Bucs take the top spot in two events; top three in eight events total

CLEMSON, S.C. (Jan. 11, 2014) – In their first competition in over a month, the ETSU men’s and women’s track & field teams turned in solid performances against a strong field of competition on Saturday at the Orange & Purple Classic inside Clemson University’s Indoor Track & Field Facility.

“We had several highlights today at the Clemson Orange & Purple Classic,” said ETSU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts. “We had two wins and several top-three finishes. Many of our student-athletes are well ahead of where they were at this time last year.”

After a long layoff leading up to this meet, the Buccaneers got into some good work in preparation for next weekend’s Niswonger Invitational. Against a handful of schools from the southeast, including a number of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schools, ETSU showed very well. The Blue and Gold took the top spot in two events and slotted in the top three in eight total events. The event winners included Ryan Beaver (Virginia Beach, Va.) in the long jump with a leap of 7.23 meters and Dexter Ratcliff (Morristown, Tenn.), Thomas Miller (Lithonia, Ga.), Jonathan Foote (Bristol, Tenn.) and Mike Williams (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:22.94.

“Our two wins came on the men’s side,” said Watts, “as senior Ryan Beaver won the first contested event of the day and our men’s 4x400 meter relay team, consisting of three freshmen and a sophomore, came from behind to win the final event of the day.”

Dede Edgecombe (Spartanburg, S.C.) took second in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.66, while Matt Moore (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) notched a third-place finish in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.88. Also gaining third-place finishes were Katie Hirko (Oley, Pa.) in the mile run with a time of 5:06.87, Nathan Rivera (Knoxville, Tenn.) in the high jump with a mark of 1.95 meters and Brett Squibbs (Rock Hill, S.C.) in the pole vault with a vault of 4.80 meters. Also gaining a third-place finish was the foursome of Desmond Pierce (Morristown, Tenn.), Anthony Goins (Dandridge, Tenn.), Angus Baldwin (Tumbi Umbi, Australia) and James Miller (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) in the distance medley with a time of 10:44.59.

Both the men’s and women’s track & field teams will be back in action next weekend when ETSU hosts the Niswonger Invitational on Jan. 17 and 18 inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center at David E. Walker Track at Gentry Field.

“We look forward to hosting the Niswonger Invitational this coming weekend,” said Watts, “and hope for improvement from both teams on our home track.”

Notables:

Men

Mike Williams – 60mH – 8.48 – 4^th place; 200m run – 23.43 – 5^th place

Dexter Ratcliff – 200m run – 23.23 – 4^th place

Jonathan Foote – 400m dash – 51.79 – 5^th place

Women

Keturah Williams – 400m dash – 59.98 – 4^th place

Chelsea Clark – 800m run – 2:23.77 – 5^th place

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