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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 18, 2011) - Senior Jarrod Burton (Bastian, Va.) broke the Atlantic Sun record in the shot put as the ETSU men's track and field team finished day one of the 2011 A-Sun Indoor Championships tied for first place with North Florida Friday on the David E. Walker Track inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.
"Day one was a little shaky for us on the men's side," said assistant coach Eli Sunquist. "Jesse and Stephond did a good job in the heptathlon, while Jarrod continued to impress in the shot put with a conference record toss. Stephond was also able to PR in the pole vault by a foot to help get us some neeed points in that event."
"The men's DMR showed a lot of courage, and ran a great race," Sunquist added. "Michael Lockhart also had a foot PR in the long jump to get third, which was great for him. However, we need to have a better showing tomorrow if we want to win the team title."
The Bucs finished the day with 41 points after scoring 25 points in the last two events of the first session.
Burton had to come from behind to win gold in the shot after USC Upstate's Kenneth Sugishita posted an A-Sun meet record of 55-11 ¼. The senior was able to overtake Sugishita on his second to last throw of the day as he had a lifetime best mark of 57-3 ¾. Cornell Sneed (Miami, Fla.) and Justin Burton (Bastian, Va.) also scored for ETSU in the shot put as Sneed posted a mark of 49-4 ½ earning five points, while Justin Burton had a throw of 49-2 ½ earning four points.
Sophomore Michael Lockhart (Dandridge, Tenn.) placed third in the long jump picking up six points after his jump of 23-8 ¼.
In the men's 60m dash, senior Mike James (Palm Bay, Fla.) qualified for the finals after running a time of 7.04, while the men's distance medley relay team of Zach Berry (Knoxville, Tenn.), Ryan Jones (Apopka, Fla.), Desmond Pierce (Morristown, Tenn.) and Landon Milhorn (The Woodlands, Texas) edged out Lipscomb for third posting a time of 10:25.03.
Newcomers Jesse Aliaga-Jacob (Nice, France) and Stephond Allmond (Memphis, Tenn.) are in good shape in the men's heptathlon after day one as Aliaga-Jacob leads the event with 2,885 points after four events, while Allmond sits in third with 2,577 points.
Allmond also had a good showing in the pole vault as his personal best mark of 15-1 earned him five points. Senior Matt Baum (Middleton, Md.) also scored in the pole vault picking up two points on his jump of 13-7 ½.
Senior Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya) also scored for the Bucs as he placed sixth in the men's 3000m with a time of 8:38.18.
On the women's side, the Buccaneers currently hold fourth place at the A-Sun Indoor Championships with 19 points behind Jacksonville (73 points), North Florida (42 points) and Kennesaw State (24 points).
"The women had a great first day," Sunquist said. "We are a few points ahead of schedule, and should come back tomorrow with even better results. Jasmine Foster had a huge PR in the shot put to finish third, and Leah Oakhill did a good job for us in both the pentathlon and high jump. Emani and Jasmine advanced well for the 60 finals tomorrow, and I'm very excited to see how the sprints play out tomorrow afternoon."
Emani Harrison (Columbia, S.C.) posted the top qualifying time of the day in the 60m dash after running a time of 7.63, while Jasmine Ingram (Fredrick, Md.) also qualified with a time of 7.85.
The women's DMR team of Caitlyn Epps (Cookeville, Tenn.), Rachel Bowers (Jonesborough, Tenn.), Kayla Kuziola (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Chelsea Clark (Fairmont, W.Va.) combined to finish fourth posting a time of 12:35.21.
In the field events, Jasmine Foster (Johnson City, Tenn.) picked up six points in the women's shot after her throw of 43-2 ½. Lili Allison (Oxford, Ala.) also scored for the Bucs in the shot put with her mark of 42-7.
Freshman Leah Oakhill (Brisbane, Australia) added three points in the women's pentathlon posting 3,041 points, and then came back later in the day to pick up five points in the high jump finishing fourth with a mark of 5-3. Ashton Bishop (Gate City, Va.) also scored in the high jump after recording a jump of 5-1.
In the women's long jump, Lexie Burley (Johnson City, Tenn.) picked up two points after her jump of 17-10 ¼.
The Bucs are back in action tomorrow starting at 8:30 a.m. Fans can follow the meet live at www.cfpitiming.com. For more information on Buccaneer track and field, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.
