ETSU totals nine podium finishes on Saturday

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (April 15, 2023) – Genevieve Schwarz (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and Phelani Maduwa (Parys, Free State, South Africa) led the charge for ETSU men’s and women’s track and field on the final day of the Catamount Classic on Saturday from the Catamount Athletic Sports Complex.

With ETSU totaling nine podium finishes on the final day of competition, Schwarz and Maduwa provided gold-medal performances in the 800m.

Schwarz won the 800m at the Catamount Classic for the third straight year as she finished in 2:08.46. This marked Schwarz’s sixth career gold medal in the 800m, while it was her 15th individual all-time gold medal between indoor and outdoor events.

The Bucs took home five of the top six spots in the event as Jessica Lord (Morristown, Tenn.) earned a silver by clocking in at 2:10.89. Rebekah Howard (Ashland, Ky.), Julia Karsten (Old Hickory, Tenn.) and Ansley Archuleta (Fort Mill, S.C.) went fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Howard finished in 2:13.68, Karsten ended in 2:15.12 and Archuleta crossed the line in 2:17.23. Howard and Archuleta both set personal bests in the 800m on Saturday.

To go with her sixth-place effort in the 800m, Archuleta had a podium finish in the 400m hurdles as she came in third with a time of 1:07.83, marking her best collegiate finish in the event.

Maduwa and Miguel Parrilla (Knoxville, Tenn.) went one-two in the men’s 800m. Maduwa edged out the reigning champion as he posted the top time in 1:50.20, while Parrilla finished in 1:50.64. Maduwa captured his fifth career gold medal in the 800m on Saturday.

Treven McGhee (Crossville, Tenn.) had his best collegiate finish in the 110m hurdles as he earned a bronze with a personal best time of 15.40.

The Bucs capped off their podium finishes on the track courtesy of Abdul-Rahman Jaber (Alcoa, Tenn.) and Ben Kenner (Maryville, Tenn.) finishing with silver and bronze in the steeplechase. Jaber finished second (9:50.45) and Kenner posted a mark of 10:06.26. This marked the best collegiate finishes for the Buccaneer freshmen duo in the event.

Tya Blake (Lynchburg, Va.) and Mary Brown (Radford, Va.) registered the two podium finishes for the Blue and Gold in the field events on Saturday.

Coming off a gold-medal performance in the hammer on Friday, Brown placed third in the discus with a personal best mark of 42.83m.

Blake, the Southern Conference indoor champion in the triple jump, finished second in the event on Saturday with a leap of 11.71m.

Logan Wagner (Greeneville, Tenn.) just missed the podium in the shot put as he placed fourth with a mark of 14.66m. Wagner then went sixth in the discus with a personal best showing of 42.49m.

Like Wagner, Malachi Thomas (Chilhowie, Va.) missed out on a medal by one spot as he placed fourth in the high jump as he cleared 1.95m.

ETSU will have its last tune up before next month’s SoCon Championships as the Bucs head to Charlottesville for the Virginia Challenge, which begins on Thursday.

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