RALEIGH, N.C. (March 24, 2022) – The opening day of the Raleigh Relays brought out the best for the Blue and Gold.

Four Buccaneers set personal bests in their respective events, including graduate student Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Fla.) clocking the fastest 5000m of his illustrious career, as day one of the prestigious meet got underway Thursday from the Paul Derr Track and Field Facility.

Bradtmueller, coming off a stellar indoor season where he set the school record in the 3000m, won the conference championship in the 5000m and claimed silver in the 3000m at the SoCon meet, won his section of the 5000m on Thursday with a personal best time of 13:50.1. Overall, Bradtmueller finished 13th (9th among collegiate athletes) in the event featuring 223 finishing runners, while it was the fastest outdoor time by a SoCon runner since 2019. Bradtmueller, making his first outdoor appearance since 2018, topped his previous personal best in the outdoor event by 44 seconds (14:34.33, set at the 2017 Raleigh Relays) and indoor best by 18 seconds (14:08.18, set at the 2022 SoCon Championships).

During the race, Bradtmueller had the fastest split in his section from the 2200m to 2600m mark at 1:07.49, while he closed strong. The Sarasota, Fla. native had the fastest split at the 4600m mark at 1:05.63 and fastest closing stretch at 57.55.

Joining Bradtmueller with a personal best in the 5000m on Thursday was teammate Gavin Cooper (Jacksboro, Tenn.). Cooper finished fourth in his section with a time of 14:30.79, which was 54 seconds faster than his previous time of 15:24.93, set at the 2021 SoCon Indoor Championships.

Earlier in the day, five Buccaneers competed in the 1500m with Matt Scarr (Wamberal, NSW, Australia) turning in the top showing among those in the Blue and Gold. Scarr led the Bucs in the 1500m with a time of 3:47.37, which was the top time from any runner in the Southern Conference in today’s event and second-best time from an athlete in the state of Tennessee in the event. Scarr, who finished 42nd overall, finished ahead of Furman’s Matthew Smith (43rd), along with Tennessee’s Riley Buchholz (58th) and Will Mazur (71st). The Buccaneer leader started the first 300m in 46.66 and was sitting at 1:51.38 at the 700m mark. However, Scarr turned it on late as his split at the 1100m mark was 59.76 and went the final 400m in 56.24, which was the second-fastest closing split in his section. 

A pair of ETSU runners set personal bests in the 1500m on Thursday evening. For the second straight week, Evan Guzman (Franklin, Tenn.) shaved time off his PR as he posted a mark of 3:48.33, while Josh Krafsur (Fort Collins, Colo.) clocked in at 3:53.12. Guzman was at 45.20 at the 300m mark and then turned in the fastest split at the 700m check-in at 1:02.86. Krafsur’s previous best was set back on May 15, 2021 at the Lee University Last Chance when he posted a mark of 3:54.48. 

The Bucs are back in action at the Raleigh Relays on Friday starting at 2 p.m., while another group of Buccaneers will be competing at the Weems Baskin Invitational in Columbia, S.C.

For more information on ETSU track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com.