CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 16, 2024) – On St. Patrick's Day Eve, the ETSU men's track & field team found the pot of gold at the 49er Classic. ETSU's Jason Bowers won gold in the 800m, while he ran a leg on the Bucs' 4x800m relay that also recorded a win on Saturday on the Irwin Belk Track & Field Center.
 
In total, the ETSU men's and women's track and field teams collected six podium finishes on Saturday.
 
To go with Bowers winning the 800m, he was joined by Miguel Parrilla as he finished second to claim silver. Bowers won his first outdoor event as a Buccaneer with a time of 1:51.48, while Parrilla clocked in at 1:52.24. Overall, ETSU had three of the top five runners in the event with Conner Overly placing fifth in 1:53.14.
 
The men's 4x800m relay team – featuring Parrilla, Bowers, Overly and Myles Stoots – cruised to the title as their time was 22-seconds faster than the nearest team. The Bucs clocked in at 7:34.20.
 
Freshman Luke Young registered his first collegiate podium finish as he won bronze in the 3000m with a time of 8:41.94.
 
On the women's side, Hannah Burkhart and the 4x400m relay team both posted podium finishes.
 
Burkhart placed third in the 800m with a time of 2:14.63, while she was joined by Paden Bell, McKenna Boykin and Meg Lance in the 4x400m relay that also won bronze. The group totaled a time of 3:58.60.
 
Kiera Snyder was with Burkhart in the 800m as she came in fourth with a time of 2:14.80.
 
In the field, Malgorzata Andersohn went from the volleyball court to the throwing events as she made her track & field debut this weekend. Andersohn placed 13th in the javelin (35.70m) and also competed in the shot put.
 
On the men's side, Brent Bell made his collegiate debut by finishing ninth in the hammer with a distance of 51.76m. Bell also competed in the shot put where he placed 13th with a mark of 14.85m.
 
Click here for full results.
 
The Bucs are back in action the weekend of March 28-30 when the Blue & Gold return to the Tar Heel State for the Raleigh Relays.
 
For more information on ETSU track & field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's and women's track & field tabs.