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Buckley Breaks School Record in 200 Meters as ASU Places 6th in Sun Belt T&F Championships

App State finished the 2017 indoor season at the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Track & Field Championships on Tuesday. William Buckley (above) set a school record in the 200 meters.

Appalachian State University men’s track and field landed in sixth place with a team total of 70.50 points at the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on Tuesday. Texas-Arlington was crowned indoor champions with 133.50 points and in second and third was Texas State (119 points) and Louisiana (103.50 points.)

Despite not qualifying for the 60-meter finals, William Buckley bounced back and earned a finals spot in the 200 meters and placed third with a personal-best time of 21.39. His bronze medal effort is now App State’s new indoor school record, breaking the previous record of 21.47 set by Jabari Johnson at the JDL College Kick-off Classic this year.

In addition to Buckley’s 200-meter points, Appalachian also scored in five other running events in Birmingham. In the 60-meter hurdles, Brandon Smith cleared all barriers and finished in seventh with a time of 8.36. In the 800 meters, Ryan Hastings hustled to the line and pushed out the third-best time in App State indoor history for a second-place finish (1:51.70/pr). Also, the 4×400-meter relay quartet of Josh Hanna, Elliott Graves, Smith and Hastings landed in second running a season’s best of 3:15.91, which was one second shy of breaking the school record set in 2004 (3:14.89).

For the distance races, Ian Foley and Evan Georges finished right behind each other in fifth and sixth respectively running 4:15.34 and 4:15.65 in the mile. Rounding out the scorers on the track was Chris Anderson who clocked a personal best of 14:46.63 in the 5,000 meters for the bronze medal.

In the field events, shot putters Nathan Milch and Ellsworth Parham wrapped up their indoor campaign with a three-four punch scoring 11 points for the Mountaineers. The powerhouse pair threw one centimeter apart with Milch tossing out the implement 55-10.50 (17.03m) and Parham muscling out the metal ball 55-10.25 (17.02m). Tuesday marked the sixth time this season the throwing duo landed inside the top-five in the event.

2/20 SBC Indoor Track & Field Championship Results

60H (finals)- 7. Brandon Smith, 8.36

200m (finals)- 3. William Buckley, 21.39 (pr)

800m (finals)- 2. Ryan Hastings, 1:51.70 (pr)

Mile- 5. Ian Foley, 4:15.34; 6. Evan Georges, 4:15.65; 13. Jacob Sears, 4:19.23

5,000m- 3. Chris Anderson, 14:46.63 (pr); 15. Andrew Vandenberg, 15:34.69

4x400m- 2. Appalachian A (Josh Hanna, Elliott Graves, Brandon Smith, Ryan Hastings), 3:15.91(sb)

High Jump- 10. Jordan Dale, 6-4 (1.93m); T11. Nick Hinton, 6-4 (1.93m)

Shot Put- 3. Nathan Milch, 55-10.50 (17.03m); 4. Ellsworth Parham 55-10.25 (17.02m)

2017 SBC Indoor Championships Men’s Team Rankings

1. Texas-Arlington – 133.50 points

2. Texas State – 119 points

3. Louisiana – 103.50

4. Arkansas State – 102.50 points

5. South Alabama – 79 points

6. Appalachian State – 70.50 points

7. Louisiana-Monroe – 29 points

8. Little Rock – 25 points

Up Next

Student-athletes who qualify for nationals will compete at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Mar. 10-11. Mountaineers who do not finish inside the top-16 nationally in their respective events will prepare for the outdoor season opener at High Point, N.C. for the High Point Invitational March 17-18.