Over the weekend, the Emory University men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. from March 14-15. The women’s team scored 19 points to finish in ninth place, the third-ever top-10 finish in program history at the indoor championships, while the men’s team scored nine points to finish tied for 20th place.
Boon, 4x400 team lead women’s team to top-10 finish
The women’s team had a stellar performance at the championships, with top-10 finishes in several events. The standout performance came from graduate multi-event athlete Nikki Boon, who became the first Emory athlete to win the national championship in the indoor pentathlon. Her score of 4,061 marked the first time a women’s athlete at the DIII level scored over 4,000 in the indoor pentathlon.
Boon had top-three finishes in all five of her events, including a first-place finish in both the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.76 seconds and the shot put with a mark of 12.97 meters. Boon said staying level and not letting previous performances affect her were key to her consistency during the events.
“With the multi, it’s really just about focusing on one thing at a time,” Boon said. “You can’t let whatever is going to happen in the future impact you and you can’t let whatever just happened in previous events impact you. You just have to focus on whichever event you’re doing at the moment and try your best and mentally shut off everything else.”
Boon credited Emory track and field assistant coach Jessica Fritsche as her biggest helper in achieving the monumental feat.
“She has been a godsend gift to me,” Boon said. “She is the best coach I could wish for. We work so well together as a team, and I’m really excited to keep working towards outdoors with her.”
Boon also competed in the 4x400-meter relay with freshman sprinter Jada Kenner, senior sprinter Dashiel Tao Harris and fellow graduate student sprinter Eva Carchidi. Together, the group finished fifth overall with a season-best time of 3:48.54. Boon believes that a mixture of motivation and comfort gave the group an edge over opponents.
“We push each other in practice and we create a safe environment,” Boon said. “We create a very encouraging environment for each other where we can all thrive.”
Boon said the team doing so well was a testament to the strength of the athletes.
“That’s really impressive considering such a small amount of people that we took to the meet,” Boon said. “That just shows the quality of athletes that we have at Emory.”
Men’s team finishes in 20th with All-American finishes
Men's distance medley relay team poses after top 10 finish.
While the men’s track and field team ended the indoor championships in 20th place, the team added multiple All-American finishes on day one of the championships. Junior jumper and sprinter Henry Brandstadter finished with his second consecutive national indoor runner-up performance in the long jump with a mark of 7.51 meters. Additionally, the distance medley relay team of senior mid-distance runner Marcus Cheema, freshman mid-distance runner Ryan McGonigle, graduate student mid-distance runner Spencer Watry and graduate student mid-distance runner Scott Masterson placed 8th with a time of 9:57.26.
Brandstadter reflected on his performance in the long jump and said that while being the runner-up was not his goal, he knows he is making progress toward his aspiration of becoming a national champion.
“I’m heading in the right direction, even though I didn’t make my goals,” Brandstadter said. “I just gotta keep it up and then reflect on what can be done better — what will allow me to reach that goal of national champion in the long jump?”
McGonigle said becoming an All-American as the only freshman on the men’s distance medley relay team was especially memorable. He said his teammates’ experience was essential to his individual growth and their success as a team.
“It was a pretty interesting dynamic between the four of us,” McGonigle said. “They were all super experienced and they’re incredibly fast, and it kind of felt like I was just there for the ride, but they were great mentors.”
Brandstadter said that everyone on the team consistently supports one another.
“There’s communities within communities on our team, but even as a jumper, I can go out and support distance. That’s just how the team operates, especially at bigger meets,” Brandstadter said.
Brandstadter said he showed support for his teammates, including Boon, saying he was happy for her but was not surprised by her achievement.
“That’s a long time coming for her, especially after last year — two-time runner-up indoor and outdoor,” Brandstadter said. “Finally winning national titles is a huge thing and national record it’s incredible and something to look up to.”
As the team prepares to shift to the outdoor season, McGonigle said he is excited to learn more from the upperclassmen on the team.
“I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and experience and be around those seniors,” McGonigle said. “The speed and knowledge they have that I hopefully can take on so I can transfer that to the freshmen next year.”
Sammy Brodsky (28C) is majoring in QSS and minoring in Film and Media. He is from Phoenix, Arizona. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, rooting for Philadelphia sports teams, golfing, and analyzing music. He loves sports analytics and journalism, and is excited to see what he can do for the Wheel.
