The track team had a successful meet this past weekend. The Bucs traveled to Cullowhee, North Carolina, to compete in the Beynon Sports Catamount Classic. The two-day meet brought the Bucs achievement in several competitions.
The first day of events the women excelled in several events. Junior Margaret Hayden (Ballymore Eustace, Kildare, Ireland), freshman Jaden Finch (Glen Aubrey, New York), freshman Atlantis Warren (Memphis, Tennessee) and Sydney Hawks (Pearisburg, Virginia) all placed in the hammer throw with 10th, 14th, 21st and 25th respectively.
Junior Alyssa Whipkey (Pennsvill, New Jersey) placed 2nd in the javelin throw while Hawkins and Hayden also placed 8th and 20th. Senior Marabeth Clark (Maryville, Tennessee) also placed in the event at 22nd.
Freshman Kendra Whitehurst (Atlanta, Georgia) and redshirt junior Jazmin Lacy (Smyra, Georgia) placed 9th and 14th in the 200-meter dash. They also placed 8th and 9th in the 100m run while also placing 8th and 14th in the high jump.
The men also did well in several competitions. Freshman Karon Delince (Phenix City, Alabama) placed 2nd in the long jump. Redshirt junior Ben Johnson continues to make a name for himself, placing 2nd in the hammer and javelin throw.
Senior Nathan Rivera (Knoxville, Tennessee) placed 4th in the 100m dash and 3th in the 400m dash. Rivera was able to place 1st overall in the high jump decathlon and gaining another top place finish in 3rd in the shot put decathlon.
After the first day of the meet, the Bucs ranked 7th overall against all the other teams.
“The season is going well at this point,” said Head Coach George Watts. “We try to motivate our athletes to the National Championship.”
The second day of the meet meant more good finishes for the Bucs on both sides. For the women, freshman Colbie Williamson (Clyde, North Carolina) and Lindsey Stallworth (Knoxville, Tennessee) placed 6th and 7th in the 1500m run. Macy Carrier (Bluff City, Tennessee) and Makayla Shaw (Jonesborough, Tennessee) also placed in the even coming in at 12th and 16th places. Junior Kyra Atkins (Greer, South Carolina) placed 1st in 100-meter hurdles. Freshman Heather Feuchtenberger (Elizabethton, Tennessee) and Jessica Lord (Morristown, Tennessee) placed 6th and 7th in the 800 meter run.
As for the men, senior Simeon Roberts (Greenville, Tennessee), freshman Ben Varghese (Kingsport,Tennessee) and sophomore Soresa Gemechu (Johnson City, Tennessee) placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 1500m run. Behind senior Carl Oberfeightinger (Kingsport, Tennessee), sophomores Noah Charles (Johnson City, Tennessee) and Nathan Longfellow (Knoxville, Tennessee) placed 7th and 11th in the same event.
Matthew Scarr (Wamberal, NSW, Australia) took home 1st place in the men’s 800m run.
The Bucs placed in a majority of the events that took place during the meet. The Bucs have one more meet this year in Johnson City next weekend.
