ETSU women’s DMR breaks school record in second straight meet; Foote, Maduwa win individual golds

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 4, 2023) – ETSU track and field’s final day of competition at the South Carolina Invitational was highlighted by another record-setting performance, along with two individual first-place finishes on Saturday inside the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex.  

It did not take long for the Buccaneer women’s distance medley relay squad to break another school record.

For the second straight meet, the Blue and Gold did just that.  

The team of Chanelle Kruger (Johannesburg, South Africa), Genevieve Schwartz (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Rebekah Howard (Ashland, Ky.) and Kiera Snyder (Clyde, Mich.) lowered the previous school record of 11:46.68 by nearly six seconds, finishing with a time of 11:40.82. The Buccaneers won the event as host South Carolina finished runner-up with a time of 11:47.31. Kruger ran the first leg of 1200m, followed by Schwartz running leg two featuring the 400m distance, with Howard running the third leg of 800m and Snyder being the anchor as she ran the final 1600m. 

With the DMR team bagging a gold medal, a pair of Buccaneers also captured individual titles on Saturday.

Phelani Maduwa (Parys, Free State, South Africa) took home gold in the men’s 800m, finishing with an indoor personal best time of 1:50.41, while Julia Foote (Franklin, Tenn.) outpaced her competition in the women’s 5000m to earn another first-place finish for the Bucs, marking her first collegiate win.

Through 1,000m, Foote was fifth among the 11 competitors in the invitational section of the race. At around the 2,800m mark, she improved her position to second. At 3,400m, the Franklin, Tenn. native gained control of the lead and held onto it for the remaining 1,600m. Foote finished with a personal best time of 17:40.74, almost two seconds ahead of the next closest competitor.

Joining the Blue and Gold with a dominant showing in the men’s 800 meters, included Miguel Parrilla (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Joshua Krafsur (Fort Collins, Colo.) as they finished third and fourth, respectively. The Buccaneer duo recorded season best times of 1:51.32 and 1:52.12.

Along with record-setting performances and first-place finishes, 12 Bucs set personal bests, which are listed below:

Women

Ansley Archuleta, (Fort Mill, S.C.) - 800M 

Sophie Beach (Boone, N.C) – 5000 meters

Alex Benson, (Franklin, Tenn.) - 800M 

McKenna Boykin, (Powder Springs, Ga.) – 800M 

Julia Foote, (Franklin, Tenn.) – 5,000M 

Camryn Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn.) – 800M 

Izelle Kruger, (Johannesburg, South Africa) – 800M 

Meg Lance, (Woodstock, Ga)– 800M 

Grace Singleton (Bluff City, Tenn.) - 

Jaclyn Wright (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) – 200M 

Men

Ethan Fulford, (Knoxville, Tenn.) – 200M 

William Hartig (Radford, Va.) – 800m

Ben Kenner (Maryville, Tenn.) – 800m

Josh Krafsur (Fort Collins, Colo.) – 800m

Treven McGhee, (Crossville, Tenn.) – 200M 

Conner Overly (Maryville, Tenn.) – 800m

Nolan Pedota (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) – 800m

The Bucs will continue their indoor season next weekend as they split up the squads and head to Liberty and Vanderbilt in their final tune-up before the Southern Conference Indoor Championships.

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