HIGH POINT, N.C. (April 1, 2022) – ETSU’s Brayden Hamblen (Rock Falls, Ill.) has a 100 percent hit rate in the 5000m.

Running in the event for the first time of his collegiate career, Hamblen took home gold on Friday night as he turned in a time of 14:54.35 inside Dick Vert Stadium. Hamblen, who has held stints running at Illinois and Tennessee, was the lone competitor in the 34-man field to turn in a sub-15-minute time in Friday’s event, while it also marked his first individual win as a Buccaneer.

To go with Hamblen’s gold-medal performance, eight Buccaneers also set personal bests in Friday’s opener, including Diana Romero-Barba (Tepatitlan de Morelos, Jalisco, Mexico) finishing second in the pole vault with a mark of 3.65m.

Romero-Barba was one of four ETSU athletes to turn in a PR in the field events.

For the second time this outdoor season, Anna Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.) topped her distance in the shot put as she finished at 11.10m on Friday. Moore’s previous best was set two weeks ago in Charlotte with a mark of 10.67m. In women’s javelin, Aubree Henger (Kingsport, Tenn.) set a PR for the second straight meet with a distance of 26.90m. On the men’s side, Noah Sheton (Gray, Tenn.) also set a personal best in the javelin. Shelton reached the finals with his first throw landing 53.78m. 

On the track, Shila Kapaya (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a personal best in the steeplechase with a time of 11:38.63, which was 24 seconds faster than her previous top time of 12:02.01, set two weeks ago in Charlotte. Meanwhile, Makayla Shaw (Jonesborough, Tenn.) made her first collegiate appearance in the event and finished right behind Kapaya in seventh-place, clocking in at 11:39.34. 

In the women’s 1500m, Rebekah Howard (Ashland, Ky.) posted a personal best time of 4:48.46 en route to finishing 17th in the 87-runner field. Wrapping up the PRs on the track was Julia Foote (Franklin, Tenn.) in the 5000m as she turned in a time of 18:50.85, while Jordan Thomas (Knoxville, Tenn.) bested his previous mark in the 10000m by nearly two minutes as he crossed the line in 32:18.55, placing eighth overall.

The second and final day of the meet gets underway Saturday morning with the women’s 800m at 9 a.m. Saturday’s events will be video streamed live on ESPN+, while live results can be accessed via FlashResults.

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