HARRISONBURG, Va. – The EMU Track & Field team welcomed the best of the best in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) to the EMU Track & Field Complex on Friday for the first day of the two-day ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Koran Rucker added his name to the list of ODAC individual champions in EMU history, winning the hammer throw to lead the Royals on day one of the conference championship meet. Throwing in his home circle, Rucker earned the title of ODAC champion in dramatic fashion with an incredibly final throw of 56.19m (184'4"), beating out Jesus Flores of Bridgewater.
Team Scores Through Day 1: 1) Lynchburg - 86; 2) Bridgewater - 43; 3) Washington & Lee - 38;
4) EMU - 24
Highlights
- SPRINTS
- 100m Dash (Prelims): Da'Shawn Winters qualified for tomorrow's final with a personal record time of 10.81. Winters also moved to third in EMU history for the 100m. He will be seeded fifth in tomorrow's final. Xavier McCarthy also ran a new personal best time, breaking the tape in 11.03, cracking the top 10 in EMU history at eighth all-time.
- 200m Dash (Prelims): Ahsan Abul-Qasim will represent the Royals in tomorrow's final, clocking in at 22.01 to win his heat in the prelims.
- 400m Dash (Prelims): Joshua Joseph set a new PR time of 51.06, finishing 15th in the prelims.
- 110m Hurdles (Prelims): Filipo Toelau topped the charts in the prelims, hurdling his way to a time of 10.73. He will be the top seed in tomorrow's final, with Davin Macky Gartley seeded second at 14.78. Shaddai Bailey also made the final in eighth place, clocking in at 15.66.
- 400m Hurdles (Prelims): Nick Arnold placed third in prelims, earning a new PR of 53.46 in the process. That time moves Arnold to 21st in Division III in the 400mH.
- JUMPS
- High Jump: Abul-Qasim cleared a height of 1.87m (6'1.5") to place ninth overall.
- Long Jump: Abul-Qasim shined in the long jump, landing in the sand pit at 7.17m (23'6.25") on his best jump of the day to finish third and earn All-ODAC honors. He also moved up to 18th in Division III in the long jump this season.
- THROWS
- Hammer: Rucker's winning throw was also a personal record by nearly three meters, setting the EMU school record that Rucker himself broke last week at Shippensburg. He also moves up to 26th in all of Division III in the hammer throw this season.
- Shot Put: Rucker took runner-up honors with a throw of 15.32m (50'3.25"), trailing only Flores.
What's Next
The ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships conclude tomorrow, Saturday, April 26th, right on campus at the EMU Track & Field Complex. The first field events begin at 9:30 a.m., while the running events will commence at 1 p.m.
