Bucs send 42 to the conference meet in the last scheduled event of the indoor season

LEXINGTON, Va. (Feb. 28, 2020) – With the indoor season coming to a close, the Bucs head to the home of VMI to compete in the Southern Conference Indoor Championships this weekend on February 29-March 1 at the VMI Corps Physical Training Facility.

The Bucs have 42 entrants in this year’s SoCon Indoor Championship, competing against the best competition the Southern Conference has to offer. This will be ETSU’s fifth indoor conference championship meet since returning to the SoCon in 2015.

For the third straight season, VMI plays host to the conference meet. The CPTF opened in January of 2017 and has been used for both track and field and general Corps of Cadets activities. ETSU looks to grab their first title inside the 1,800 capacity facility, while the Bucs have garnered three combined indoor championships while competing in the SoCon. The men took top finishes in 1980 and 1998 while the women secured gold in 1995. ETSU has continued the trend of finishing in the top four over the past four seasons. The women have taken bronze in three seasons since returning to the conference, while the men narrowly missed out on their third straight top-3 finish as the Buc men took fourth in the 2019 season.

While the Bucs populate the top ten marks in most events, ETSU has two sole leaders in the conference coming into the championship weekend. Miguel Parrilla (Knoxville, Tenn.) looks to cap off a fantastic rookie season, holding the fastest time in the league in the 800m with a 1:52.25 mark at the Music City Challenge just two weeks ago.

Nicole Johnson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) leads a host of Bucs at the peak of the conference in the 60m sprint, Kennedie Carithers (Dacula, Ga.) and Mekayla Brown (Elgin, S.C.) joining the freshman in securing the three fastest times in the league. Lanaya Martin (Columbia, S.C.) sits just behind in fifth, the Bucs looking heavy favorites to score in the event.

A host of Bucs hold marks in the top three of the league heading into the final guaranteed event. Led by the likes of veterans Heather Feuchtenberger (Elizabethton, Tenn.) in the 800m and Matthew Scarr (Wamberal, Australia) and Ben Varghese (Kingsport, Tenn.) in the 3000m and 5000m respectively, the Bucs have a talented younger crew with the likes of Kennedi Johnson (Nashville, Tenn.), Patra Williams (Lithonia, Ga.) and Brown who look to showcase their abilities on the track and in the field events.           

The meet will begin Saturday, Feb. 29 at 9 a.m. with the men’s heptathlon and women’s pentathlon. The women’s shot put gets field events underway at 1:30 p.m., while the men’s mile kicks off the track events at 2:20 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE RESULTS

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today! 

For more information on ETSU track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field pages. Also, follow the program on Twitter @ETSU_TF_XC and on Instagram at the handle @etsuxctf.