CULLOWHEE, N.C. (April 20, 2024) – After a school record performance yesterday, the ETSU men's and women's track and field teams registered seven podium finishes – including gold-medal efforts by
Malachi Thomas and
Miguel Parrilla – during Saturday's final day of the Catamount Classic.
GOING FOR GOLD
Less than 24 hours after competing in the 800 meters at the Wake Forest Invite, Parrilla made the three-hour trek from Winston-Salem to Cullowhee to compete in the same event on the campus of Western Carolina University. Parilla took the meet title this time with a time of 1:51.09. This is the second time Parrilla has won gold at the meet as he also won the 800m here in 2022.
Joining Parrilla with a gold medal was Thomas in the high jump. Thomas enjoyed his first career outdoor title in this event after clearing 1.93m on his second attempt.
PODIUM PLACINGS
To go with the two wins, ETSU also enjoyed five more podium finishes on Saturday.
Like Parrilla,
Hannah Burkhart had an identical weekend as she also pulled double duty in the 800m in Winston-Salem and Cullowhee. Burkhart finished second on Saturday with a time of 2:13.74.
Staying on the track, the women's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams earned bronze medals.
Burkhart continued her success as a member of the third-place 4x400m relay team, alongside
McKenna Boykin,
Emily Lindsey and
Meg Lance. Boykin – fresh off a personal best performance of 58.46 in the 400m – helped paced the Buccaneer squad to a season-best time of 3:56.57.
In the 4x100m,
Gabby Walker,
Emily Lindsey,
Leslie Gansore and
Devon Babcock set a season-best time of 47.66. Later in the day, Walker – who was seeded seventh heading into the finals of the 100m – finished fourth with a time of 12.22.
In the field,
Cayden Douglas joined Thomas on the podium in the high jump after finishing second with a personal best leap of 1.88m. Following a third-place showing in the javelin on Friday, Malgorzata Andersohn enjoyed her first podium finish in the shot put. Andersohn, a former Buccaneer volleyball player, set a PR with a mark of 11.86m.
MORE NOTABLES
In the women's 800m, the Blue & Gold took four of the top 10 spots with
Rebekah Howard placing fifth (2:16.94),
Meg Lance coming in eighth (2:17.65) and
Bonita Gray placing 10th with a personal best time of 2:18.27.
In the women's 400mH,
Paden Bell turned in a personal best time to finish fourth overall as she clocked in at 1:07.33, while on the men's side
Ethan Fulford set a new PR with a time of 55.38.
In the men's steeplechase,
Ben Kenner ran his fastest collegiate time at 9:54.29, finishing fourth overall.
In the field, local product
Logan Wagner set a personal best mark in the shot put at 15.20m, placing fifth overall, while
Anna Moore just missed the podium on the women's side at 11.85m. Wagner and Moore also set a season-best marks in the discus. Wagner posted a distance of 44.80m and Moore came in at 35.50m.
A LOOK AHEAD
The Buccaneers will begin championship season May 6 when they head to Birmingham, Alabama for the Southern Conference Championships hosted by Samford University.
For more Information on ETSU Track and Field visit
www.ETSUBUCS.com and click on Track and Field.
