Buccaneer distance runner captures gold in the event for third straight year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 17, 2023) – It’s time to name the 1500m at the 49er Classic after Genevieve Schwarz (Oak Ridge, Tenn.).

For the third straight year, Schwarz captured gold in the event as she turned in the top time on Friday at the Irwin Belk Track & Field Center. Schwarz led a group of four Buccaneer runners across the finish line as she clocked in at 4:30.90.

Schwarz’s run of gold in Charlotte began in 2021 when she won with a time 4:41.41 and she repeated as champion in the Queen City a year ago after clocking in at 4:26.29. The Oak Ridge, Tenn. native – who became the first female runner in Southern Conference history to win three straight titles in the mile last month at the conference championship – made it three straight 1500m wins at the 49er Classic on Friday.

Schwarz was the first of four Buccaneer runners to cross the line as Jessica Lord (Morristown, Tenn.) placed second, Kiera Snyder (Clyde, Mich.) was third and Chanelle Kruger (Johannesburg, South Africa) – appearing in her first collegiate outdoor meet – was fourth. Lord, making her debut in the event, finished in 4:33.37, Snyder was right behind in 4:33.53 and Kruger ended in 4:33.81. Rebekah Howard (Ashland, Ky.) placed sixth in the event with a time of 4:40.12.

Snyder and Howard posted personal bests in the event on Friday.

On the men’s side, Evan Guzman (Franklin, Tenn.) and Myles Stoots (Mobile, Ala.) went second and third in the 1500m. Guzman finished in 3:51.04 and Stoots crossed the line with a personal best time of 3:51.24.

In the women’s 5000m open section, the Bucs had a pair of runners post top-10 finishes in their outdoor debut. Sophie Beach (Boone, N.C.) finished sixth (19:09.73) and Karli Townsell (Statesville, N.C.) was ninth (19:26.49).

In the men’s 10000m, William Hartig (Radford, Va.) and Xian Campbell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) both recorded top-10 showings. Hartig placed fifth (31:01.64) and Campbell was ninth (31:37.71).

In the sprints/hurdles, Treven McGhee (Crossville, Tenn.) turned in a time of 15.62 en route to finishing 14th in the field of 34 competitors, while D’Shawn Fletcher (Locust Grove, Ga.) finished 25th in the field of 69 sprinters in the 100m with a time of 10.91.

Hannah Burkhart (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted a top-10 finish in the 400m as she placed ninth with a time of 58.94.

In the field events, Mary Brown (Radford, Va.) finished fifth in the hammer with a mark of 48.87m on her fifth toss and Alyssa Ceja-Pena (Salinas, Calif.) placed eighth with a distance of 45.40m on her third throw. Brown also finished seventh in the discus with a mark of 37.53m in her fourth attempt.

Freshman Ethan Fulford (Knoxville, Tenn.) completed his first collegiate decathlon on Friday. Fulford, who began the day in seventh-place, finished fifth overall with a total of 5492 points. The Knoxville native did most of his damage in the 110m hurdles and pole vault on Friday. Fulford finished third in the hurdles with a time of 15.95, resulting in 738 points, while he collected 631 points in the pole vault with a mark of 4.05m.

Saturday marks the final day of the meet, which gets underway at 10 a.m. with men’s shot put. Track events start at Noon with the women’s 4x100m relay.

For complete results of the 49er Classic, visit FlashResults.com.

For more information on Buccaneer men’s and women’s track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com.