CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 16, 2007) - Despite the soggy conditions, the ETSU track and field team opened its outdoor season by competing in the Charlotte 49er Classic on Friday afternoon. Heavy rain cancelled most of the field events, but a pair of Buccaneer sprinters had an impressive showing at the Irwin Belk Track facility.
James Rainer (Alcoa, Tenn.) will look to pick up his first title of the 2007 outdoor season tomorrow after posting the fastest time in the men's 100-meter dash preliminaries. The Bucs star sprinter finished with a time of 10.43, tying him with Philippe DeRosier (St. Augustine) for the quickest time on Friday. Also in the 100 meters, Derek Carey (Nassau, Bahamas) made his outdoor debut for ETSU, and finished 16th with a mark of 10.90
On the women's side, Jenny Knox (Connelly Springs, N.C.) qualified for a spot in the finals of the 100-meter dash on Saturday, by finishing seventh with a time of 12.08. The senior sprinter had success last year at this meet when she posted a season-best mark of 11.94 in the same event. A first-place finish on Saturday will mark her first career outdoor title.
The only field event to take place on Friday was the women's hammer, and a trio of ETSU student-athletes had successful showings despite the wet conditions. Freshmen Zachlynn Blackburn (Tazewell, Va.) and Brooke Berarducci (Knoxville, Tenn.) both made their outdoor season debut for the Bucs. Blackburn's heave of 129-05 (39.45m) gave her a top-10 finish, while Berarducci finished with a toss of 114-02 (34.79m). Another Tazewell, Va. native had a solid performance in the hammer, as sophomore Dedra Jones set a personal-best with a throw of 124-11 (38.08m), and finished 14th overall.
The meet will resume Saturday morning starting at 11 a.m. at the Irwin Belk Track. Rainer and Knox will look to have strong showings in the men's and women's 100 meters, while freshman thrower Jarrod Burton (Bastian, Va.) hopes to carry over his record-setting indoor success to the outdoor portion of the season. Please visit http://charlotte49ers.cstv.com/ for updated results throughout the day tomorrow or click on the icon above.
