JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 26, 2009) - The ETSU track and field team enjoyed its outdoor opener, as 11 Buccaneer athletes either set school or meet records on Thursday afternoon at the 2009 Milligan Relays, held at the Liberty Bell Complex.

Junior Jarrod Burton (Bastian, Va.) highlighted the day by breaking ETSU records in both the hammer and shot put, while setting a new meet record in the discus. Burton, who already held the previous school marks in the hammer and shot put, won all four throwing events on Thursday - including the javelin. The dominate thrower shattered his previous record by over 12 feet in the hammer with a mark of 176-00.75 (53.67m), and his toss of 51-06.50 (15.71m) in the shot was five inches longer than his old Buccaneer best. Then, in the discus, Burton won the event with a meet record of 149-04.75 (45.54m). Overall Burton capped off the sweep in the throws by winning the javelin (167-07.75).

In addition to Burton, freshman Cornell Sneed (Miami, Fla.) also set a meet record in the discus, as he finished second with a throw of 140-08.50 (42.89m).

Staying on the men's side, fellow junior and all-conference runner, Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya), got off to a quick start in the outdoor season by claiming the crown in both the 1500m and 3000m events. Rotich began the day with top effort in 1500 - posting a time of 3:57.11 - and the Kenyan sensation completed the afternoon with a blazing performance in the 3000m. The junior runner destroyed Derek Murphy's ETSU record of 8:52.27 by finishing first with an astonishing mark of 8:33.88, which also set a new meet record.

Like Burton, senior Josh Cloyd (Telford, Tenn.) was busy taking control of his two event areas - the long and triple jump. Cloyd won both events and also set a new meet record in the triple jump (44-11.75). The Telford, Tenn. native blasted the field in the long jump, as he finished with a mark of 22-09.50 (6.95m), which was almost a foot longer than his nearest competitor.

Rounding out new meet records on the men's side was sophomore Mike James' (Palm Bay, Fla.) in the 110-meter hurdles. James finished with a time of 14.95 in the event.

On the women's side, the Lady Buccaneer sprinters were busy making noise in both the 100m and 200m events. The trio of Judy Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn.), Nae-Nae Bailey (Statesville, N.C.), and Octavia Burgess (Morganton, N.C.) all set meet records in the 100m, while Johnson and Bailey set new meet marks in the 200m. Johnson swept both the 100m (12.51) and 200m (24.88), and Bailey finished right behind in second. Bailey posted a time of 12.68 in the 100m and 25.24 in the 200m.

The Lady Buccaneer 4x100-meter relay team also set a new meet record, finishing with a top time of 48.69.

Meanwhile, four other Lady Buccaneer athletes won their respective events on Thursday as well. Ashton Bishop (Gate City, Va.) won the 400m with a respective time of 59.44; while newcomer to the track and field team and volleyball standout Jamie Stancliff (Advance, N.C.) won the long jump with a leap of 16-02.25 (4.94m). Fellow track newcomer Paula McCarthy won the javelin (110-02.75) and freshman Lili Barboza (Oxford, Ala.) claimed the title in the hammer (156-09).

Other notables on the men's side, was Duronal Monal's (Belle Glade, Fla.) performance in the 100m and Quentin Greenlee's (Morristown, Tenn.) 200-meter effort. Monal won the 100m with a time of 10.98, and Greenlee turned in the fastest time in the 200m (21.69).

With the Buccaneer track and field making their outdoor season debut at the Milligan Relays, senior transfer Heidi Dahl (Orem, Utah) will make her first appearance in the outdoor campaign this weekend at Stanford.

For more information on Buccaneer track and field, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.