Saturday, January 14, 2006

            Blacksburg, Va. (Jan. 14, 2006) - The ETSU track & field squad completed two days of competition at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Saturday.

            Senior James Ranier (Alcoa, Tenn.) finished second in the 60-meter dash finals after posting a personal best time 6.76 in the semifinal heat.  His time was just one-hundredth of a second off the school record set by Jeff Horton in 1996.  South Carolina's Leroy Dixon took the finals in 6.81, just ahead of Ranier's final time of 6.85.

            Other top finishers for the men included freshman Joshua Rock (Spotsylvania, Va.) finisheing second in section four of the 500 meters with a time of 1:06.93, and freshman Michael Deren (Blesdell, N.Y.) finished seventh in section two of the 5,000 meters in 15:32.97.  Sophomore Shane Estes (Maryville, Tenn.) finished seventh in the high jump with a leap of 1.95 meters (6-4.75 feet).

            On the women's side, sophomore MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) finished third in section two of the mile run in 5:14.40, just one and a half seconds behind the section winner, and sophomore Ebonie Jones (Richmond, Va.) finished second in section six of the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.90.  Junior Anna Marie Ricciardi (Canfield, Ohio) was sixth in the high jump, lwaping 1.64 meters (5-4.5 feet).

            The Bucs return to action January 20 as they host the fourth annual Niswonger Invitational at Memorial Center.