HIGH POINT, N.C. –  The EMU Track & Field team headed out-of-state this week, traveling south to the Tar Heel State with a group of sprinters and jumpers competing at the Vertklasse Meeting, hosted by High Point University. The field included athletes from numerous Division I schools, such as NC State and North Carolina, as well as ODAC rivals Guilford, Lynchburg, Randolph, Roanoke and Sweet Briar.
 
Filipo Toelau and Nick Arnold stood out for the Royals, finishing third place in a pair of hurdle events on the purple track at Vert Stadium on the campus of High Point.  

Highlights

• SPRINTS
  • Men's 100m Dash (Participate): Ahsan Abul-Qasim set a new PR time of 10.90 to finish 29th, improving his standing as fifth in EMU history in the 100m. Da'Shawn Winters, Xavier McCarthy and Isaiah Reid turned in times of 11.12, 11.48 and 11.73, respectively.
  • Men's 200m Dash (Participate): Hezekiah Brown and Joshua Joseph both established new personal best in the event. Brown clocked in at 22.49, while Joseph crossed the finish line in 23.61.
  • Women's 200m Dash (Participate): Angel David represented the Royal women at High Point, running 28.77 for 200m.
  • Men's 400m Dash (Participate): Joseph led EMU in the 400, sprinting one lap of the track in 52.21. Brown completed a double PR day with a time of 53.17.
  • Women's 400m Dash (Participate): David finished with a time of 1:08.56.
• HURDLES
  • 110m Hurdles (Participate): Toelau made the podium in third place, beating out several D1 athletes and finishing as the top DIII runner in the event. His time of 14.63 was just .02 of a second behind the school record of 14.61 set by Adam Starks back in 2003. Shaddai Bailey finished 19th in a time of 15.66.
  • 400m Hurdles: Nick Arnold made the top section of the 400m hurdles and placed third overall. His time of 53.67 was a new personal record by over a second, moving up to fifth in EMU history.
• THROWS
  • Discus:  Not to be outdone by the hurdlers, Koran Rucker placed 15th with a throw of 45.87m (150'6"). Rucker's mark is a new personal best, resetting the school record that he set earlier this season at the Washington & Lee Carnival.
  • Hammer:  Rucker registered a top-10 finish, placing 10th with a PR throw of 47.60m (156'2").
  • Shot Put: Rucker's best throw of the day landed at 14.73m (48'4"), while Silas Bates wound up with a mark of 10.86m (35'7.75").   

What's Next
The EMU Track & Field team will not only be back in Virginia for their next meet, but they will be the home team for the EMU Heritage Invitational, taking place on Thursday and Friday, April 9-10 at the on-campus Track & Field Complex. The first events on Thursday will begin at 3:45 p.m.