Thursday, February 21, 2013

Men look to reclaim title from KSU, women to end Jacksonville’s run

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 21, 2013) – The ETSU men’s and women’s track & field teams host the 2013 Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships Saturday and Sunday inside the MSHA Athletics Center as the men look to take home their fifth title in eight years and the women hope to derail Jacksonville’s run of seven consecutive championships.

The meet begins Friday at 8:30 a.m., kicking off with the 60m hurdles leg of the women’s pentathlon, followed by the high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m in consecutive order. The men’s heptathlon starts at 8:45 a.m., with the first four legs scheduled to take place. The other three are scheduled for Saturday morning. Opening day comes to a close with the men’s and women’s distance medley relays around 6:40 p.m.

Day two starts at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, as the men finish up the heptathlon with the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m. All day-two events are finals, ending with the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay at approximately 4 p.m. The awards presentation is scheduled to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the meet.

“We look forward to hosting the championships and are very excited about our student-athletes competing at their home facility,” Director of ETSU Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts said. “We are healthier than we have been all season and well rested for the competition. Both teams are in position to vie for a top-three finish. With some individual seasonal or personal bests, each could compete for a title.”

The Buccaneer men hope to avenge a five-point, 177-172, loss to Kennesaw State in last year’s championship. The meet came down to the final event with the Bucs trailing the Owls by three points. KSU finished the 4x400m relay third, but ETSU only managed fifth as the Owls walked away with the title.

ETSU and Kennesaw State have combined to take all seven men’s titles since 2006. ETSU has come away victorious four times – 2006, ’07, ’09 and ’11 – while the Owls have three crowns – ’08, ’10 and ’12. The closest indoor finish between the two schools was last year’s five-point margin.

Meanwhile, ETSU’s women have the tough task of trying to take an indoor championship from the seven-time defending champion Jacksonville Dolphins. In most cases, the Dolphins have literally run away with the trophy. Last year, JU outscored Kennesaw State by 21 for the title – the closest margin of victory for JU since its first title in 2006. Jacksonville has won its seven titles by an average of 51.7 points.

The Buccaneer women had their best showing in 2009, place wise, taking third. ETSU’s best showing in terms of points was last season, finishing fourth with a combined 107 total points. In fact, the women have been climbing the points ladder steadily in each of the last three championships.

Live results will provided by Half-Mile Timing via its website, HalfMileTiming.com. Daily recaps with updates on ETSU’s progress will be posted at the end of each day on ETSUBucs.com.

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For more information on ETSU men’s and women’s track & field, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.