JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's indoor track and field teams opened competition Friday at the two-day ETSU Invitational, held at the Mini Dome.
Senior Widchard Guervil equaled the best time in Division II this season in the men's 60 meter dash, earning the top seed in Saturday's finals with a time of 6.73 seconds, while in women's competition graduate student Kenisha Stubbs qualified for the finals in the 60 hurdles.
Competition resumes Saturday at 8:35 a.m. with the 3000 meters, and continues through the day with the 800, 60 hurdles and 60 dash finals, 200 and 4x400 relays. Field events for Tusculum on Saturday include the women's long jump and women's shot put.
MEN'S COMPETITION
Guervil's time of 6.73 seconds is the fourth-fastest in program history, and equaled the top time in Division II this season set by Philip Landrum of Fort Hays State on Dec. 4. Guervil had already qualified for nationals in the 60 meters on Dec. 3 with his 55-meter time of 6.29 seconds set at the Appalachian Open, which converted to 6.79 seconds and had been tied for eighth-fastest in Division II this season.
Four other Pioneers set personal bests in preliminaries, led by junior Devan Hart who just missed moving into finals with a ninth-place mark of 6.95 seconds which moved him to fourth on the school all-time performance list. Senior Gerard Hearst was tenth in 6.96 seconds, with junior Jarvis Barber Jr. taking 12th place at 6.99 seconds and junior Pierre Dupuy in 18th at 7.10 seconds. Barber's time placed him sixth on the program's performance list in the 60 meters, with Dupuy moving into 10th place on the performance list with his career-best mark.
Four Pioneers competed in the mile run on Friday, with junior Antonio Aparicio finishing 11th overall at 4:35.25 and junior Caleb Archer in 16th at 4:39.17. Sophomore Ray Richardson moved into 10th place on the program performance list with a time of 4:41.08 that was 19th overall.
In the 4x800 relay, the Pioneers entered two teams with the A squad of Aparicio, senior Kyler Hodges, senior David Saruni and freshman Xavion Bogus taking third in 8:24.80. The B team of Richardson, freshman Bryson Livesay, freshman Evan Bruce and Archer was fifth at 8:49.30.
WOMEN'S COMPETITION
Stubbs placed fifth in preliminaries in the 60 hurdles with a time of 9.24 seconds, which is the second-fastest in program history behind her mark of 9.16 seconds set at the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Feb. 29, 2020. She also competed in the 60-meter dash and ran 8.28 seconds, just off her career best of 8.27 seconds.
Junior Aliyah Adderley was Tusculum's top finisher in the 60 dash, placing 12th with a career-best time of 8.05 seconds that was fifth-fastest in school history and moved her to third on the program's performance list. Senior Destini Wilson ran 8.18 seconds to put her in eighth place on the performance list in the 60.
Freshman Nicole Griffith took over ninth place on the performance list in the mile run, finishing 22nd overall at 5:53.88. The Pioneer 4x800 relay of sophomore Emily Coddington, freshman Celine McNally, sophomore Judy Chellah and Stubbs was third with a time of 10:48.04.
In field events, freshman Amber Hogan was 13th in the weight throw at 11.18 meters (36 feet, 8 inches) which was the sixth-best mark in school history.
ETSU Indoor Track and Field Invitational
at Johnson City, Tennessee (Day 1 of 2)
Tusculum results
MEN
60: 1. Widchard Guervil, 6.73 (advances/NCAA provisional qualifier); 9. Devan Hart, 6.95; 10. Gerard Hearst, 6.96; 12. Jarvis Barber Jr., 6.99; 18. Pierre Dupuy, 7.10; 22. Zackary Nelson, 7.17; 36. Joshua Stephens, 7.39; 44. Landen Locklear, 7.72.
Mile: 11. Antonio Aparicio, 4:35.25; 16. Caleb Archer, 4:39.17; 19. Ray Richardson, 4:41.08; 28. Bryson Livesay, 4:54.30.
4x800: 3. Tusculum A (Aparicio, Hodges, Saruni, Bogus), 8:24.80; 5. Tusculum B (Richardson, Livesay, Bruce, Archer), 8:49.30.
WOMEN
60: 12. Aliyah Adderley, 8.05; 22. Destini Wilson, 8.18; 26. Kenisha Stubbs, 8.28; 27. Silvia Bah, 8.31; 28. Destiny Lottie, 8.31; 35. Faith Robinette, 8.62; 41. Emerald Jones, 9.50.
60 hurdles: 5. Kenisha Stubbs, 9.24 (advances).
Mile: 22. Nicole Griffith, 5:53.88; Emily Coddington, DNF.
4x800: 3. Tusculum (Coddington, McNally, Chellah, Stubbs), 10:48.04.
Weight throw: 13. Amber Hogan, 11.18m (36-8).
