Emory University’s men’s and women’s track and field teams are looking to build on last year’s successful season and continue their forward trajectory ahead of the upcoming University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Championships on March 1. Last season, the men’s team earned a historic 10th-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships — the best in program history — while the women’s team finished 24th.
On Jan. 31, the teams traveled to the University of South Carolina to compete in the South Carolina Indoor Open, in which teams from all three collegiate divisions competed against each other. The men’s team placed highly in many events, including a first-place finish in the 600-meter dash from graduate sprinter Dawit Dean, who set the program record with a time of 1:20.70. Junior jumper Henry Brandstadter took first place in the long jump, and the distance medley relay team of sophomore runners Kirin Karver and Sebastian Kou and senior runners Chris Belz and Jonathan Orelowitz also claimed the top spot.
The women’s team also had a strong showing in South Carolina. Graduate sprinter Eva Carchidi set a program record by running a time of 24.77 in the 200-meter dash. Freshman runner Rowan Miller and senior runner Liesl Scherrer finished first in the 800-meter run and 3000-meter run, respectively. Junior runner Madison Tiaffay won the mile run with a time of 5:04.05.
Sophomore Hannah Riley had an impressive individual showing during the meet as well, winning the pole vault with a mark of 3.53 meters and earning a 5th-place finish in the 800-meter run. Riley said support from her coaches has helped her succeed in balancing running and vaulting.
“It’s definitely sometimes very difficult but luckily the coaches kind of schedule me out,” Riley said. “This semester I pole vault Monday and Wednesday, and then I get to pick what I need to do for pre-meet … We definitely have had to work on it over the last year and figure out what really works.”
Since the South Carolina Indoor Open, the teams have continued to hit impressive marks. Junior pole vaulter Steven Ditelberg set the men’s program record in his event twice this season, breaking the record first at the Camel City Invitational on Feb. 7 with a 4.55-meter jump, then clearing 4.67 meters at the Bulldog Invitational a week later. Freshman thrower Ari Klasky also set a new men’s program shot put record with a distance of 15.06 meters at the Tiger Indoor Open on Feb. 1.
Senior runner Marcus Cheema said these regular season meets are important for helping the team prepare for the postseason, including the upcoming UAA conference meet and the NCAA championships.
“It’s kind of rare at these regular [season] meets that you go out and see people taking a complete win,” Cheema said. “Sometimes you go against some DI schools, sometimes you go against competition that maybe you’re not used to, maybe you’re not ready for. That is something that is going to help when the time comes to actually go to UAA meets and national meets.”
Cheema is primarily a middle-distance runner for the team, with a heavy focus on the 800-meter run, one of the more strategic events. He said the indoor season presents its own set of challenges, especially with tighter turns on the track.
“One of the things that I always try to do is position myself right on somebody in the top half of the race,” Cheema said. “It is really difficult for people behind you to get around unless they want to go into lane three or something. So [my] biggest strategies that I incorporate are making sure I'm racing smart, making sure I'm kind of in control of my own emotions during a race.”
This year, both teams added a large freshman class, including jumper Emerson Sobich. Sobich said the upperclassmen have helped the freshmen complete a smooth transition to the college level for their first indoor track season using a buddy system.
“You’re a baby Eagle, they’re a big Eagle and you get split into groups,” Sobich said. “We eat together and they’re really nice and they give you good advice about classes and they help you during lifts and practice if you’re confused, so that’s been really nice.”
Freshman sprinter Ethan Lu said the school records provide motivation for him to push himself during his Emory track career.
“It’s kind of far-fetched, but when I was coming into school, I was looking at the school records and I’d like to at least have one school record,” Lu said. “It doesn’t really matter what event it’s in, but it’d be nice if I could get one over four years.”
Riley, who competes as both a pole vaulter and sprinter, said the camaraderie of the teams across all events will play a very important role in shaping the rest of their indoor season.
“One of our team goals is to be very supportive of everyone this season,” Riley said. “Especially the field events and the throws feel very separate from track, so that's definitely one of our goals as well as just to have a good season overall, work really hard and put up good performances individually.”
Emory’s indoor track teams will head to Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) on Feb. 22 to compete in their final meet before the UAA Championships at the University of Chicago in March.
