Over 1,500 athletes from all over the country came to the Woodruff Physical Education Center (WoodPEC) to compete. On the men’s side, the two-day event team total rounded out at 96 points, followed by second place Albany State University (N.Y.) with 80 points and third place Cedarville University (Ohio) with 67 points.
“There was a really good vibe going with good weather bringing really fast times,” Head Coach John Curtin wrote in an email to the Wheel. “Our kids love it when they get a chance to compete against some better Division II athletes, as the tougher competition brings out the best in them.”
The women came in third place with 80 points, behind Jacksonville State University (Miss.), which won with 100.5 points, and second place Cedarville with 96 points.
“We were coming off the indoor season, which went okay; we did decent,” sophomore Alexa Young said. “But, outdoor season is a completely different sport, and running at home gives you a huge advantage.”
On the first day of the competition, the men’s distance medley team of freshmen Shane Sullivan and Max Brown, sophomore Ian McIsaac and junior Josh Traynelis shined, winning the event with a time of 10:26.16. The time set a new school record, pushing out the previously set record of 10:34.10, set at the 2004 Clemson (S.C.) Relays.
Junior Adam Rabushka also added a first-place win in the 400-meter hurdles (53.56 seconds). Senior James Bassen won the javelin throw with a distance of 57.73 meters, the fifth-best mark in Emory’s history, and the second-best of Bassen’s career.
The women’s 4x800-meter relay team of seniors Marissa Gogniat and Stephanie Crane, junior Julie Williamson and Young also captured a school record on the first day, finishing second in the event with a time of 9:14.64. The previous school record was 9:19.25, set at the 2012 Emory Classic. Both Gogniat and Crane were also a part of that record-breaking team in 2012.
“Before the race, Coach [Curtin] told us to go for a school record. It hadn’t even been on my mind before,” Young said. “I didn’t think it was attainable, so reaching it was really exciting.”
Senior Hannah Smith captured a win for the Eagles on the first day in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:19.87.
At the end of the first day, the men were in first place out of 25 teams, while the women were in third out of 26 other squads.
On the second day of the competition, the men’s team set many more school records. Sophomore Grant Murphy finished third in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:53.15, the 10th-fastest time in Emory’s history. Freshman Daniel Pietsch placed second in the 400-meter run with a time of 48.73 seconds, and sixth in the 200-meter run with 22.71 seconds. Pietsch also ran as anchor for the 4x400-meter relay team, along with senior Zachary Rosenberg, junior Spencer Koh and Rabushka. The team finished second in the event with a time of 3:19.99.
The 4x100-meter relay team came in third place, as freshman Phillip Greenfield, junior Max Hoberman, Koh and Rosenberg combined for a time of 42.69 seconds. Freshman Benjamin Rogin placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.50 seconds. Junior Jacob Seigel finished fourth in the discus throw with a distance of 42.75 meters tossed.
“We had a great meet against some great competition from Division I and II schools,” Hoberman said. “After coming from the NCAA Indoor Championships, running at home was less stressful; I didn’t have to run in everything and being at home was a big advantage.”
On Saturday, the women also had record-breaking performances, as two athletes recorded top-10 times for Emory’s history books. Williamson finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.46, the sixth-best time in the Emory program’s history and her personal-best. Gogniat claimed a fourth-place finish in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:42.55, the 10th-fastest time in the program’s history.
Freshman Erica Goldman won the 400-meter run with a time of 58.25 seconds. Goldman later ran as anchor in the 4x400-meter relay, combining with senior Hannah Parra, freshman Julia Leventhal and Young to finish third with a time of 3:58.38. Senior Elaina Kim placed second in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 3.17 meters. Senior Elise Viox finished fifth in the 5,000-meter run with 18:30.67 minutes.
“These first two home meets [the Emory Invitational and the Emory Classic] go a long way in helping us see who we take forward into the bigger late season meets and who we will use at [University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships],” Curtin wrote. “With UAAs here at home this spring, it is a little bit of a bonus for the kids to make the UAA squad and be able to compete on the home track in front of their friends.”
The Emory track and field teams will return to action at the WoodPEC on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 to host the Emory Classic.
