Jacksonville, AL - Bryan College Track and Field athletes finished their second day of racing over a three day period at Jacksonville State University's Springtime Invitational. After competing at the Milligan Relays on Thursday evening in Johnson City the Lions traveled to Jacksonville. Milligan hosted their event at the Liberty Bell Track in Johnson City.
Leading the way on Thursday were a trio of freshmen Lions in Daniel Goetz, Josh Bradley and Zach Buffington. Goetz finished fourth in the 1500 with a time of 4:03.49 in the fast section, as Buffington took top honors in the slower section for the second consecutive week in 4:11.99. Bradley took second in the 400 meter dash in 51.01. Competing unattached Zach Mobley was the champion in the same race with a 50.61. Mobley would finish fourth in the 800 meter run with a 1:57.04 to Bradley's fifth of 2:00.45. Goetz won the slower section in 1:59.98. Bradley and Mobley ran 1-2 in the 200 meter dash and ended up 6th and 8th respectively with runs of 23.41 and 23.81. Buffington set a new pb with a run of 9:15.80 for fifth in the three kilometer race.
Saturday saw more solid performances from the freshmen as Bradley, Mobley and Buffington ran to a 2-3-4 finish in the 1500 meter run with Bradley's 4:05.60 leading the Lions. Unattched athlete Zach Mobley would come back to win the 800 meters in 1:57.15, just .01 ahead of the 1500 meter champ Jeff Rhodes from JSU. Bradley and Bufffington would finish third and fifth repsectively. Freshmen Bailey Payne ran to a 10th place finish of 2:35.94 in the women's 800 meter run.
"Our athletes are learning how to compete at a high level and responded well this week. Bradley and Mobley ran the the 400, 800, and 200 with small amounts of time between their races and the times don't reflect the athletes they are becoming. However, it shows their intensity when they line up to compete. Goetz was a little disappointed with the 1500, but after a poor second lap, he separated from the group and made some ground up on the leaders. His solo 800 meter in the second section will give him some confidence. In Jacksonville, all three freshmen ran personal bests in the 1500 and closed really well after a slow first half. Mobley ran well in the eight on forty-five minutes rest and surprises me with each race. We'll have a weekend off from racing and then be ready to concentrate on Sea Ray and the conference championships the week after," said head coach Rodney Stoker.
Goetz and Bradley will represent Bryan in two weeks at the Sea Ray Relays held at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on April 13th and 14th in the 3k steeplechase and 800 meter runs. Mobley will compete unattached in the 800 as well. The rest of the Bryan squad will travel to Sewanee University for the Mountain Laurel Invitational on April 14th.