SALEM, Va. (Jan. 17, 2025) – It didn't take long for the Buccaneers to capture gold in their season-opening meet.
Opening the 2025 indoor track & field season, three ETSU athletes won their respective events on Friday at the Finn Pincus Invitational, hosted by Roanoke College.
The Blue & Gold took home gold in two field events and one on the track.
Junior
Meg Lance won her first-ever collegiate event by placing first in the 600m
with a time of 1:40.74, which was three seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
On the field,
Frania Romero-Barba won the pole vault after clearing 3.65m on her first attempt, marking her second collegiate win (first indoor win). With none of the competitors clearing 3.80m, it went back to the 3.50m attempt where Romero-Barba advanced on her first try and Ashley D'Ambrosia from Washington and Lee missed on her first attempt. Frania's sister, Diana, placed third in the event.
Freshman
Akera Molette rounded out the top Buccaneer finishers as she had a productive day in her collegiate debut. Molette won the high jump with a mark of 1.65m. In addition, Molette advanced to the finals of the 60m hurdles after placing sixth in the prelims with a time of 9.33.
Fellow freshman
Micailah Cook also advanced to the finals in her event on Friday. Running in the 60m, Cook secured the eighth and final spot with a time of 7.93 in the semifinal. Cook will run in the finals on Saturday at 1:10 p.m., while Molette runs in the 60m hurdle final at 1 p.m.
In the final event of the night,
Sophie Beach and
Camryn Johnson went second and third in the 3000m. Beach set a personal best with a time of 10:40.96 to win silver, while Johnson clocked in at 11:00.91 for a third place showing. Beach registered her second career silver-medal performance and first in the 3000m, while Johnson posted her best career finish.
The final day of the Finn Pincus Invitational gets underway Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Live scoring is available
here.
For more information on Buccaneer women's track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com.
