The Emory University men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Chicago over the weekend, where they competed at the 2025 University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships from March 1-2. The men’s team finished in second place behind the University of Chicago (UChicago), while the women’s team came in third, trailing Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) (Mo.) and UChicago.
Although this was the final official UAA meet before the 2025 NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Eagles still have a chance to qualify. This weekend, the teams will compete again at the March 8 Tufts University Qualifying Meet in Medford, Mass.
Men’s team races to runner-up finish
The men’s track and field team finished second out of seven teams at the UAA Championships, claiming 12 All-UAA finishes and breaking program records along the way. Even though the Eagles fell short of the team UAA title, senior sprinter Jackson Price, who broke two personal records [PRs] at the meet, felt that the Eagles raced well collectively and is optimistic for the upcoming outdoor season.
“As a team, obviously we fell a little bit short of first place, which always stinks,” Price said. “But overall performance, tons of PRs and great races and a lot of good efforts, so we’ve got to be happy with what we did, but definitely aiming for first for outdoors.”
Junior sprinter and jumper Henry Brandstadter set the tone for the meet as the first to claim an individual title for the Eagles, winning the long jump with a mark of 7.26 meters. However, even after winning the long jump, Brandstadter was not done collecting accolades — he clocked in a 1.99-meter All-UAA high jump before winning the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.89 seconds. Senior sprinter Sam Ryba followed not far behind him, joining Brandstadter on the podium with a 6.95-second third-place finish in the 60-meter run. In the preliminary round for the race, Brandstadter and Ryba had both broken UAA and Emory records, clocking in at 6.86 and 6.90 seconds, respectively, before landing on the podium in the final.
Price added to the Eagles’ excellence in the sprints on day two of the competition, winning the 200-meter run with a time of 22.00 seconds. Brandstadter reached the podium again in this race, checking in at 22.33 seconds to round out a one-two finish for the Eagles. Price said the Eagles’ sprints results embody the way that he and his fellow sprinters make each other better during practice.
“I've been training with those two, [Ryba] the past three years and [Brandstadter] the past two, and they're great training partners,” Price said. “They're two incredibly fast dudes, and they help me be the best I can to race.”
Graduate sprinter Dawit Dean was uncatchable in the 800-meter run, turning in a time of 1:50.97, breaking both the UAA and program records. Dean was joined by first-years Ryan McGonigle and Joshua Han, as well as sophomore Sebastian Kou, in the 4x400-meter relay, where their time of 3:23.86 led to another third-place finish. In the distance medley relay, seniors Jonathan Orelowitz and Marcus Cheema teamed up with first year Ethan Lu and graduate student Scott Masterson to claim second place with a time of 10:09.00.
In the field events, first-year jumper Sam Gouvalaris earned All-UAA recognition with a 14.33-meter triple jump, and fellow first-year Ari Klasky claimed third in the shot put with a distance of 14.97 meters. Klasky also received All-UAA recognition in the shot put with a distance of 15.60 meters.
The Eagles ultimately secured second place in the meet with 142.5 points, while UChicago took the indoor UAA title with 164 points. As he closes out his final indoor season, Price said he is “grateful” for all the help he has received from his teammates and coaches.
“It's definitely sad, but at the same time, looking back on it, I'm very grateful for the time that I've had,” Price said. “To end my indoor conference on two PRs, I couldn't ask for anything more.”
Women’s team battles for third at UAAs
The Emory women’s track and field team got off to a quick start at the 2024 UAA Championships. Graduate student Nikki Boon set the tone early, winning the long jump with a distance of 5.70 meters. She followed up the event win with a third-place finish in 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.83 seconds. A multi-event athlete, Boon was also on the podium for the shot put, placing third with a 13.05-meter throw.
Senior distance runner Liesl Scherrer had a busy weekend, securing a second-place finish in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:09.42 on Saturday and a fifth-place finish in the 3000-meter run on Sunday. Reflecting on her big weekend on the track, Scherrer said she was happy to be able to fully take in her last UAA indoor meet as an Eagle.
“Now that I'm a senior, looking back, I wish I had been more happy with the fact that I'm at a huge meet and really soaking it all in,” Scherrer said. “When you're younger, you're trying to prove yourself and hit the time that you want and reach your goals. Now that I'm older, I realize it's not about that, it’s about making memories.”
Graduate sprinter Eva Carchidi also had a big meet, winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.74 seconds, 0.01 off of her own program-record time of 24.73, which she set the day prior during prelims. Carchidi also earned All-UAA honors in the 60-meter dash, coming in second place. Later, she was joined by seniors Kaya Binetti and Audrey Johnson and Boon in the 4x400-meter race, where they closed out the meet with a third-place finish with a time of 3:57.69.
In the middle-distance events, junior runner Madison Tiaffay placed second in the mile with a time of 4:55.45, also earning All-UAA honors in the event. In the field events, first-year jumper Amaya Grant placed third in the triple jump with a personal best of 11.56 meters.
The Eagles finished the meet with 112 points, trailing UChicago’s 160.5 and WashU’s 181. First-year sprinter Melayna Pettigrew said the competition helped the team build momentum as they gear up for the upcoming indoor nationals and outdoor season.
“UAAs was definitely a show of how close we've become as a team,” Pettigrew said. “Everyone was there, everyone was cheering. ... That really just brought us closer together, and it's gonna fuel us up for the outdoor season to really build off that team energy.”
Justin Guo (he/him) (25Ox, 27C) is double majoring in Biology and Film and Media on the pre-med track. He is from Cupertino, California and loves the San Francisco Giants and 49ers. He enjoys talking movies, traveling and swimming! His favorite thing to do in Atlanta is thrift at Little Five Points.
