ETSU men with 49 points, Buccaneer women score 23

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 25, 2015) – The ETSU track & field program turned in a pair of top-three team finishes on day one at the 2015 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

Following the first of two days of competition, the ETSU men sit in second place with 49 points – 12 points behind leader Samford – while the Buccaneer women are tied for third with VMI with a score of 23.

In total on Saturday, the Bucs won three events and qualified 12 student-athletes for Sunday’s event finals.

The competitors jumped right into action on Saturday morning, highlighted by men’s decathlon events. Multi-athlete Nathan Rivera (Knoxville, Tenn.) quickly established himself as a major challenger for the weekend’s decathlon title. The sophomore placed among the top-three in three of Saturday’s five events including taking the top spot in the high jump with 2.04 meters.

ETSU got its first event win of the weekend early Saturday afternoon when junior Ashley Kessler (Knoxville, Tenn.) registered a mark of 3.78 meters in the women’s pole vault to earn gold.

A bit later, sophomore Emily Williams placed first in the women’s 1500-meter preliminary with a time of 4:40.26. Williams moves on to tomorrow’s final to square off against 11 other runners. Also qualifying for Sunday’s final was freshman Aubree Collins (Atlanta, Ga.) in the women’s 400-meter dash with a ninth-place time of 59.30.

The Bucs’ qualifying performances continued throughout the afternoon with a pair of qualifiers in the women’s 100-meter dash including junior Keturah Williams (Alpharetta, Ga.) in second with a time of 11.65, while senior Dede Edgecombe (Spartanburg, S.C.) followed in third with an 11.97 time. On the men’s side in the 100m, the Blue & Gold also had a pair of qualifiers with Patrick Taylor in fourth with a race of 10.85, while Matt Moore (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) trailed in fifth with a 10.73 dash.

In the women’s 100-meter hurdle prelims, Edgecombe finished runner-up with a 13.77 time, while senior Nicole Alexander (Rock Hill, S.C.), too, placed among the nine qualifiers in seventh with a time of 14.48.

ETSU also had a number of qualifiers in distance events with Filip Jalovy (Modrice, Czech Republic) and Thomas Miller (Lithonia, Ga.) qualifying in the men’s 800 meter with times of 1:53.85 and 1:52.17, respectively. In the 1500-meter run, four Bucs qualified for Sunday’s final: Matthew Warriner (Maryville, Tenn.), Haydn Borghetti-Metz (Rogersville, Tenn.), Angus Baldwin (Tumbi Umbi, Australia), and Jalovy.

After a short delay due to inclement weather in the Birmingham area, action resumed with the Blue & Gold getting additional event wins. Senior Verena Tobis (Dusslingen, Germany) launched a throw of 44.08 meters to win gold, while in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, senior Adam Chase (Kingsport, Tenn.) took the top spot with a time of 9:11.44. In addition, in the men’s pole vault, sophomore jumper Brett Squibbs (Rock Hill, S.C.) posted a runner-up finish after clearing the winning height in two attempts.

Men’s Team Results – Day 1

1. Samford – 61 points

2. ETSU – 49 points

3. Western Carolina – 40 points

4. The Citadel – 29 points

5. Furman – 16 points

6. VMI – 14 points

7. Wofford – 10 points

    Chattanooga – 10 points

9. UNCG – 4 points

Women’s Team Results – Day 1

1. Western Carolina – 69 points

2. Samford – 54 points

3. ETSU – 23 points

    VMI – 23 points

5. Chattanooga – 19 points

6. Furman – 18 points

7. The Citadel – 14 points

8. Mercer – 12 points

9. Wofford – 2 points

10. UNCG – 0 points

Men’s All-Freshman Team – Day 1

10,000m Run

Carl Oberfeitinger, ETSU

Luke Sumerford, UNCG

Hammer

Sadarius Lucas, The Citadel

Logan Louzader, ETSU

Pole Vault

Gavin Gautreau, Samford

Tray Oates, Samford

Corey Ginley, Western Carolina

Long Jump

Marquis Barnes, Samford

Brenden Caldwall, Western Carolina

Devin Singleton, The Citadel

Javelin

Donovan Walton, VMI

Griffin Miller, The Citadel

Joseph Lee, Samford

3000m Steeplechase

Haydn Borghetti-Metz, ETSU

Josh Salter, Samford

Paul Richardson, Samford

Women’s All-Freshman Team – Day 1

10,000m Run

Laney Browder, Western Carolina

Grace Jenkins, The Citadel

Courtney Czerniak, Mercer

Pole Vault

Lauren Torsch, Samford

Emily Fulton, VMI

Long Jump

Bria Anderson, VMI

Tiana Pisoni, Samford

Timia Easley, ETSU

Javelin

Mady Riegel, The Citadel

Emily Fulton, VMI

Erin West, Western Carolina

3000m Steeplechase

Emily Drouin, Chattanooga

Anya Bunao, Wofford

Bethany King, VMI

Action will resume at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning with the final five events in the men’s decathlon. The championship will conclude with the awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on Sunday evening.

The complete meet schedule can be accessed here, while live results can be seen here. Results and a recap of ETSU’s Sunday performances can be accessed by logging onto ETSUBucs.com.

Comments from ETSU Director of Track & Field George Watts

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