JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Anderson University men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up competition at East Tennessee State's Buccaneer Invitational with several personal-best efforts.
The two-day event was hosted inside the Buccaneer's ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.
"On Saturday, we ran several athletes in off events just to change it up a bit," said Anderson head coach Kevin Eagle. "Michael Burgess was able to grab a new personal-record in the mile, after having run a personal-best the night before in the 5k. The confidence level in our athletes are getting to where they need to be. Our throw's squad really showed out in the shot put as Regan Appleby, Connor Wheatley, and Scott Sanford all had huge personal bests. I am extremely proud of that group for what they have accomplished early on. The night was capped off by a spectacular performance in the 3,000 meters as Philip Quillen ran an 11 second personal record. The progression that Philip has made year-to-year is exactly what we strive to do with every athlete. After this long weekend, we are excited to see what three more weeks of training can do before our next competition."
Katie Landry claimed 26th place in the women's long jump with a distance of 4.88 meters, with teammate Lauren Pernell finishing in 28th place with a distance of 4.69 meters.
Avonlea Smith finished 38th in the women's weight throw with a toss of 7.17 meters.
The women's distance medley relay squad, consisting of Aubrey Stoddard, Brianna Quantararo, Autumn Bladen and Olivia Rish finished fourth in a time of 12:53.61.
Hannah Beach crossed the finish line in seventh place in the women's 5,000 meters in a time of 19:13.33, while Rebecca Ward posted a personal-best time of 19:19.09 to claim ninth place. Emily Olson also notched a personal-best time of 21:39.39 en route to a 29th place finish.
Regan Appleby claimed fifth place in the women's shot put with a personal-best toss of 12.14 meters, with Landry finishing 10th with a career-best distance of 10.97 meters.
Rish crossed the finish line in eighth place in the women's 3,000 meter run in a time of 11:07.81.
Ward paced five Trojans in the mile run by finishing sixth in a time of 5:28.12, with Kelsey Horner (5:31.92) just behind in seventh place. Beach (5:34.40), Stoddard (5:45.10) and Olson (6:15.81) finished 10th, 17th and 35th, respectively.
Quantararo finished 11th in the women's 800 meters in a time of 2:29.27, with Bladen taking home 16th place in a time of 2:31.37. Lydia Gambrell (2:40.63) and Natalie Ardis (3:00.70) finished 28th and 51st, respectively. Olivia Growe rounded out the Trojan contingent in 56th place in a time of 3:04.54.
On the men's side, Conner Wheatley finished 26th in the men's weight throw with a toss of 12.86 meters, while Evan Francis claimed 35th place with a distance of 11.43 meters.
The men's distance medley relay squad, made up of Matthew Burgess, Robert Jones, Cole Silvester and Philip Quillen claimed fifth place in a time of 10:55.547.
Thomas Sutcliffe paced five Trojans in the men's 5,000 meter run with a ninth-place finish in a career-best time of 15:47.36, with Michael Burgess claiming 11th place in a personal-best time of 16:03.04. Brandon Wilson crossed the finish line in 17th in a time of 16:26.71, while Noah McLain was 18th in a time of 16:29.94. Hayden Tuten finished 28th in a time of 17:02.06.
Wheatley claimed 28th place in the men's shot put with a career-best distance of 11.98 meters, while Scott Sanford finished 40th with a personal-best toss of 10.87 meters. Francis was 45th with a distance of 10.11 meters.
Quilled claimed fourth place in the men's 3,000 meters in a time of 8:39.41, while Sutcliffe was 19th in a time of 9:11.31. Daniel Similton crossed the line in 21st place in a time of 9:12.54. McLain finished 34th in a time of 9:44.53, with Tuten claiming 36th in a time of 9:54.29.
Matthew Burgess finished 16th in the men's mile run in a time of 4:37.36, with Michael Burgess taking 19th place in a time of 4:39.47. Wilson finished 37th in a time of 4:53.28.
Silvester went on to finish 69th in the men's 800 meters in a time of 2:17.91.
Following a three-week layoff the Trojans will get back in action, Saturday, Feb. 22 at the South Carolina Indoor Open
