Friday, January 31, 2003

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 31, 2003) - Day one of the Niswonger Foundation Track and Field Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State University, came to a close Friday night. ETSU sophomore Chantelle Vernon (Markham, Ontario), who returned last week from an injury, qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash, finishing the race with a time of 7.67. "The fact that she has trained so little, to qualify for finals, really bodes well for her," Buccaneer assistant Michelle Byrne said. Jennifer Habbestad (Tampa, Fla.) also qualified for tomorrow's finals, in the 800 meters, after finishing the race in 2:22.56, a six second improvement from her last 800 meters. Buccaneer junior Rhett Ezzell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) set a personal best in the high jump, jumping 1.93 meters. In the men's 60-meter dash, which featured Olympic silver medalist Terrance Trammell, ETSU's Marcus Barnes (Memphis, Tenn.) ran a solid 6.96. "I was really proud of the way Marcus ran today," said Byrne. "He is making good progress from week to week." Six Southern Conference teams are competing in this year's event, but on Friday Appalachian State shined. In the women's field event finals, the Mountaineers had eight to finish in the top three and four to qualify for tomorrows sprint events. The meet is set to conclude tomorrow with distance finals to begin at 8 a.m. and sprint events to begin at 6 p.m. Results will be posted throughout the day on www.etsubucs.com and www.flashresults.com.