ETSU men finish 2^nd; Women finish 3rd

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (April 15, 2017) – It was a day to remember for the ETSU Track & Field program on Saturday as the Buccaneers recorded seven event victories on the final day of the 2017 Benyon Sports Catamount Classic.

Overall, the men finished second with a point total of 135. The women finished third with a point total of 81.  

"We had a solid meet especially in the field events as we wait for some key people to get healthy," said director of track & field/cross country George Watts. "It was also nice to get the baton around the track in the 4x100m relay." 

With three event wins was sophomore Kyra Atkins (Greer, S.C.) who led the women’s 4x100m relay team of Katrina Seymour, Kiana Davis and Lamisha Simmons to the first victory of the day after posting a time of 46.01. The mark is the fastest time in the Southern Conference this season.

Continuing her impressive day, Atkins captured her second victory in the 100m dash as Atkins finished with a time of 12.25. In the 100m, the blue and gold went one and two as fellow sophomore Kiana Davis (Ooltewah, Tenn.) finished second with a time of 12.31. The Greer, S.C., native won her third event of the day in the 200m with a time of 24.60. Davis was once again right behind her in third place with a time of 24.96.

The Bucs also collected two in the top ten in the 100m hurdles and 800m dash. In the 100mH, junior Timia Easley (Columbus, Ohio) finished sixth with a time of 15.16 while freshman Kiara Price finished eighth with a time of 15.52. In the 800m dash ETSU was led by freshman Kaitlyn Lay (Knoxville, Tenn.) who finished second with a time of 2:17.80. Following Lay in sixth place was freshman Nicki Smith with a time of 2:22.38.

In one of the final events of the day, the Bucs picked up another event victory as senior Katie Hirko (Oley, Pa.) won the women’s 5000m run finishing with a time of 17:53.88. The ETSU men also had a stellar performance in the 5000m as the Bucs finished with the top three runners. Winning the 5000m on the men’s side was senior David Winchester (Knoxville, Tenn.) with a time of 15:09.48. Behind Winchester was sophomore James Garst (Jonesborough, Tenn.) with a time of 15:23.44. In third was freshman Nathan Longfellow who ran a time of 15:30.55.

On the men’s side, the 4x100m relay team of Matthew Moore, Michael Williams, David Perez and Patrick Taylor had an impressive day on the track, finishing second with a time of 41.37. The mark was the second fastest in the SoCon this season. Later in the day, the 4x400m relay team of Tyler Houston, David Perez, Matthew Moore and Patrick Taylor finished fifth with a time of 3:23.51

The highlight of the day on the men’s side was the Buccaneer domination in the 1500m as ETSU had six place in the top ten, four in the top five and had the first two finishers. Winning the event with a time of 3:54.05 was junior Simeon Roberts (Greeneville, Tenn.) while freshman Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Fla.) was close behind in second with a time of 3:55.92.

Rounding out the top five for the Bucs in the 1500m was the freshman duo of Noah Charles (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Josh Routh (Gray, Tenn.). Charles finished fourth with a time of 3:59.39 and Routh finished fifth with a time of 3:59.80.

In the field, senior Brett Squibbs (Rock Hill, S.C.) continued to compile an impressive outdoor season capturing his third pole vault victory of the season. Squibbs finished first with a mark of 4.90m (16’ .75”).

ETSU will be back in action next weekend as the team head to Atlanta, Ga. to take part in the Georgia Tech Invitational, April 21-22. The blue and gold will have their final tune-up before the SoCon Championships on April 28 as the Western Carolina Invitational.

Notables:
Men:
• 100m – Bucs had three finish in the top ten … Junior Patrick Taylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.) finished second with a time of 10.88. Right behind Taylor was senior Matt Moore (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) with a time of 10.93. Redshirt Freshman David Perez (Asheville, N.C.) ran a time of 11.41 to finish ninth.
• 800m – Freshman Harper Sigler (Bogart, Ga.) ran a personal best time of 1:52.29
• 200m – Patrick Taylor finished fifth after running a time of 21.84
• Shot Put – Sophomore Ben Johnson (Nashville, Tenn.) finished third in the event with a mark of 14.72 (48’ 3.50”).
• Discus – Johnson recorded a second place finish with a throw of 46.98m (154’ 2”).

Women:
• 1500m – Junior Macy Carrier (Bluff City, Tenn.) finished sixth after running a time of 4:52.93.
• 400m – Sophomore Starr Graham (Alpharetta, Ga.) recorded an eighth place finish with a time of 59.88

For more information on Buccaneer Track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field pages.