Emory’s men’s and women’s track and field teams headed to East Tennessee University this past weekend to compete in the Buccaneer Invitational, which featured schools across all NCAA Divisions. There was no team scoring at the invitational, but Emory saw excellent individual performances.
“We knew the guys we were racing were fast,” senior Kyle Veater said. “But [this invitational] was a good way for us to get faster times and we did see a lot of good performances on our part.”
At the start of the invitational, junior Max Brown lead the way for the men, placing third in the Distance Medley relay with a time of 10:26.84 along with teammates freshman Samuel Branson, senior Michael McBane and fellow junior Robert Wilhelm, III. Brown remained on top of his game the next day, running 1:54.37 in the 800 meter, a fourth place finish as well as the seventh-fastest time in the school’s history. Also crossing with a strong finish this weekend for the men’s team was Veater. Coming in at No. 34 in the 60 meter and No. 26 in the 200 meter, Veater ran 7.20 and 22.79, respectively, capturing Emory’s fastest time of the season for the 200 meter. The second day of the invitational saw some notable finishes in the distance events, as Branson came in sixth in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:47.04. Later in the day, junior Phil Edwards took home eighth overall in the mile with a time of 4:26.71. Solid performances in the field events included freshman Michael Battat’s sixth-place finish in the long jump, clearing 6.50 meters.
“We have a lot of freshman talent this year,” Veater said. “So far everyone is really stepping up and giving it their all, which is really where I attribute a lot of our progress.”
On the women’s side, senior Michelle Kagei raced wellwell in the 5000 meter run, pulling off second place with a time of 18:18.36, her seasonal best. Western Carolina University's (N.C.) freshman Shawnda Martin bested Kagei by a mere 0.63 seconds to claim first. Finishing sixth overall in the distance medley relay was sophomore Claire Ubersax and freshmen trio Jordan Burgess, Nicole Steiner and Ileana Zeissner. The foursome crossed the finish line at 13:04.78, a new season’s best. Individually, Ubersax also recorded a time of 5:19.60 in the mile, securing eighth place. Sophomore Jordan Small stood out in the high jump after clearing a 1.55 meter mark for eleventh place.
As the indoor season progresses, the Eagles continue to work hard during practices, mostly on form and speed work in addition to muscular and cardio training.
“The form and speed training has definitely helped us to improve our times overall,” Veater said. “But regardless of performance, everyone keeps [a] good attitude which may be even more important. We all know what we need to work on and what we need to take into practice to do better in the future.”
The Eagles will head to Sewanee, Tennessee Feb. 10 to compete in the Samford Invitational and Tiger Indoor Invitational. They will then compete at the University Athletic Association Indoor Championships held at Brandeis University (Mass.) March 25 and 26.
“Our biggest goal right now is to win the UAA conference, and we’re quite optimistic,” Veater said. “We’re all there mentally, and super motivated. None of us needs to be reminded of how it feels to come so close to winning and [ultimately losing] in the end. The drive is definitely there and everyone has their heart in the right place. It would be really good to achieve another men’s and women’s victory.”
