CLEMSON, S.C. (Jan. 9, 2009) - The ETSU track and field team enjoyed the first day of competition at the Clemson Invitational, as junior Jarrod Burton (Bastian, Va.) and freshman Quentin Greenlee (Morristown, Tenn.) each etched their names into the Buccaneer record books at the Clemson Invitational Friday evening.
Burton - who is already no stranger to the ETSU track and field record book - broke his previous weight throw mark, which was set last month at the Appalachian State Invitational. The junior thrower waited until the last possible second to make noise in the event, as his final throw of 62-05.25 (19.03m) set the new record and was also a championship toss with Burton going on to win the event.
Meanwhile, as Burton was busy in the field event, Greenlee was setting a record himself. The freshman sprinter wasted little time making his presence felt at ETSU by going on to break both the Clemson track and Buccaneer school record in the 300m. Greenlee blew away the strong field - posting a time of 34.47 in the event.
Junior Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) claimed his second title of the indoor season on Friday night. The 2008 Atlantic Sun Cross Country Runner of the Year won his second consecutive 5000m title, finishing with a time of 14:29 in the 18-man field. Sophomore newcomer Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya) finished two seconds behind (14:31) his cousin in the event.
On the women's side, junior Zachlynn Blackburn (Tazewell, Va.) led the Lady Bucs in the weight throw. Blackburn - who was coming off a record-breaking performance in Boone last month - finished second with a heave of 53-01.75 (16.20m) in the event.
Nae-Nae Bailey (Statesville, N.C.) and Judy Johnson (Knoxville) led the charge for the Lady Buccaneer sprinters. The talented duo sprinted their way into tomorrow's 60-meter finals, as Johnson posted of time of 7.72 and Bailey finished the preliminaries in 7.87.
Other ETSU notables included Nic Chernikow (Seymour, Tenn.) and Mike James (Palm Bay, Fla.) advancing to the finals of Saturday's 60-meter hurdles. Chernikow was also busy racing his way into Saturday's finals of the 60 meters - finishing in 18th win a time of 7.18 in the prelims. Senior Josh Cloyd (Telford, Tenn.) finished fourth in the long jump, as he ended with a leap of 23-03.25 (7.40m). Jasmine Ingram (Frederick, Md.) and Heidi Dahl (Provo, Utah) gave the Lady Bucs a lift in the 300m. Ingram finished ninth (41.58), while Dahl made her ETSU debut with a 10th-place showing (41.83).
"I am very pleased with our overall effort today," commented associate head coach Michelle Byrne. "Both Jarrod and Quentin came away with outstanding performances in their event area, and to do that in their first meet of the 2009 season speaks volumes. Hopefully we can finish strong in the final day tomorrow and build on these efforts as the season progresses."
The ETSU track and field team returns to action for the second and final day of the Clemson Invitational on Saturday morning.
For a full recap and results of Saturday's events, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.
