Michael Williams wins 400mH, Kyra Atkins wins 100mH
CULLOWHEE, N.C. (May 13, 2016) – On Friday at the 2016 Southern Conference Championships the ETSU Track and Field program saw two SoCon Champions emerge as junior Michael Williams (Mt.Laurel,N.J.) won the 400 meter hurdles for the second straight year while freshman Kyra Atkins (Greer, S.C.) won her second SoCon Championship of the weekend in the 100 meter hurdles.
"I am proud of both teams performances this year. Our theme for the year has been to "Elevate" our performances in everything we do both academically and athletically and I believe we have done that but we have more to give," said director of track & field George Watts. "Both teams are young and we have a bright future ahead of us. I want to thank the seniors for everything they've done for the program and the university. They have represented ETSU admirably and I know will have success in life as they move forward."
Both the men and women programs placed in the top five as the women finished third with 91.5 points while the men finished fourth with 98 points.
"We had a very solid meet today in spite of some tough breaks. We failed to score in the men's and women's 4x100m relays and the unfortunate injury to Matt Moore cost us a chance for third on the men's side," said Watts. "The kids showed a lot of maturity and composure and came away with some very fine performances."
Williams was crowned the SoCon Individual champion for the second year in a row in the 400mH by posting a time of 51.81. Williams had the fastest time in the SoCon nearly all of the outdoor season and has the 13th fastest time in the NCAA East Region.
"Mike Williams led the men's team today with his win in the 400m Hurdles to go along with a 4th in the 110 Hurdles," said Watts. " He also had an all time best relay split of 46.8 to lead the 4x400m relay to a third place finish."
In the 110 meter hurdles, Williams recorded a fourth place finish with a time of 15.00. The Mt.Laurel, N.J. native was behind freshman Tyler Houston (Lawrenceville, Ga.) who ran a time of 14.78 to finish third.
"Tyler Houston took up some slack in the 110 hurdles with a fantastic third place finish and personal best," said Watts. "He's battled injury all year long, but has showed up and performed at both conference meets this year."
Staying in the hurdling events, on the women's side Atkins came away with her second SoCon individual championship after running a collegiate best time of 13.42. It's the second straight year the Buccaneers have won the womens 100mH title.
"Atkins won her second event of the meet in the 100mH and was truly one of the outstanding meet performers scoring a total of 21 points," said Watts. "
The Bucs had three finish in the top ten in the women's triple jump as sophomore Timia Easley (Columbus, Ohio) led the Bucs with a fifth place finish after leaving a mark of 11.62 meters. In eighth was Atkins with a collegiate best mark of 11.53 meters. Atkins won the SoCon Championship in the long jump on Thursday. Rounding out the top ten was sophomore Adriana Watkins (Kingsport, Tenn.) with a mark of 11.00 meters.
In the field for the men freshman Jordan Scott (Friendsville, Tenn.) finished second in the high jump with a mark of 2.11 meters on his third attempt. That third attempt however was the difference as individual champion Tyrie Adams from Western Carolina cleared the mark on his second attempt to win the tiebreaker.
"One of the big surprises and hero performances of the meet was by Jordan Scott as he finished second in the High Jump with a leap of 6'11"," said Watts. "that mark gives him a good chance to advance to the NCAA East Regional Prelims in a couple of weeks."
On the women's side in the field, senior Tyesha Jones (Nashville, Tenn.) recorded a top five finish placing fourth in the discus with a throw of 39.38 meters. Earlier in the day freshman Rebekah Fox (Franklin, Tenn.) placed inside the top ten in the high jump with a mark of 1.53 meters.
"Other fine performances were done by departing seniors Keturah Williams and Tyesha Jones," said Watts. :Keturah ended a very fine career with a runner up podium finish in the 100 meter dash and Tyesha scored in the shot and discus to add to her score in the hammer on Thursday."
After becoming the SoCon Champion in the mens 3000m steeplechase yesterday junior Simeon Roberts (Greeneville,Tenn.) backed up that performance with a strong showing in the 1500 meter run, placing third with a collegiate best time of 3:49.01.
"Our high point man of the meet was Simeon Roberts who added a third place finish in the 1500m run setting a personal best along the way and then ran a gutsy 5k to earn two very important points late in the meet." said Watts.
Later in the day in the men's 5000m, the Bucs placed two in the top ten as Roberts led ETSU with a seventh place finish with a time of 15:08.43. In ninth was sophomore Daniel Sonnenfeldt (Knoxville, Tenn.) with a collegiate best time of 15:17.79. In the women's 5000m, sophomore Macy Carrier (Bluff City, Tenn.) finished ninth with a time of 18:24.28.
Early in the morning sophomore Marabeth Clark (Maryville, Tenn.) capped off a top ten performance in the heptathlon, finishing seventh with a total of 3,968 points. Right behind Clark in ninth was freshman Emily Armstrong (Mount Carmel, Tenn.) with 3,915 points.
At the end of the day the men's 4x400 meter relay team of Michael Williams, Thomas Miller, Patrick Taylor and Ahston Wilson placed third with a season best time of 3:15.43. The women's 4x400m team of Nicki Smith, Nyambi Shoates, Aubree Collins and Starr Graham also finished third with a season best time of 3:54.40.
"Nicki Smith had a huge personal best in the 400m hurdles to earn a 2nd place medal and along with Nyambi Shoates, Aubree Collins and Starr Graham nabbed a third place finish in the 4x400m Relay," said Watts. "The mens 4x400m relay team of Ashton Wilson, Williams, Thomas Miller and Patrick Taylor added to the medal count with their third place finish to end the meet in fine fashion."
All-Freshman-Day 2
Men
High Jump - Jordan Scott
110mH - Tyler Houston
Discus - Ben Johnson
Women
High Jump - Rebekah Fox
100mH - Kyra Atkins
100m - Kiana Davis
400m - Jessica Dunker
200m - Kiana Davis
Highlights
Men
- Junior Jacob Dunlap (Fulks Run, Va.) finished 15th in the men's shot put with a throw of 13.20.
- Senior Thomas Miller (Lithonia, Ga.) finished fourth in the 800 meter with a time of 1:52.42
- Junior Patrick Taylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.) finished grabbed a top five finish, placing fourth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.04.
- In the 1500 meter, junior Matthew Warriner (Maryville, Tenn.) placed seventh with a time of 3:55.19.
Women
- In the 1500 meter, senior Kate Hirko (Oley, Pa.) finished ninth with a time of 4:47.42.
- Senior Keturah Williams (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished second with a time of 11.73.
- Junior Sahara Fletcher (College Park, Ga.) rounded out the top five in the 800 meter with a time of 2:18.34.
For more information on Buccaneer Track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field pages.
