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LEXINGTON, Va. (Feb. 26, 2023) – Three Buccaneers turned in gold-medal performances, while the ETSU men’s and women’s track and field programs finished in third-place, as the final day of the Southern Conference Indoor Championships concluded on Sunday inside VMI Corps Physical Training Facility.
Genevieve Schwarz (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Tya Blake (Lynchburg, Va.) and Phelani Maduwa (Parys, Free State, South Africa) all won conference championships on Sunday.
Schwarz made history on Sunday as she became the first female runner to win three straight SoCon titles in the mile. The Oak Ridge, Tenn. native finished with a time of 4:46.22 en route to becoming just the fourth SoCon student-athlete to win three golds in the event. Schwarz joined Furman’s Heather VandeBrake (1993, 1995, 1996), Chattanooga’s Shannon Wommack (2003, 2004, 2006) and Samford’s Lauren D’Alessio (2011, 2012, 2013) to accomplish the feat.
Maduwa led wire-to-wire to capture his first SoCon title in the 800m as he edged out teammate Miguel Parrilla (Knoxville, Tenn.) for gold. Maduwa won with a time of 1:50.12 and Parrilla finished in second with a time of 1:50.52. Maduwa became the third men’s runner to win gold in the 800m at the SoCon championship and the first since Zach Whitmarsh won four straight titles from 1996-99. Mark Scruton won the first-ever SoCon 800m event in 1981 with a time of 1:54.6.
In the field events, Blake won her first gold medal in the triple jump as she posted a mark of 11.68m. Blake became the third female Buccaneer to win the triple jump in the SoCon meet – joining Mekayla Brown (2020) and two-time champion Taneisha Robinson. Robinson won in 1998 and set the conference mark in 1999 with a leap of 13.30m.
PODIUM FINISHES
First Place – Genevieve Schwarz (Mile); Tya Blake (Triple Jump); Phelani Maduwa (800m)
Second Place – Josh Krafsur (Mile); Jessica Lord (800m); Miguel Parrilla (800m); Malachi Thomas (High Jump)
Third Place – Evan Guzman (Mile); Brayden Hamblen (5000m); Women’s 4x400m (Jessica Lord, Hannah Burkhart, McKenna Boykin, Julia Karsten)
TEAM SCORING
Both the Buccaneer men and women finished third in the team scoring. The men collected 102.5 points, finishing behind champion Samford (174.5 points) and Western Carolina (122.33). The women totaled 84 points to finish behind champion Samford (183.33 points) and Wofford (120).
SCORING PERFORMANCES
SUNDAY’S ALL-FRESHMAN SELECTIONS
Eight Buccaneers earned all-freshman honors following their events on Sunday. Below is the list of ETSU athletes who received the accolade:
Xian Campbell – 5000m (14:59.00)*
D’Shawn Fletcher – 60m (6.96)
Ethan Fulford – Heptathlon (4,464 Points)*
Nate Hillis – Mile (4:13.55)*
Ben Kenner – Mile (4:25.09)*
Treven McGhee – 60mH (8.75)*
Conner Overly – 800m (1:56.67)
Anaya Young – Triple Jump (9.98)*
*Personal Best
For more information on Buccaneer men’s and women’s track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com.