ETSU men and women ready for Blazer Invite

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Jan. 10, 2013) – The ETSU men’s and women’s track & field teams begin their full indoor schedule on Friday, traveling to the Birmingham CrossPlex for the Blazer Invite hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The meet officially begins Thursday night with the men’s and women’s 5K at 7 p.m. All other events take place throughout the day Friday.

Joining the Buccaneers will be 30 other track & field squads, including the Academy of Art, Alabama State, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Austin Peay, Bethune Cookman, Birmingham Southern, Charlotte, Florida A&M, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Jackson State, Jacksonville State, Johnson C. Smith, Kennesaw State, Lake Erie, Lipscomb, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Mississippi College, Samford, Savannah State, Shorter, South Alabama, South Carolina State, Southern, Troy, Tulane, Western Kentucky and host UAB.

“We are looking forward to getting the real indoor season started,” Director of ETSU Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts said. “The team and coaching staff are excited for the entire season, and this meet gets us going.

“I expect this to be a competitive first meet back from the holiday break, on what is a very fine track and field venue at UAB.”

The Buccaneers will be sending over 40 student-athletes to compete in over 15 events. Junior Chelsea Clark (Fairmont, W.V.) will get things started in the women’s 5K on Thursday night, with all other Bucs competing on Friday.

“We have a very nice mix of veterans and newcomers,” added Watts. “I will be watching closely to how each of them responds to the competition.

“My expectations are simple. I want all of our student-athletes to have an attainable goal and hopefully be ahead of where they were last year at this time. Secondly, I want to see everybody’s best effort on every jump, throw, lap, sprint and hurdle. Finally, I want the kids to support their teammates, have some fun and have a positive impact on the meet.”

ETSU opened the indoor season on the first of December at Clemson’s Orange and Purple Winter Classic. Freshman Kristin Chapman (LaFollette, Tenn.) earned a third-place finish in the high jump, and was subsequently named Atlantic Sun Field Athlete of the Week.

Live results, heat sheets and meet information for the Blazer Invite can be accessed by visiting UABSports.com. A complete recap of ETSU’s performances will be available Friday night at ETSUBucs.com.

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For more information on ETSU track & field, please visit ETSUBucs.com.