ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Apr. 13, 2025) - The Bucs showed up and showed out in Asheville over the weekend.
The ETSU track & field teams recorded five wins, a dozen podiums, eight personal records, and 11 further personal bests as they put their talents on display at the Asheville Bulldog Invitational. The Bucs won two track events and three field events across the two-day meet.
Freshman Micailah Cook won the 100m sprint with an 11.87, posting the top time in her heat that held up as the fastest time of the event. Cook was also part of the winning 4x400m relay team with Renn Herdklotz, Gabby Rodriguez, and Meg Lance, setting a new season best time of 3:53.77 as a group.
In the field, freshman Akera Molette won the high jump with a season-best 1.55m leap, matching her top mark from the High Point VertKlasse Meeting last week. Sophomore Eliza Ruch also set a season best in the high jump with a 1.52m mark, finishing fourth in the event.
Frania Romero-Barba won the women's pole vault with a 3.59m clearance, fourth best in the SoCon this season, and freshman Allison Shingleton finished fifth at 3.29m. Freshman Jake Cannon won the men's pole vault with a 4.45m mark while junior Ethan Fulford finished third with a 4.25m vault.
Other podium finishers included a second place finish for Meg Lance in the women's 800m with a 2:14.95, a third place finish for Conner Overly in the 800m with a 1:54.65, a runner-up finish for Brent Bell in the men's shot put at 15.80m, and a third place finish for Lexi Carter in the women's shot put with a 12.44m toss. Bell also posted a top ten finish in the hammer throw at 45.07m, good for seventh place, and Logan Wagner finished fifth in the shot put with a 14.90m effort.
SoCon discus leader Tyla Nicholson finished sixth with a 37.84m throw and set a new personal best in the hammer throw with a 43.38m mark, good for 10th in the event. Emma Johnson also set a personal best in the hammer with a 38.79m throw, and Morri Howell set a personal best in the shot put at 10.70m for a top ten finish and also set a season best in the hammer with a 32.59m throw. SoCon triple jump leader Tya Blake did not attempt to surpass her conference-leading mark from last weekend but finished fifth in the long jump at 5.37m.
In women's track, Brianna Baker set a personal best in the 400m hurdle with a 1:06.03, and Ansley Archuleta had a season best in the same event with a 1:07.83. Izelle Kruger grabbed a top 10 in the women's 800m with a 2:20.70 time while Bonita Gray finished sixth in the women's 1500m with a 4:47.95. Sophie Beach posted a season best in the women's 5k with an 18:08.04, good for fourth, and Karli Townsell also had a season best with a 19:08.69 in the 5k. Gabrielle Walker posted strong finishes in both the 100m (12.48 seconds) and the 200m (26.01 seconds), finishing eighth and 11th in the respective events.
In men's field events, Cayden Douglas snagged a podium finish in the high jump at 1.86m. Logan Wagner finished 10th in the discus at 41.19m, while Gavin Deery set a personal best at 32.52m. Deery also set a PR in the javelin at 38.40m, and Ethan Fulford posted a 41.71m throw. Ben Smith earned a top ten finish in the long jump with a 6.48m effort that ended the weekend ninth.
Ben Smith and Hayden Waleski were major factors in the weekend on the track. Smith finished ninth in the 200m with a time of 22.14 seconds, and Waleski was eighth in the 800m with a 1:57.69 time. Both were part of the men's 4x400m relay team that set a season best 3:24.63 and finished fifth in that event. Chance Underwood set a personal best time in the 1500m at 4:05.01, and William Hartig posted a season best time of 4:09.11. Nathan Hillis finished fourth in the 5k run with a 15:26.32, while Ben Kenner (15:58.14) and Colin Everett (16:15.20) both set personal records in the same event.
The Bucs have three meets left before the 2025 SoCon Outdoor Track & Field Championship, beginning April 18 with the Wake Forest Invite in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
For more information on ETSU track & field, go to ETSUBucs.com.
