CLEVELAND, Tenn. (Apr. 9, 2026) - The ETSU men's and women's track & field teams are headed to Cleveland, Tennessee, for a weekend at the Lee Fast Break Invitational. Events begin Friday morning at 10:00am with the men's hammer throw and conclude with the women's 4x400m relay Saturday at 3:25pm.

EVENT: Lee Fast Break Invitational
DATE: April 10-11, 2026
VENUE: Ray Conn Sports Complex (Cleveland, TN)
LIVE STATS: Xpress Timing

Just two meets remain on ETSU's schedule before the 2026 SoCon Outdoor Championships in Cullowhee. While some Buccaneers will stand on high marks this week, such as sprinter Micailah Cook and distance runner Jason Bowers, a number of ETSU athletes will look to add to their resumes as the season moves toward its defining weeks.

Women's track & field will be spearheaded by Tyla Nicholson, who has continued her breakout 2026 well into the outdoor season after winning gold in the weight throw at the SoCon Indoor Championships. Nicholson is entered in the discus, where she ranks third in the SoCon with a 41.62m top mark, and the hammer throw, where she is fourth with a 46.44m best toss. Maddie Winchester ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in all three of the discus (10th, 32.99m), the shot put (8th, 11.56m), and the hammer throw (8th, 42.89m).

On the track, ETSU's distance runners will look to take home hardware. Kendall Johnson is third in the SoCon in the 3000m steeplechase with a best time of 11:15.68, while Camryn Johnson is fifth at 11:22.19, and Eliza Everett is seventh with an 11:27.63 best time. Deena Ludtke, who currently ranks 34th in the NCAA East Region and second in the SoCon with a 10:44.52 in the 3000m steeple, will stand on her time in that event and enter the 5000m run for the first time this spring. Ludtke's outdoor best time of 17:31.46, set at last year's SoCon Outdoor Championships, would rank second in the conference entering this weekend. 

Sprinters Patty Kilkelly and Katelyn Lemke will enter the 100m sprint and 400m hurdles, while Meg Lance leads the Bucs in the 800m run and ranks 8th in the SoCon with a best time of 2:15.77. Brianna Fulford will also attempt the 400m hurdles along with the high jump, shot put, and javelin, with an eye on the heptathlon at the SoCon Outdoor Championships in May.

The men will also look to their distance runners to lead the way, with Nathan Hillis sporting the SoCon's top time in the 3000m steeplechase entering this weekend's event. Hillis' 9:37.30 best race time is nearly 13 seconds clear of the next best time set by fellow Buccaneer Ben Kenner at 9:50.19. Garrett Hawkins will look to improve on his 14:45.59 season best in the 5000m run, which ranks sixth in the SoCon. Hayden Waleski enters both the 1500m and 800m runs this weekend, ranking eighth in the 1500m at 3:56.02 and sixth in the 800m at 1:53.81. Ben Smith leads the sprinters with the third best 200m time in the conference at 21.55 seconds, and he also ranks in the top 10 in the 400m at 49.78 seconds. Smith will also attempt the long jump this weekend. Makai Williams, entering his first event since the 2024 SoCon Outdoor Championships, will enter both the 100m and 200m sprints.

In the field, Grant Winegar enters the discus and the javelin, while decathlete Gavin Deery will attempt the 110m hurdles, high jump, pole vault, and shot put this weekend. Deery ranks eighth in the SoCon in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.40 seconds and is fourth in the pole vault with a 4.51m clearance.