Six Bucs qualify for finals, Feuchtenberger grabs top mark in 800m run

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 10, 2020) – The ETSU Track and Field Invitational officially began the indoor season on Friday, competing inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center in their home ETSU Track and Field Invitational.

Six Bucs qualified for finals in sprinting events, the field side grabbed a couple top three finishes while Heather Feuchtenberger finished with the only gold for the Bucs in the 800m run to highlight Day One of ETSU’s season-opener.

“I liked the attitude and approach of both teams, I saw a lot of kids supporting their teammates and excitement for the start of the season,” said ETSU Director of Track and Field George Watts. “Overall, I’m just very pleased with the team’s competitive effort today.”

Track Highlights from Day One

• The Bucs earned their first first-place finish on the event and season, as Feuchtenberger finished nearly three seconds better than the field in the 800m run, a time of 2:17.75. Genevieve Schwarz grabbed a fifth-best time of 2:22.99.
• Three Bucs had qualifying marks in the women’s 60m hurdles. Kennedi Johnson (9.06) and Khiara White (9.15) finished fourth and fifth respectively, while Kendra Whitehurst ran a 9.25 qualifying time in seventh for tomorrow’s final.
• Kennedie Carithers ended as the lone Buc to qualify for the 400m finals tomorrow, finishing with a qualifying time of 59.14 seconds, good for fifth.
• In the 60m dash, Neyasha Honorable finished .02 seconds faster than the necessary mark to qualify, ending with a seventh place finish to qualify for the finals. The 7.88 second run breaks her previous low of 8.10.
• Mekayla Brown edged into the final position in the 200m dash, tying for seventh with a 25.950 time, beating the Appalachian State runner in ninth by less than .01 seconds.

Field Highlights from Day One

• Margaret Hayden finished nine inches shy of a first place finish in the weight throw with a final mark of 16.15m (53’0”), a new personal record by almost a meter. Jaden Finch finished with the fifth-best throw at 15.41m (50’6.75”).
• Patra Williams scored a third place finish in the high jump, marking 1.60m. The mark tied for the second highest, but was cleared on her second attempt to drop her to third.
• Kolin Miller finished with a personal record in the weight throws of 15.80m, shattering his old best by more than .50m. The mark was enough to land him a 5^th place finish.

Thoughts from Coach Watts

On the women’s team: “Our women had one of our better first days of a first meet in quite some time.  We have finalists in all three sprints as well as the hurdles.  We had strong performances in the weight throw and the high jump to highlight the field events."

On the men’s team: "We didn't have nearly as many men competing today , but I'm satisfied with the business-like approach they showed today.  Like their female counterparts I think the men throwers had a good day as well.”

On Feuchtenberger’s win in the 800m run: “Anytime you have a winner then I think that becomes the highlight of the day.  Heather showed a lot of poise in the win.”

For a full schedule of the meet and results after day one of the ETSU Track and Field Invitational, use the links on the right side of this page.

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For more information on ETSU track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field pages. Also, follow the program on Twitter @ETSU_TF_XC and on Instagram at the handle @etsuxctf.