Thursday, January 28, 2010

LYNCHBURG, Va. (Jan. 28, 2010) - Coming off a strong showing at the 32nd annual Niswonger Invitational last weekend, the ETSU track and field team will pack its bags and travel to Lynchburg, Va. to compete in the Liberty Open this Friday and Saturday inside the Tolsma Indoor Track Center.

The two-day meet kicks off at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon with the majority of the events being contested in the heptathlon and pentathlon. Other events on Friday include the men's and women's 4x800m relay and the men's and women's 5K.

On Saturday, the men's weight throw kicks off the morning at 8:30 a.m., while the track events begin at 11 a.m. with the prelims of the men's and women's 60m hurdles.

The Bucs will be sending 29 athletes to Liberty this weekend, with the majority competing in the multis, field events and long distance races. ETSU will be facing the host Flames, along with Appalachian State, Campbell, Davidson, Elon, Gardner-Webb, James Madison, Radford, UNC Asheville, and Winthrop.

Senior thrower Zachlynn Blackburn (Tazewell, Va.) is coming off a record-breaking performance in the weight throw last weekend, as her toss of 55-07.75 (16.96m) was over four inches longer than her previous best. Blackburn is scheduled to compete in both throw events this weekend with the women's weight beginning at 10:45 a.m. and the shot put starting at 3 p.m.

On the men's side, senior Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) and junior Manny Gonzalez (Maryville, Tenn.) will look to build off their second-place efforts from Niswonger. Rotich - who made his season-debut in the 5000m last Saturday - will be competing in the 3000m on 5 p.m. Saturday. Gonzalez recorded a season best mark in the mile last weekend and will race in the 5000m on Friday and the 800m on Saturday.

For more information on Buccaneer track and field, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.