SEU Track Impresses at East Tennessee State

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— The Fire track and field team performed well among a plethora of NCAA Division I and NAIA opponents at the ETSU Buccaneer Invitational this weekend, placing in several events and reaching NAIA national qualifying standards in a few, as well.
In the short distance races, Namiah Simpson led the way by placing in both the 200m and 400m competitions. The freshman from Palm Coast, Fla. ran a personal-best and school record 57.81 in the longer of the two races to finish fourth, while a 26.14 time in the 200m sprint was good enough for fifth overall. With the school record in the 400, Simpson qualified for nationals with an “A” standard.
The women’s team placed third in the 4 X 400 relay with a time just over four minutes (4:00.5) to also reach the NAIA “A” standard. To conclude the weekend, the men’s 4 X 400 squad ran a 3:27.81, which was the seventh best time in the final.
Individually on the men’s side, Davonte Vanterpool, who has made the 60m hurdles final in every meet this season, finished sixth with a time of 8.38 seconds (a national “B” standard).
The Fire also saw success in the longer races, placing in three events.
Julia Rohm won the 5000m race with an outstanding time of 18:15.5, beating her nearest competitor by 41 seconds with the “A” standard time. The long-distance runner followed up her win with a personal record in the mile race (5:24.66) to cross the finish line eighth.
Makenzie Johnson set a personal record in the 3000m run, coming in eighth in the final with a time of 11:54.96.
Southeastern track will look to build on this performance in the University of South Carolina Indoor Open in two weeks.
Placers
Julia Rohm- 5000m- 1st- 18:15.5
Women’s 4 X 400m relay- 3rd- 4:00.5
Namiah Simpson- 400m- 4th- 57.81
Namiah Simpson- 200m- 5th- 26.14
Davonte Vanterpool- 60m hurdles- 6th- 8.38
Men’s 4 X 400m relay- 7th- 3:27.81
Julia Rohm- 1 mile- 8th- 5:24.66
Makenzie Johnson- 3000m- 8th- 11:54.96