JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Highlighted by five gold medals and nine total podium finishes, the ETSU men’s and women’s track and field programs had a strong showing in the opener of the ETSU Track & Field Invitational, which started Friday inside the Mini Dome.
PODIUM FINISHES
First Place – Symphony Buxton (weight throw); Lindsey Stallworth (mile); Jaclyn Wright (high jump); Women’s 4x800-meter relay “A Team” (Hannah Burhart, Alyssa Galvin, Jessica Lord and Lindsey Stallworth); Men’s 4x800m relay “A Team” (Brayden Hamblen, Phelani Maduwa, Miguel Parrilla, Evan Guzman).
Second Place – Evan Guzman (mile); Hannah Burkhart (400-meter run); Women’s 4x800m relay “B Team” (Rebekah Howard, Julia Karsten, Genevieve Schwarz, Kiera Snyder)
Third Place – Abbey King (high jump)
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
Lindsey Stallworth continued dominating the mile on her home track as she registered her fifth career gold medal in the event – three of them coming inside the Dome. Stallworth’s time of 5:02.15 was nine seconds faster than her nearest competitor as Milligan’s Caitlin Dominy was second in 5:11.72.
Hannah Burkhart finished second in the 400m, turning in a personal record time of 58.76. Burkhart, who shaved three seconds off her record, finished behind Wofford’s Jasmine Jefferson (58.54).
Stallworth and Burkhart weren’t done on the podium, as they helped guide the Bucs’ 4x800m relay team to a gold medal with a time of 9:51.74. Burkhart opened the relay, followed by Alyssa Galvin, Jessica Lord and ending with Stallworth.
The women’s 4x800m relay “B” team finished runner-up in 9:55.58. The squad featured Rebekah Howard, Julia Karsten, Genevieve Schwarz and Kiera Snyder.
The men’s 4x800m relay also won gold as Brayden Hamblen, Phelani Maduwa, Miguel Parrilla and Evan Guzman dominated the field with a time of 7:45.79, which was over 25 seconds faster than the second-place squad.
Guzman set a personal record in the mile as he posted a time of 4:11.79, which was six-hundredths of a second shy of winning the event. Lincoln Memorial’s Roberto Fajardo won with a time of 4:11.73.
Myles Stoots set his fastest collegiate time in the mile as he was fourth in 4:14.21, five seconds faster than his 4:19.27 mark, set at last year’s Buccaneer Invitational.
Kennedi Johnson and Ant’wonike Jennings qualified for Saturday’s final in the women’s 60-meter hurdles as they finished third and seventh, respectively. Jennings clocked in at 9.09 and Jennings won her heat with a time of 9.48. Saturday’s final is scheduled for 3:50 p.m.
In the women’s 60m, Mekayla Brown and LaNaya Martin both qualified for Saturday’s final. Brown turned in the fourth0fastest mark in the prelims at 7.69 and Martin was sixth in 7.80. Saturday’s final is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.
FIELD HIGHLIGHTS
The Bucs captured two wins in the field events, with Symphony Buxton beginning the day with a gold-medal performance in the weight throw, while Jaclyn Wright captured her first collegiate title in the high jump.
Buxton, who was competing for the first time in nearly two years, won her second career gold medal in the event with a heave of 18.25 meters. Overall, this marked Buxton’s fourth collegiate title.
Wright turned in a personal best in the jump to win gold by posting a leap of 1.60 meters.
Mary Brown also enjoyed a personal best on Friday. The Radford, Virginia, native finished fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 14.90. Brown’s previous record was 14.58, set at the 2020 Buccaneer Track & Field Invitational.
In the men’s weight throw, Zachary Fejeran registered a personal record in with a toss of 14.77 meters, pacing sixth overall. Fejeran’s previous mark was 14.43, set at last year’s Buccaneer Track and Field Invitational.
Tyrese Grant, a transfer from Newberry College, recorded a personal best in the triple jump with a mark of 12.75 meters, placing eighth overall. Grant’s mark came in his last legal jump of the day.
UP NEXT
The second and final day of the meet gets underway Saturday at 8:35 a.m. with the women’s 3,000-meter run. The collegiate portion of the meet ends with the men’s 4x400-meter relay at 6:25 p.m.