Emory’s men’s and women’s track and field teams continued their outdoor season last weekend, traveling to nearby Rome, Ga., to compete in the Berry Field Day Invitational. Both teams had strong performances at the meet, which was also the grand opening of Berry College’s (Ga.) new track facility. The women’s team won its third consecutive meet, beating out Shorter University (Ga.), a Division II team, while the men’s team placed third overall.
The women’s team’s showing in particular was met with praise from Emory Head Coach John Curtin.
“The women’s team showed that they are really deep, which allows us to move kids around and run in different events,” Curtin said. “This way, they can get work they need in different events and still be competitive.”
The team’s effort was spearheaded by two event wins, the first coming from sophomore Gabrielle Stravach, who won the 1,500m run with a time of 4:45.15. The other Emory win came from the 4x400m relay team of juniors Alexa Young and Elizabeth Magno, sophomore Erica Goldman and freshman Hayley Moyer. The team posted a time of 4:01.99. Moyer also competed in the 400m hurdles, an event she only recently took up. Moyer finished fifth in the event at the meet with a time of 1:09.66. Curtin was especially impressed with Moyer’s time in the 400m hurdles.
“She had a really great initial performance and broke 70 seconds in her first ever 400m hurdle race, which is pretty unheard of,” Curtin said. “Being kind of late to the game and only working on hurdles for a couple weeks, her performance made her our athlete of the week.”
Curtin was also pleased with the number of personal bests by the women’s team, including senior Alexandra Aiello in the 100m, sophomore Gabrielle Rudolph in the steeplechase, freshman Clare Ubersax in the 800m and freshman Kaylee Slade in the 5,000m. Other impressive displays came from freshman Anne Marie Simeoneaux in the pole vault (3.05m), freshman Dilys Osei in the 100m hurdles (15.15) and freshman Arianna Newhouse in the 200m dash (25.74). Simeoneaux and Osei each placed second and Newhouse placed fourth.
On the men’s side, sophomore Daniel Pietsch won the 400m dash with a time of 48.64. The team excelled in field events, and senior Jack Siegel won both the shot put and discus. In the shot put, Siegel’s throw of 14.11m was a personal best and the third farthest in Emory history. His first place effort in the discus was 43.22m. Fellow senior Spencer Koh won the javelin event with a throw of 52.82m and added a season-best effort in the pole vault, finishing in third with a height of 4.45m, the fourth best in Emory history. Sophomore Max Brown added another season-best mark for the men’s team in the 800m run; his time of 1:55.80 earned second place.
Curtin was excited about the performance of both teams, especially since the gusty winds were an added complication for the athletes, particularly those running in distance events.
“The track sits out in a field, so there is nothing to guard it from the elements,” Curtin said. “Facing some really strong winds, relay exchanges were affected, and it’s hard to have fast times in distance events, because no one wants to break the wind and take early pace.”
The Eagles will compete in the Mountain Laurel Invitational at Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) on Friday, April 15. The Mountain Laurel meet is the team’s final meet before the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships for the outdoor season. The team can bring 30 men and 30 women to the event, and Curtin explained the importance of the Mountain Laurel Invitational for those competing for the final spots to the championship meet.
“Last weekend, a few people solidified a place from the edge, and this weekend is about the spots that are still up for grabs,” Curtin said. “With each roster spot, we want to get the most bang for our buck, which does not necessarily mean taking the fastest performer. If an event is not a strong conference event, then we may load up and send four people with opportunities to score. It is a balancing act, and our goal is to try to win a championship.”
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