The Emory men’s and women’s track and field teams kicked off the indoor season on Nov. 30 at the Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) (Ala.) Indoor Icebreaker, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The women scored 17 points to finish in 10th place, while the men scored six points to finish in 18th place out of 28 schools.
The results were similar to their performance in last year’s BSC Icebreaker in which the women’s side placed 12th, while the men’s side finished 11th overall. Both Eagles teams impressed in the 4×400-meter relay and 400-meter dash last year.
Assistant Coach Derek Nelson said the team wasn’t overly concerned with their place during the meet.
“When we take a look back at [the results], it’s a lot about how are you versus last year [and] how we stack up against our conference competition [and other] Division III teams,” Nelson said.
On the women’s side, the Eagles scored in three of the six events. Senior Paris Wagner placed third in the weight throw, achieving the second longest throw in school history with 15.79 meters. Junior Greta Wilker finished sixth in the shot put with 12.01 meters, and junior Ayriel Coleman ended in sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 10.74 meters. In the 4×400-meter relay, a team composed of sophomores Michelle Rosenblum, Ayla Kazemi, Rachel Shanahan and Ana Sofia Beltran finished in eighth place with a time of 4:24.42.
Wagner said she was pleased with her throw distance, which was only seven centimeters away from the school record.
“[The Icebreaker] gets me excited for the rest of the season,” Wagner said. “It definitely motivates me because I know now what I’m capable of, and I can start doing a lot better.”
On the men’s side, juniors Aria Mohseni and Alex Rand, sophomore Liam Fost and freshman Alberto Bitar III led the way with a sixth-place finish and a time of 3:25.98 in the 4×400-meter relay.
Freshman Brett Henshey took seventh in the high jump at a height of 1.90 meters, and freshman Ben Kronman placed eighth with 12.18 meters in the triple jump.
Nelson talked about the challenge of the break before the next invitational.
“It’s a lot more difficult to train [after the break],” Nelson said. “My hope is that each athlete takes [the workouts] seriously and makes sure they find balance [and] relaxation, and work while they’re away from campus.”
The Eagles will break for the holidays before returning for competition on Jan. 12 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Vulcan Invitational.
