a distance of 7.75 meters at the Buccaneer Invitational on Feb. 5. It didn't take long for Oreva to break the record again as he jumped 7.84 meters in his final jump of the day just eight minutes later to win the competition. That distance still ranks first in the nation at the Division II level by 0.09 meters.
Oreva has won three straight long jump event wins to start his career, with his closest win being by 0.30 meters (1 foot) at the KMS Invitational in Birmingham Crossplex on Jan. 24.
"Joseph is off to a strong start," says Needs. "He has connected with coach Stepp and coach Potts-Howard who have helped him connect and adapt to life in a new country."
Moore is the first ever Carson-Newman athlete to be named Southeast Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. The award dates back to 2006 and has been won by a male track athlete from the South Atlantic Conference seven times, the most recent being PJ Lotharp of Lenoir-Rhyne in 2019.
Oreva becomes the fifth all-time winner of the Southeast Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year award from Carson-Newman. This is the second straight season an Eagle freshman has won the award, as
Christian Shouse was the winner last season. Tanner Stepp is the only two-time winner from Carson-Newman, going back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Andrew Pickwell was the first award-winner from Carson-Newman, winning the honor in 2011.
Both Moore and Oreva will look to add to their trophy case as they head to Birmingham, Ala. to compete in the NCAA Division II National Championships beginning on Mar. 12.
For the fifth time in his career, Tyler Stepp was named USTFCCCA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year on Friday, Mar. 5.
The native of Jefferson County helped lead the Eagles men's track and field squad to a ranking of 17th in the nation and coached Joseph Oreva to a national qualifying spot in the men's long jump.
"Coach Stepp is a proven coach who strives to coach on a personal level," says Director of Track & Field and Cross Country David Needs. "He doesn't just coach the body, but the mind and heart. He completely invests in all of his athletes and deserves this honor."
Under Stepp, the Carson-Newman jumps squad made large leaps forward in their development as a team, with six of the eleven Eagles on the All-Region team learning from Stepp.
Oreva had a phenomenal debut for the Eagles, obliterating the 44 year old indoor school record in the long jump with a distance of 7.84 meters in his final jump of the day to win the competition. That distance still ranks first in the nation at the Division II level by 0.09 meters. Oreva has won all three events this season, his closest win by 0.30 meters at the KMS Invitational in Birmingham, Ala.
Both
Sam Cleek and
Shane Connell set personal bests of 2.00 meters this season and finished in the top four of every event they competed in as freshmen.
Josh Whitaker had one of the finest debuts in a Carson-Newman track and field uniform, tying the school record in indoor men's pole vault with a jump of 4.55 meters in his first ever collegiate event.
On the women's side, Stepp coached
Abby Owens to a pole vault title at the Buccaneer Invitational with a clearance of 3.50 meters and
Nathalie Schumacher to two wins in the high jump and a top-three finish in every event she competed in.
This is Stepp's first Southeast Regional Assistant Coach of the Year Award since 2016, after his brother, Tanner Stepp, qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships and another four Eagles provisionally qualifed.
Stepp coached his brother Tanner to the first national championship of any kind for a Carson-Newman athlete at the Division II level in 2018, as Tanner Stepp won the indoor high jump with a still school record jump of 2.17 meters.
Since arriving in Mossy Creek, Stepp has coached 52 All-Southeast Region athletes, three Southeast Region Field Athletes of the Year, and three SAC Athletes of the Year. Stepp has also coached nine National qualifiers, seven South Atlantic Conference Champions, six All-American athletes, and the aforementioned national champion as well as a runner-up honor.
Stepp came to Carson-Newman after a phenomenal career down the road at Jefferson County High School and a college career at ETSU. He was a two-time high school state champion in the high jump, three-time Atlantic Sun Conference Champion in the long jump and two-time D1 All-American in the same event. Stepp continues to hold an IMAC record in the triple jump after leaping 43'5" in the event during his senior campaign.
Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.
