Johnson posts season highs; relay teams finish strong

GAINESVILLE, Fla. / RALEIGH, N.C. (March 30, 2019) – ETSU track and field concluded its first split-squad weekend of the season, finishing up action at the Pepsi Florida Relays and the Raleigh Relays on Saturday.

It was a relay-heavy day for the Bucs, as a male group competed in Raleigh and a female squad ran a pair of relays in Gainesville.

Throwers Ben Johnson (Nashville) and Symphony Buxton (Knoxville) were also in action over in Raleigh, with Johnson posting a pair of season highs to remain atop the Southern Conference leaderboard.

Pepsi Florida Relay Highlights (Day 3)

• Seniors Kiana Davis (Ooltewah), Lamisha Simmons (Hollywood, Fla.) and Starr Graham (Alpharetta, Ga.), along with freshman Mekayla Brown (Elgin, S.C.), made up the relay squads in Florida.

• The quartet first ran a 46.99 in the 4x100 to top their previous best at last week’s VertKlasse Meeting. That time ranks first in the Southern Conference out of eight schools.

• Following that performance, the group took on the 4x200 and placed 23rd with a time of 1:38.86 to end their meet.

Raleigh Relay Highlights (Day 2)

• ETSU’s 4x800 team had a noteworthy performance on Saturday, placing fifth in a field of 24 with a time of 7:34.23 — less than three seconds off the lead.

• The relay team led off with junior Khayvonn Benson (Marietta, Ga.), followed by junior Josh Routh (Gray), sophomore Matthew Scarr (Wamberal, NSW, Australia) anchor leg Noah Charles (Johnson City).
   
• Redshirt senior Ben Johnson (Nashville) had a season best mark in the men’s javelin, finishing third place in the event with a mark of 64.62m. Johnson leads the conference by nearly seven meters in that event, while ranking 36th on the NCAA D1 performance list. 

• Johnson also finished seventh in the hammer with a throw of 57.07m. That launch also marks a season high and keeps him atop the conference leaderboard while ranking 69th on the national leaderboard.

• Sophomore Symphony Buxton (Knoxville) fell just short of a personal record, throwing a mark of 44.30 in the women’s hammer.

Up Next

The Bucs are back in full force next week to visit a conference foe, as the team travels to the Western Carolina Meet in Cullowhee, N.C. on April 5-6.

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