WINCHESTER, Va. – Shaking off the rust from winter break, the EMU Track & Field team competed for the first time in 2026 at Kaye & JJ Smith Invitational, hosted by Shenandoah University on Sunday. The Royals acquitted themselves against the likes of host school Shenandoah, Franklin & Marshall, York (Pa.), Hagerstown Community College, and a handful of unattached athletes.
On the men's side, EMU won three events:
Ahsan Abul-Qasim in the high jump,
Koran Rucker in the shot put, and the men's 4x400-meter relay team of
Isaiah Reid,
Ethan Lloyd,
Shaddai Bailey and Joshua Joseph.
Highlights
- SPRINTS
- 60m Dash: Abul-Qasim and Da'Shawn Winters made the finals of the 60m, breaking the tape in sixth and seventh place with times of 7.18 and 7.20, respectively.
- 200m Dash: Joseph led the Royals in this event, sprinting one lap of the track in 24.63.
- 400m Dash: Abenezer Abebe placed eighth overall, clocking in a time of 56.39.
- 60m Hurdles: Bailey took home runner-up honors, clearing the hurdles and crossing the finish line in 9.05.
- DISTANCE
- 800m Run: Ben Huyard scored a point for the Royals with an eighth-place finish and a time of 2:17.37.
- Mile Run: Ethan Kanagy was the top Royal in this event, coming home in 11th place in a time of 5:09.29.
- RELAYS
- 4x400m Relay: The winning relay team crossed the line in 3:40.78. The Royals went 1-2 in the event, with the team of Filipo Toelau, Abebe, Bryce Alley and Jameel Vann placing second in 3:44.29.
- Distance Medley Relay: The team of Alex Belisle, Noah Buckwalter, Huyard and Kanagy combined for a time of 12:26.14.
- JUMPS
- High Jump: Abul-Qasim cleared the bar at 1.91m (6'3.25") on his winning jump.
- Long Jump: Hezekiah Brown placed second overall with a best mark of 6.35m (20'10").
- Pole Vault: Alex Jantzen got over the bar at 3.00m (9'10"), good for 11th place overall.
- THROWS
- Shot Put: Rucker's first throw of the day turned out to be the winning one, landing at 14.67m (48'1.75"). David Pinion also made the shot put final, placing sixth with a mark of 12.05m.
- Weight Throw: Rucker also placed runner-up in the weight throw with a new PR of 15.27m (50'1.25"). With that throw, Rucker is now second in EMU history in the weight throw, trailing only Nathan Turner's school record of 15.77m, achieved back in 2007.
What's Next
EMU Track & Field will head south on I-81 for the Finn Pincus Invitational, hosted by Roanoke College this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17.
