Johnson City, TN – The Warriors split the squad to compete in both the 2017 Buccaneer Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State and in the Indiana Wesleyan Midwest Classic hosted by Indiana Wesleyan over the weekend.  The Southern Wesleyan Warriors competed in the track events in Men's and Women's Track and Field at the Buccaneer Invitational. 

On the men's side in the Men's 60 Meters, junior Nick Edwards finished in 18^th with a time of 7.06 in the preliminary heats.  He was followed by freshman Leonard Holmes with a time of 7.27 to finish in 45^th.  While in the Men's 200 Meter preliminaries, Edwards finished in 33^rd with a time of 22.93 and Jannai Maxwell finished in 36^th with a time of 22.99. 

In the one Mile Run, Robert Gwinn broke the school record with a time of 4:43.22 to come in 35^th in the event.  In the Men's 60M Hurdles, Leonard Holmes finished in 21^st with a time of 8.55 to just miss qualifying for the finals.

For the women's side of the events, Lyric King qualified for the Women's 60 Meter Dash semifinals in the preliminaries with a time of 7.97 to finish in 13^th to advance to the next round of competition.  During the semifinals, King finished in sixteenth with a time of 7.97.  In the Women's 200 Meter, Amy Barton finished in third in the preliminaries with a time of 25.32 to qualify for the finals.  She was followed by freshman Kayla Achenbach with a 19^th place finish and a time of 26.12, and Lyric King with a time of 26.62 to give her 30^th.

Freshman Jami Lewis was in second place standing after the preliminaries of the Women's 400 Meters with a time of 58.16 to qualify for the next round of competition.  She was followed by junior Morgan Haney with a 14^th place finish and time of 59.97, Sarah Cash with a 27^th place finish and time of 1:01.81, and Katrice Hunter with a 30^th place finish and time of 1:02.34.  In the finals of the Women's 400 Meters, Lewis took first place with a time of 57.47.

Hanan Balawi took 26^th in the Women's 800 Meters with a time of 2:29.49 and was followed by Jenna Karel (2:29.84 / 29^th) and Alana Grant (2:30.08 / 30^th).  Balawi went on to take twenty-third in the Women's 1 Mile Run with a time of 5:34.03.

In the Women's 60M Hurdles preliminaries, Skylar Julian finished in fifth with a time of 9.15 to qualify for the semifinals.  During the semifinals, Julian finished in fifth again with a time of 9.11 to advance to the finals of the 60M Hurdles.  In the finals, Julian finished in 6^th with a time of 9.02.  In the Women's 4x400 Relay, the Warriors shattered their school record with a time of 3:52.40 to not only run the 13^th fastest time in the nation, but to take first place in the event.

Coach Thiel Says…

"As we prepare for the Indoor Conference Championship in two weeks, we look very strong.  These kids really know how to compete, and we are excited about the Championship."

What's Next

The Warriors will next travel to Samford University to compete in the Samford Invitation on February 10 through 11.  They will then go to the Indoor Conference Carolinas Championship on February 19.