The Emory No. 9-ranked NCAA Division III women’s and unranked men’s track and field teams recorded top finishes at the Berry Field Day Invitational at Berry College (Ga.) April 12 and 13. The women’s team earned 137.2 team points to finish first in a field of 18 teams, while the men’s team collected 95 team points to land them a second-place finish out of 17 teams.
The champion women’s team recorded a total of four event wins. Senior Paris Wagner posted season-high marks of 37.46m and 49.63m in the discus and hammer events, respectively, securing two event wins for the Eagles. Junior Isabel Saridakis continued her season-long hot streak with a school-record height of 3.80m on the pole vault to secure the event win, breaking the previous school record of 3.75m she previously set at the Emory Invitational three weeks ago. She now ranks sixth nationally in the event.
Senior Dani Bland, who was named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, collected an event win and a season-best time in the 200m dash with a time of 24.60. This time ranks second among Division III qualifiers. Bland also ran in the 4x100m relay with teammates senior Dilys Osei and sophomores Michelle Rosenblum and Rebekah Bondi, helping her team place second with a time of 48.28.
The men’s team secured two event wins with the help of sophomore Liam Fost, who posted a time of 48.39 to win the 400m dash and a 3:21.56 in the 4x400m relay along with junior Alex Rand, freshman Matthew White and sophomore Jacob Hedgepath.
“This weekend was definitely a confidence booster because we raced with the intent to beat whoever we were against, regardless of what the predictions on paper said,” Fost said of the outcome.
Fost recognized how important this mindset is going forward, especially with the UAA Championships on the horizon.
“Going into [UAA championships], there are multiple athletes ranked within the top 10 in the nation,” Fost added. “If I want to compete well against this level of competition, I have to believe that I’m good enough.”
On top of the event wins, Hedgepath added a second-place finish in the 800m run with a time of 1:56.26, while freshman Spencer Moore contributed another second-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:42.67.
The Eagles return to action at Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) and Georgia Institute of Technology April 19 and 20 respectively before competing in the UAA Championships April 27 and 28.
