Emory’s men’s and women’s track and field teams continued their outdoor season last weekend at the Mount Laurel Invitational, hosted by Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.). The women’s squad continued their strong run of form by winning the meet, their fourth consecutive first place team finish, while the Emory men came in third.
The meet served as the final tune-up before next weekend’s University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships in St. Louis, Mo. With one of the season’s most important meets on the horizon, Emory Head Coach John Curtin commented on what the meet meant for the team.
“We didn’t run a lot of top level kids and some had an opportunity to race in events that they haven’t ran regularly this season,” Curtin said. “It was a really good night for several people.”
Curtin went on to discuss the competition at the meet.
“The competition [was] not as tough as we’ve been seeing,” he said. “The purpose was to get ‘meet-ready’ for the UAA Championships in St. Louis next weekend.”
The women’s team tallied eight first place finishes, as well as a win in the 4x100m relay at Mount Laurel. Freshman Dilys Osei led the way with victories in the 200m dash and 100m hurdles. Her times of 25.32 and 15.04 were both season bests. Osei was also a member of the winning 4x100m relay team which posted a time of 47.83, also a season best. The other members of the team were fellow freshman Dani Bland, sophomore Julia Leventhal and senior Alexandra Aiello. Bland also won the 100m dash with a time of 12.44. Bland credited her performance to staying calm.
“I tend to do my best when I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself and i just have fun with it,” Bland said of her race.
Sophomore Michelle Kagei won the 3000m run with a time of 11:00.23, and freshman Hayley Moyer finished the 400m hurdles in 1:08.82 to take first place. Junior Mia Eisenhandler continued to work her way back from an injury with a win in the 3,000m steeplechase. Her time of 12:01.03 was a personal best. Curtin shared his excitement about Eisenhandler’s performance.
“[Eisenhandler’s] first race back looked really strong, and now we know she will be ready for the UAA meet, which was one thing we needed to learn at Sewanee,” Curtin said.
Sophomore Valerie Linck added a first place finish in the field events in the high jump; her mark of 1.60m was also a season high. Freshman Kaleena Jesson finished second in the pole vault with a height of 3.05m.
The men’s team finished the meet with five first place finishes. Senior Josh Traynelis won the 800m run with a time of 1:58.00. Junior Michael McBane won the 1,500m race, crossing the finish line with a mark of 4:05.20. Sophomores Shane Sullivan and Benjamin Rogin took first in the 3,000m run and 110m hurdles, respectively. Sullivan won with a time of 8:45.59, while Rogin posted a time of 15.17. Curtin labeled freshman Zachary Lembersky as a “real standout” at the meet. His discus throw of 41.61m was a personal best and earned him first place.
The team’s focus will now shift to the UAA Championships, which will be the final meet of the season for many of the team’s athletes who do not qualify for the national meet. Curtin made it clear that the team sees this meet as one of the most important for the outdoor season.
“Next to the National Championship, the UAA is our ‘big deal,’ ” Curtin said. “This is what people have aimed for and worked toward all year.”
Curtin went on further to share that while expectations are high, the team understands the difficult task at hand.
“We need good performances from everyone,” he said. “We have some kids that are top-ranked in UAA that we anticipate will continue to perform at that level, and we need kids that aren’t there yet to step up and fill some voids. The UAA this year is just loaded top to bottom. The quality of the conference has gone up.”
The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday and Sunday, April 23 and 24, when they travel to St. Louis, Mo., to compete in the UAA Championships. Bland believes that the key to success at UAAs is to continue to build on their training.
“If we can cash in on our training and continue doing what we’ve practiced then we should perform well,” Bland said.
