Buccaneers tally four wins and nine total top-three finishes

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 18, 2014) – The ETSU men’s and women’s track & field teams took the top spot in four events and finished in the top three in nine total events on the final day of the 2014 Niswonger Invitational on Saturday inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center on David E. Walker Track at Gentry Field.

“We had a very successful meet over the last two days,” said ETSU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts. “It's always exciting for the kids to compete on their home turf and they took full advantage of their opportunities. At our team meeting earlier in the week, we talked about competing hard throughout the two days and I felt we did an excellent job of that.”

The Bucs started out day two at the Invitational with great successes in distance events. Jessica Palmer (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) started the momentum with a first-place finish in the women’s 5000 meter run with a time of 18:43.07, followed by Victoria Hutchens (Stuart, Va.) taking second in the women’s 3000 meter run with a 10:45.40 time. In the women’s mile run gold section, senior Chelsea Clark (Fairmont, W.Va.) raced to a second-place finish with a time of 5:10.18.

Additionally for the women, Dede Edgecombe (Spartanburg, S.C.) backed up her first-place finish in the 60 meter hurdle prelims a day ago with an even better performance on Saturday in the finals with a first-place time of 8.53.

On the men’s side, the momentum in distance events carried over as well. In the men’s mile run blue section, Simeon Roberts (Greeneville, Tenn.) tallied the top finish with a time of 4:19.44, while in the gold section, the Bucs took home three of the top-four finishes with Filip Jalovy (Modrice, Czech Republic) in second with a 4:15.67 time, Angus Baldwin (Tumbi Umbi, Australia) with a third-place 4:25.01 time and James Miller (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) in fourth with a time of 4:25.19.

In the field, Brett Squibbs (Rock Hill, S.C.) turned in an impressive performance in the men’s pole vault with a launch of 5.00 meters to gain second place. The mark is an ETSU indoor record in the event.

The ETSU men also experienced some achievements in relay events with a third-place finish of 3:19.23 in the men’s 4x400 meter relay behind the foursome of Mike Williams (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), Thomas Miller (Lithonia, Ga.), Dexter Ratcliff (Morristown, Tenn.) and Jonathan Foote (Bristol, Tenn.). The men also used a great team effort from Baldwin, Roberts, Miller and Desmond Pierce (Morristown, Tenn.) to take first in the distance medley relay with a time of 10:08.85.

“In many ways, the men's distance medley relay was the highlight of the meet for us because it was a total team effort, as all relays should be,” said Watts. “The season is still early, but the conference meet is not too far off. “We need to continue to work hard and improve on our competitiveness and team chemistry.”

The Bucs will be back in action on Jan. 31 in the Hilton Garden Invitational in Wiinston-Salem, N.C.

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