Johnson City, Tenn. (April 20, 2002) - East Tennessee State's track teams completed competition today in the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships held at Liberty Bell Track in Johnson City. Both squads came away with fifth place finishes, with the men scoring 63 points while the women's team piled up a score of 79. During today's action the Bucs came away with eight all-conference performances, giving them a total of 14 for the meet.
Both of the ETSU's conference championships today came on the women's side, with
Jennifer Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) leading a 1-2 Buccaneer sweep in the 400 meters, with ETSU coming away with three of the top-five places in the event. Howard cruised home with the win in a time of 55.01, followed by teammate
Kim Simmons (Knoxville, Tenn.) who came home in a time of 55.94. Finishing fifth for the Bucs was
Tiffany Collier (Atlanta, Ga.) with an effort of 57.76.
Also taking home a first place for ETSU was the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Howard, Simmons, Collier and
Natasha Peyton (Chesterfield, Va.) who easily outdistanced the field, winning by almost 2.5 seconds over second place Appalachian State in a time of 3:48.17. The time was also a new Southern Conference championship record, bettering the old time of 3:49.59 set by Western Carolina in 1994.
Also earning all-conference accolades today for the women's team were
Cheryl Howard (Wyalusing, Pa.) who came in second in the high jump with a leap of 5-06.00 and
Lauren Campbell (Powell, Tenn.) who was third in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:45.93.
The women's squad also scored points in a number of other events. In the 200-meter dash, Jennifer Howard claimed fourth in a time of 25.15, while in the 5,000 meters,
Emily Chaney (Maryville, Tenn.) posted a seventh place finish in 19:18.38. The 4x100-meter relay team took fourth with a time of 48.07, while in the field events,
Kristin Truman (Johnson City, Tenn.) finished fourth in the javelin with a toss of 101-08.00.
On the men's side, a pair of distance runners claimed all-conference honors. In the men's 1,500 meters
Brad Yewer (Newbury, England) was third with an effort of 3:56.58, while in the 5,000 meters
James Grufferty (Glanmire, Ireland) also had a third place effort, finishing in 15:14.72. In the field events
Josh Artau (Hatboro, Pa.) was third with a heave of 180-01.00.
Also scoring points today for the men's team were ETSU's relay teams. The 4x100-meter relay team of
Nick Andrews (Atlanta, Ga.),
David Cabler (Roanoke, Va.),
Charvin Clark (Ellenwood, Ga.) and
Kaylin Chesney (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished fourth with an effort of 42.90.
Clint Davis (Gaffney, S.C.) joined Andrews, Cabler and Chesney on the 4x400-meter relay team, which came up with a sixth place finish in a time of 3:26.66.
Team Scores
Men Women
1. Appalachian State 224 1. Appalachian State 216
2. Western Carolina 188 2. Western Carolina 201.5
3. VMI 112.5 3. Georgia Southern 122
4. The Citadel 83.5 4. Chattanooga 100.5
5. East Tennessee State 63 5. East Tennessee State 79
6. Chattanooga 61 6. Furman 35
7. Davidson 31 7. UNC Greensboro 23
8. Furman 27 8. The Citadel 18
9. Wofford 16 9. VMI 17
10. Davidson 4
