Bucs earn four individual victories to open conference meet

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 27, 2019) – ETSU track and field racked up four individual championships and currently leads the men’s standings to open the 2019 Southern Conference Outdoor Championships at Samford University on Saturday.

As a team, ETSU’s men hold a five-point advantage over Samford with 55 points. Samford made up ground at the end of the day with 15 points in the pole vault, but the Bucs remained ahead. The ETSU women currently sit in sixth place with 18 points.

Three men — redshirt senior Ben Johnson (Nashville), junior Noah Charles (Johnson City) and sophomore Karon Delince (Phenix City, Ala.) — each garnered individual championships on the opening day. Johnson won two events, including the men’s javelin for a third straight season.

Men’s results – Day 1

1. ETSU – 55 points
2. Samford – 50
3. Western Carolina – 38
4. Furman – 28
5. The Citadel – 27
6. VMI – 23
7. Wofford – 11
8. UNC Greensboro – 2

Women’s results – Day 1

1. Samford – 79 points
2. Furman – 39
3. Western Carolina – 29
4. The Citadel – 25
5. Wofford – 24
6. ETSU – 18
7. UNC Greensboro – 7
8. Chattanooga – 5
9. VMI & Mercer (tied) – 4

Track Highlights from Day One

• Charles took home gold comfortably in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:12.91, beating second place by over six seconds. With the win, Charles earned his first conference title while also making the podium for a third straight year in the event.

• Two other Bucs joined Charles in the steeplechase, with Ben O’Connor (Statesville, N.C.) and Zach Johnson (Kingsport) each scoring with fifth and eight place finishes, respectively.

• All five Bucs that ran in the men’s 1500m prelims qualified for tomorrow’s final, led by Ben Varghese (Kingsport) and Wes Pectol (Greeneville) in the top three.

• Also qulifiying for the men’s 15000m were Matthew Scarr (Wamberal, NSW, Australia), Khayvonn Benson (Marietta, Ga.) and Josh Krafsur (Fort Collins, Co.).

• Senior Kiana Davis (Ooltewah) had the fastest qualifying time in the women’s 100 meter dash at 11.70. Freshman Mekayla Brown (Elgin, S.C.) also qualified for tomorrow’s finals.

• Davis would later have the second fastest time in the women’s 200, joining senior Starr Graham (Alpharetta, Ga.) in the finals set for tomorrow at 3:20 p.m.

• Sophomore Karon Delince (Phenix City, Ala.) performed in track action in addition to his long jump championship, qualifying for tomorrow’s 100 meter dash final on the men’s side. 

• Pulling double duty, redshirt freshman Kashif Warren (Knoxville) qualified for both the 100 and 200 meter dash finals set for tomorrow afternoon. 

• Senior Hunter Sampson (Salem, Va.) was the sixth qualifier for the men’s 400 meter dash final, which will take place tomorrow at 2:10 p.m.

• A pair of Bucs qualified for the men’s 800 in Scarr and Benson with the third and fifth best times, respectively.

• Freshman Seth Bowden (Maryville) finished sixth in the men’s 10K to score for the first time in his collegiate career.

• Over in the women’s 10K, Mia Depillo (Fort Wayne, Ind.) scored a pair for the Bucs with a seventh place showing.

• Sophomore Lindsey Stallworth (Knoxville) qualified for tomorrow’s women’s 1500 with the sixth best time of the day.

• In the women’s 400m, Vicki Franse (Clinton) and Aliyah Hill (Snellville, Ga.) each qualified for tomorrow’s finals by eclipsing the 58.00 time stamp.

• Freshman Genevieve Schwarz (Oak Ridge) and sophomore Heather Feuchtenberger (Elizabethton) will each have a chance to score in the women’s 800m, qualifying for the finals. 

• Qualifying for the first time in the 400 meter hurdles was freshman Britney Griffith (Kingsport), as she will compete at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Field Highlights from Day One

• Johnson won two conference titles in field action, winning the men’s hammer and men’s javelin. Johnson hit his season high in the hammer at 59.89m, slightly missing his personal record of 59.91m.

• Delince followed with a win in the men’s long jump at 7.54m after finishing eighth last season. The win marks Delince’s second career outdoor championship victory after winning the men’s 200 meter dash last season.

• Senior Nyambi Shoates (Atlanta, Ga.) led four Bucs in the women’s long jump with a third place finish for bronze and six points. Mekayla Brown added three points with a sixth place showing.

• In the men’s hammer, Kolin Miller (Lebanon) scored with a fifth place throw of 48.82m for four points.

• Freshman Noah Shelton (Gray) scored with a sixth place mark for three points in the men’s javelin.

• The Blue and Gold had two scorers in the women’s hammer with sophomores Symphony Buxton (Knoxville) and Jaden Finch (Glen Aubrey, N.Y.) placing fifth and eighth, respectively, for a combined five points.

• Sophomore Sydney Hawks (Pearisburg, Va.) scored two points in the women’s javelin with a new personal best of 35.05m.

ETSU’s SoCon All-Freshmen — Day One

• Seth Bowden — 10,000 meter run
• Kolin Miller — Men’s hammer
• Zachary Fejeran — Men’s hammer
• Noah Shelton — Men’s javelin
• Zach Johnson — 3000m steeplechase
• Khiara White — women’s long jump

Up Next

The final day gets underway with the men’s decathlon, followed by many of the dash and run finals involving a number of Bucs that afternoon.

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For more information on ETSU track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field pages. Also, follow the program on Twitter @ETSU_TF_XC and on Instagram at the handle @etsuxctf.