Invitational will run from 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Saturday

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 16, 2014) – The ETSU track & field program will host the 36^th annual Niswonger Invitational on Friday and Saturday inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center on David E. Walker Track at Gentry Field.

On Friday, competition will begin with the women’s 60 meter hurdle prelims and the women’s weight throw finals at 10 a.m. Sprints, distance and jumps events will continue throughout the day with action ending with the men’s 5,000 meter run gold section final set to start at 7:25 p.m. Competition will pick back up on Saturday morning with the women’s 5,000 meter run blue section final slated to begin at 8 a.m. Field events as well as distance and sprints competition will carry on over the course of the day with women’s and men’s 4x400 meter relay finals wrapping things up at 6:30 p.m.

A tribute will be paid to the late Dave Walker Saturday afternoon prior to the men’s distance medley relay which is set to begin at 4:15 p.m.

More than 25 schools from throughout the region will descend upon Johnson City to compete in the two-day meet. Competing institutions include: UNC Asheville, Wofford, USC Upstate, Alabama State, Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Milligan and Tusculum, among others.

For the Buccaneers, over 50 student-athletes will be competing in various events over the two-day period. A number of returning student-athletes for ETSU will look to continue the successes they experienced last year at the Niswonger Invitational. In 2013, Filip Jalovy (Modrice, Czech Republic) took gold in the 800m with a time of 1:54.66 on Friday and also earned the top spot in the mile run a day later with a 4:14.98 time. Also on Friday, Lexie Burley (Johnson City, Tenn.) earned second with a mark of 12.22 meters, while Jessica Palmer (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) gained silver on Saturday with a 19:05.99 time in the women’s 5K.

Live results will be available throughout the meet at TimingInc.com. Recaps of ETSU’s performances can be found at the end of each day by logging onto ETSUBucs.com. Tickets can be purchased at the gate upon entry.

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