Two winners, eight podium finishes and 10 final qualifiers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 10, 2013) - The ETSU men’s and women’s track & field teams had a presence on the podium and qualified for multiple event finals on day one of the 2013 Atlantic Sun Outdoor Track & Field Championships inside Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus.

Highlighting the Buccaneers’ eight podium finishes on the day was a pair that took home gold. In the men’s long jump, Tyler Stepp (Dandridge, Tenn.) continued his consistently stellar play with a first-place mark of 7.56m. The junior was followed by a meet record from Adam Chase (Kingsport, Tenn.) who took the top standing in the 3000m steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:09.85.

"We had a strong day of competition," said ETSU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts, "led by winning performances from Tyler Stepp and Adam Chase."

Other male medal winners included another long jumper in Ryan Beaver (Virginia Beach, Va.) who posted a leap of 7.51m to earn second place. In the men’s hammer throw, Justin Harris (Johnson City, Tenn.) notched a personal best third-place mark of 48.91m, while in the 10000m run, Anders Ludvigsen (Odense, Denmark) posted a third-place time of 31:48.18.  

On the women’s side, Katerina Vodova (Humpolec, Czech Republic) fared well again in the long jump with a silver medal leap of 6.02m. In addition, Ashley Kessler (Knoxville, Tenn.) took home bronze in the pole vault with a personal best mark of 3.51m, while Chelsea Clark (Fairmont, W.V.) raced to an also third-place finish of 10:59.64 in the 3000m steeplechase.

In preliminary events, the Bucs showed strong as well with 10 student-athletes moving on to the finals tomorrow. Featured in this group for the women was Demeteria Edgecombe (Spartanburg, S.C.) taking second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.84, while Nicole Alexander (Rock Hill, S.C.) followed in the same event with a personal best third-place time of 14.32. Courtney Kinlaw (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) also managed to sneak into the top three with a dash of 11.74 in the 100m.

The men’s standouts in the prelims included Ifrish Alberg (Paramaribo, Suriname) continuing to dominate the 100m dash in the A-Sun with a first-place burst of 10.34, followed by Diego Lawrence (Waxhaw, N.C.) rounding out the top three in the 100 with a personal best sprint of 10.53.

After day one, the women sit in fifth place in the points standing with 24 total points, while the men trail the leader Kennesaw State in second place with 74 total points compared to the Owls’ 86.

The Bucs will close out action on the final day of the A-Sun Outdoor Championships on Saturday. Competition will get underway tomorrow with men’s decathlon events beginning at 9 a.m. Follow along with live stats here. A complete recap of ETSU’s performance will be available following Saturday’s events at ETSUBucs.com.

"All of the event groups performed quite well," said Watts, "and we need to follow up today's competition with an equally strong, competitive effort tomorrow." 

Notables:

Men

Tyler Stepp – long jump – 7.56m – 1^st place

Adam Chase – 3000m steeplechase – 9:09.85 (PB) (MR) – 1^st place

Ifrish Alberg – 100m prelims – 10.34 – 1^st place

Ryan Beaver – long jump – 7.51m – 2^nd place

Justin Harris – hammer throw – 48.91m (PB) – 3^rd place

Anders Ludvigsen – 10000m – 31:48.18 – 3^rd place

Diego Lawrence – 100m prelims – 10.53 (PB) – 3^rd place, long jump – 7.26m – 4^th place

Sean Duffy – 3000m steeplechase – 9:20.23 (PB) – 4^th place

Chris Winkle – pole vault – 4.62m – 5^th place

Trey Johnson – 110mH prelims – 15.13 – 5^th place

Rashad Campbell – 100m prelims – 10.58 (PB) – 5^th place

Anthony Goins – 100m prelims – 10.73 – 8^th place

Briar Pierce – 110mh prelims – 15.45 – 9^th place

Women

Demeteria Edgecombe – 100mH prelims – 13.84 – 2^nd place

Katerina Vodova – long jump – 6.02m – 2^nd place

Ashley Kessler – pole vault – 3.51m (PB) – 3^rd place

Chelsea Clark – 3000m steeplechase – 10:59.64 – 3^rd place

Nicole Alexander – 100mH prelims – 14.32 (PB) – 3^rd place

Courtney Kinlaw – 100m prelims – 11.74 – 3^rd place

Emani Harrison – 100m prelims – 11.81 – 4^th place

Scotti Sampair – heptathlon thru four events – 6^th place

Ashley Pease – heptathlon thru four events – 9^th place

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer athletics, visit ETSUBucs.com.