Saturday, February 16, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. and CLEMSON, S.C. (Feb. 16, 2008) - Sophomore Jarrod Burton (Bastian, Va.) went head-to-head with some of the best throwers in the country at the Tyson Invitational and walked away with a top-16 performance in the weight throw Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) and Judy Johnson (Knoxville) were busy winning gold in their respective events at the Tiger Invitational in Clemson.

Despite not achieving his goal of setting a personal best, Burton still had a lot to be proud of after leaving Fayetteville. Burton placed second in his flight and 16^th overall with his heave of 57-02.75 (17.44m).

"I am very proud of Jarrod's performance today," mentioned head ETSU throws coach Meg Stone. "He didn't let anything intimidate him out there and came away with a solid showing."

While Burton was busy competing in Arkansas, the rest of his teammates were 830 miles away participating in the Tiger Invitational.

After claiming the 5,000-meter title last night, Rotich followed that up with a gold medal performance in the 3,000-meters. Rotich picked up his second championship this season in the event as he turned in a personal best time of 8:32.32. He also took home top honors in the season-opener at the Appalachian State Invitational (8:37.39). Junior Jeff Crane (Taylors, S.C.) turned in a successful outing in the 3,000-meters on Saturday, finishing third with his season-best mark of 8:37.09.

While Rotich was busy making noise in the long run, junior (Judy) Johnson was the fastest athlete in the 200-meters. Johnson, who was making her debut in event, finished with the top time of 24.68. Teammate and fellow junior sprinter Nae-Nae Bailey (Statesville, N.C.) came in third with her mark of 24.76.

Also on the women's side, sophomore Vicki Currie (Dumfries, Scotland) provided her best performance of the season in the 800. Currie placed ninth overall with a time of 2:18.94.

Freshman Mike James (Palm Bay, Fla.) placed 13^th overall in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles. James carded a time of 8.38.

After turning in these impressive efforts, the ETSU track and field team will look to carry this positive momentum into the Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships. The conference meet will take place the weekend of Feb. 29 and March 1 inside Memorial Center.