SALEM, Va. – The EMU Track & Field team ended January and began February by bringing athletes from every event group to the Bast-Cregger Invitational at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. The Royals went toe-to-toe with a deep field that included competition from Division I and Division II schools, along with several members of the ODAC.
Highlights
- DISTANCE/MID-DISTANCE
- 800m Run: Abenezer Abebe finished 15th overall with a time of 2:06.65.
- Mile Run: Ethan Kanagy ran just under the five-minute barrier, crossing the line in 4:59.58. Charlie O'Neil set a new PR time of 5:09.41.
- 3000m Run: Luke Buckwalter led the pack of Royals competing in this event with a personal best time of 10:13.30.
- SPRINTS
- 60m Dash: Ethan Lloyd set a new personal record of 7.29 seconds to lead the Royals in this event. Da'Shawn Winters finished right behind Lloyd in a time of 7.30.
- 200m Dash: Damon Morgan was the top Royal in this event, completing one lap of the track in 23.51.
- 60m Hurdles: Shaddai Bailey PR'd by a tenth of a second, clocking in at 8.86 to finish third overall in the preliminary round. In the finals, Bailey crossed the line fifth overall in a time of 8.93, beating out a hurdler from Bridgewater to be the top DIII finisher in the event.
- JUMPS
- Long Jump: Da'Shawn Winters landed in the sand pit at 6.29m (20'-7.75"), good for a 16th-place finish.
- Pole Vault: Micah Mast cleared 3.70m (12'-1.5") to place 10th overall.
- THROWS
- Shot Put: Christian Schmidt placed 17th with a throw of 12.82m (42'-0.75"), followed by Grant Leichty in 24th at a mark of 12.34m (40'-6").
- Weight Throw: Schmidt achieved a massive personal record mark of 13.15m (43'-1.75"), beating his previous best throw by nearly four feet. With that performance, Schmidt vaults to a tie for fourth in EMU history for the weight throw.
What's Next
The EMU Track & Field team will take a much-deserved week off before returning to action at two separate meets on Valentine's Day weekend. A select group of athletes will fly up to Boston, Mass., to compete in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 14-15. Other Royals will return to Roanoke College to participate in the Joe LaRocco Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 15.
