Wilson, Feuchtenberger, Stallworth, Parrilla and Johnson all earn top marks on day two of the Buccaneer Track and Field Invitational

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 1, 2020) – In a day for honoring the work and dedication put in by six seniors, the ETSU Track and Field team scored six golds on the day’s events, five of them coming in the track portion of the meet inside the MSHA/ETSU Athletic Center on Saturday.

Lindsey Stallworth got the Bucs off to winning ways on the track in the mile, while Jataya Wilson found the solo gold in field events for ETSU by way of the shot put. Following suit, Heather Feuchtenberger, Miguel Parrilla and Kennedi Johnson grabbed first in back-to-back-to-back events, Feuchtenberger and Parrilla edging out the competition in the 800m before Johnson continuing her prowess in the 60m hurdles with a gold finish.

Off the field, there was plenty of reasons to celebrate as well. During an intermission in the early afternoon, ETSU Director of Track and Field George Watts took advantage of the lull to celebrate six seniors: Sydney Hawks, Jaden Finch, Margaret Hayden, Neyasha Honorable, Noah Charles and Ben O’Connor (pictured in the header).

“I really enjoy our senior recognition event as I think it's one of the best things we do each year at this meet,” said Coach Watts. “ I know the parents and family who attend are as proud of their daughter’s and son’s academic achievements as they are of their athletic successes. We really try to recognize both accomplishments during this moment. It was great to have our Athletic Director Scott Carter there to be a part of this event to help recognize our senior class. Topping it off was senior Sydney Hawks singing the National Anthem before the beginning of the running event finals.”

Track Highlights from Day Two

• Lindsay Holliday opened the event in the 3000m run, earning a fourth placed finish with a time of 10:53.17.
• Malick Gemechu led a host of Bucs on the men’s side of the 3000m, coming in second with a time of 8:37.84. Josh Routh’s time of 8:38.06 proved good for third. Gavin Cooper (seventh) and Seth Bowden (ninth) also placed in the top 10, while senior Ben O’Connor raced his final meet inside the Mini Dome in a time of 8:54.68, an 11^th place finish.
• Lindsey Stallworth dominated the mile run, finishing well ahead of the pack in first with a time of 5:02.44. Makayla Shaw set a PR to finish second with a 5:08.16 mark.
• Matthew Scarr also had a productive day in the mile run, placing second after finishing in 4:10.05 seconds.
• Contininuing the hot start on the day, Heather Feuchtenberger finished the 800m two seconds faster than her competition, securing a gold time of 2:15.33 seconds.
• Miguel Parrilla, a winner in the 800m last weekend at the VMI Team Challenge, made it two-in-two as the freshman finished a dramatic race, his 1:55.162 finish only eight thousandths of a second quicker than the next best time.
• Kennedi Johnson led start to finish in the 60m hurdles, owning the best time in the prelims, semis and finals as she finished her day with a 8.84s time for gold.
• Kennedie Carithers (7.61s) led Mekayla Brown (7.73s) and Lenaya Martin (7.85s) to a fourth-fifth-sixth place finish in the 60m sprint after a strong qualifier yesterday.
• Johnaida Eliscar earned bronze in the 400m with a time of 59.54 time.
• Carithers followed her fourth place finish in the 60m sprint to a silver finish in the 200m, recording a time of 25.22s.
• The 4x400 relay team of Julia Karsten, Neyasha Honorable, Aliyah Hill and Britney Griffith capped off the day for the Bucs, placing first with a time of 3:54.24 seconds.

Field Highlights from Day Two

• Jataya Wilson started the Bucs on the right track, placing first with a toss of 13.05m (42”9 ¾ ‘) in the shot put.

Athlete of the Meet Awards:

Women’s Track – Lisa Wickham (Tennessee Tech)

Wickham finished the 60m dash with a time of 7.28s, shattering the previous meet record of 7.45s set by Ornelia Livingston of St. Augustine in 2016. Her semis time of 7.31s also broke past Livingston’s mark.

Women’s Field – Lyn’Nikka Vance (Tennessee Tech)

Vance leaped for a mark of 6.01m in the long jump, a mark that holds for the third best jump in the event history. Shakinah Brooks of St. Augustine holds the record from her 2015 jump of 6.23m.

Men’s Track – Jared Henderson (USC Upstate)

A double-winner, Henderson grabbed gold in both the 60m (6.86s) and 200m dash (21.37s). His 6.82s mark in the 60m semis was just .02s shy of making the top 10 on the event record list, while his 200m time proved good for third in meet history, missing out for second by .03s and marginally slower than Tyrell Richard’s time of 21.22, the South Carolina State runner scoring the top mark in 2018.

Men’s Field – Martin Knauer (Queens (N.C.))

With a launch of 17.16m, Knauer’s shot put toss put him nearly .60m further than the closest competitor, giving him comfortable gold in the event. The toss cleared him all the way to third in event history at the Buccaneer Invitational, behind a 18.58m toss from Mitchell Pope (Unattached, 2016) and a 17.33m throw from Nathan Milch (Appalachian State, 2017).

Thoughts from Coach Watts:

On the meet as a whole: “We had a really good meet, with great atmosphere and support throughout the two days. Yesterday we had some breakthrough performances in the sprints, hurdles, throws and DMR's and it carried over to today's events. Our kids are learning how to make finals, get on the podium and/or compete for the win.”

On the help of the officiating crew: “As always I want to thank our great officiating crew as they performed to their usual high standards. Larry Manis has done a fantastic job organizing and lining up our officials for our home meets. I really appreciate his support as well as the other alum and those who come from out of town to work our meets.”   

On support from ETSU: “I know we had quite a few parents in the stands in support of their son or daughter and I appreciate them being in attendance. I also want to thank Dr. Noland for taking some time to come by and show his support of our great sport of track and field.”

On what lies ahead: “We will send a small group of athletes to the Camel City Classic in Winston-Salem next weekend and then have a final tune-up a week later as we prepare for the Southern Conference Championship.”

For a full list of results the Buccaneer Track and Field Invitational, use the link on the right side of this page.

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