LYNCHBURG, Va. – The athletes of EMU Track & Field had one last tune-up meet before they host the ODAC Championships next week, bringing a small group to compete in the WildCat Invitational, hosted by Randolph College. The majority of the ODAC was in attendance, including competitors from Averett, Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney, Hollins, Lynchburg, Randolph, Roanoke, and Sweet Briar.
The men's team will enter next week's conference championship with some positive momentum, following a day that featured four personal record performances and a win for the 4x100m relay team of
Da'Shawn Winters,
Jameel Vann,
Hezekiah Brown, and
Ahsan Abul-Qasim.
Highlights
- DISTANCE/MID-DISTANCE
- 800m Run: Alex Belisle led the way with a PR time of 2:06.07, finishing 16th overall. Ben Huyard (25th/2:16.82) and Noah Buckwalter (31st/2:23.59) also ran the 800m for the Royals.
- 1500m Run: Ethan Kanagy led the way for EMU with a personal best time of 4:19.56 to placed 22nd. Huyard clocked in at 4:41.86, while Buckwalter turned in a PR of 4:51.07.
- SPRINTS
- 100m Dash: Isaiah Reid finished seventh in a season best time of 11.15. Xavier McCarthy completed the sprint in 11.42, followed by Jelanie Morgan in 12.34.
- 400m Dash: Joshua Joseph set a new personal record, sprinting one lap of the track in 51.29 to finish fifth. Bryce Alley ran through the finish line in 54.77, good for 14th place.
- JUMPS
- Pole Vault: Alex Jantzen cleared the bar at 3.20m to finish 11th in the pole vault.
- RELAYS
- 4x100m Relay: The relay team of Winters, Vann, Brown, and Abul-Qasim teamed up for a winning time of 42.17. That places the team third in EMU history in the 4x100m, not far off the school record time of 42.12, set back in 2017 by the team of Grant Amoateng, Connor Faint, Hunter Sampson, and Nuriddin Abdus-Salaam.
What's Next
The EMU Track & Field team will host the best in the conference for the annual ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the EMU Track & Field Facility next Friday and Saturday, April 24-25. The action opens on Friday with field events starting at noon and running event commencing at 4 p.m.
