ATHENS, West Virginia -- The Bluefield State men's and women's track and field teams closed out their seasons with a pair of third-place team finishes Friday afternoon at the Concord University Invitational.
The team was powered by especially strong performances in the throws and jumps, with Landry Palata and Abbey Puckett sweeping the men's and women's triple jump championship. Puckett also won the women's 400-meter dash, Caely Pickerd won the shot put and Sydney Billington finished first in the discus.
In all, the Big Blue won a season-high five individual events.
"This was as solid of a day as we've had all-around, and this was a great note to finish the season on," said B-State Head Track and Field Coach Brooks Rexroat. "Everyone got on the scoreboard, and we're just thoroughly pleased—not only with the day but with our program's first season on the whole. The future is incredibly bright for this group."
Palata also finished second in both the long jump and high jump, while Trevor Nefe placed second in the 400-meter hurdles, third in both the high jump and triple jump, and fourth in the long jump.
In the throws, Sherman Franklin racked up a second-place finish in the javelin then finished seventh in the discus.
Zack Pennington finished third in the discus and Thomas Smith finished eighth in both the shot put and the discus.
In addition to Puckett's pair of victories, she also finished second in the long jump and fourth in the high jump.
Pickerd became the first Big Blue thrower to crack the 11-meter threshold in the shot put, a mark she's worked toward all season. She also finished fourth in the discus and fifth in the javelin
Billington supplemented her discus win with a second-place finish in the shot put and fourth-place finishes in both the discus and javelin.
Amanda Kochis (sixth place) and Anna Chiau (seventh place) also scored in the javelin.
"We're excited about the base this team has built—it's something the program can continue to build upon," Rexroat said. "We've seen growth from a core group of redshirt athletes, and we're excited for them to join the mix next year along with a really exciting recruiting class that continues to grow by the day. The future looks incredibly bright for Bluefield State track and field, and this final meet gave us a peek at the sort of success we expect as we press forward."
