Tuesday, May 08, 2012

LYNCHBURG, Va. (May 8, 2012) -- ETSU track and field freshman Katerina Vodova (Humpolec, Czech Republic) scored 5,208 points in the heptathlon on Tuesday at the Lynchburg College Open, taking third place in the event and nearing the current NCAA qualifying mark.

Vodova’s point total over the two-day meet ranks her No. 35 in the NCAA, and fifth best among freshmen. The top 24 heptathlon marks from the season qualify for the NCAA Tournament field. The current qualifying total is 5,329, which is held by Notre Dame’s Maddie Buttinger. On the way to Vodova’s new personal best in the event, she also set career marks in the 200m (26.38) and 800m (2:21.39).

Sophomore Jared Davis (Memphis, Tenn.) competed in the men’s decathlon, setting a personal best with 5,978 points. En route to his new mark, Davis put up career efforts in the long jump (6.10m), shot put (11.36m), 400m (50.81), and 110m hurdles (17.12).

“I’m very proud of both Katka [Vodova] and JD [Davis] in their performances these last two days,” ETSU assistant coach Eli Sunquist said. “Both had lifetime bests in their events, which is great.

“We were shooting for Katka to score 5,400 in the heptathlon, but a poor showing in both throws made that tough. Her overall score was still 500 points higher than her previous personal record from last year, so things are headed in the right direction.”

The ETSU men’s and women’s track and field teams are scheduled to compete this Friday and Saturday at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta.

For more information on ETSU track and field, please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field links.