HIGH POINT, N.C. (March 31, 2023) – On the final day of March, the ETSU men’s and women’s track and field teams completed day one of competition from the VertKlasse Meeting, which got underway Friday in Vert Stadium.

With a large contingent of teams participating at the meet in High Point, N.C., a plethora of Buccaneers set personal bests on Friday.

Freshman Camryn Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Alex Benson (Franklin, Tenn.) each set personal bests in the women’s 1500m. Johnson finished with a time of 4:59.50 and Benson crossed the line in 4:59.70. Johnson took nearly two seconds off her previous PR, while Benson crushed her time by over 25 seconds.

On the men’s side, freshman Nolan Pedota (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) took over three seconds off his top time in the 1500m, as he finished in 4:05.00.

In the women’s 5000m, a pair of freshmen in Sophie Beach (Boone, N.C.) and Kari Townsell (Statesville, N.C.) turned in personal bests. Beach finished in 18:48.52, while Townsell ended the race in 18:57.03. Beach bested her time by over 21 seconds and Townsell took nearly 15 seconds off her previous top collegiate mark in the event.

William Hartig (Radford, Va.) set a personal best in the men’s 5000m with a time of 14:56.62, placing 11th overall, while freshmen teammates Nate Hillis (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Xian Campbell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) finished in 12th and 14th, respectively. Hillis posted a time of 14:58.14 and Campbell ended in 15:01.73.

In the field events, Abbey King (Greeneville, Tenn.) set a PR in the javelin with a distance of 28.97m, while freshman Ethan Fulford (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Marcus Evans (Snellville, Ga.) set PRs in their events on the men’s side.

Fulford posted a top-10 finish in the pole vault after clearing 4.42m, while Evans set an outdoor best in the long jump with a mark of 6.47m.

Saturday marks the final day of competition for the Blue & Gold in High Point. The weather forecast doesn’t appear to be rosy for the athletes as there will be morning showers followed by heavy wind gusts in the afternoon. Events begin at 9 a.m., and they’ll be broadcast on ESPN+.

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