The Eastern Michigan University track and field program secured six victories as 18 student-athletes recorded personal-best performances during the two-day event at the Elaine Leigh Invitational hosted by Oakland University.

EMU started off strong on Thursday, April 20, with the Eagles securing four of their six victories. The Eagles saw victory in the hammer throw as Miranda Caldwell (Plainfield, Illinois) won the competition with a best of 55.40 meters for the women’s team and Newlyn Stephenson (Gary, Indiana) repeated the win for the men’s side with a best of 60.83 meters.

The women’s side put on a stellar performance as Antonia Woods (Winchester, Ohio) grabbed first in the long jump, recording a personal-best of 5.87 meters. Micah Martin (Clinton Township, Michigan) also took first during the high jump with a personal-best of 1.65 meters. 

On Friday, April 21, the Eagles continued to dominate in the field events as Aleah Johnson (Botkins, Ohio) was number one in the discus with a toss of 39.28 meters, while Formula Thompson (St.Catherine, Jamaica) jumped to first place to post a new personal-best of 14.19 meters for the men’s triple jump. 

Isabella Brent (Dearborn Heights, Michigan) made EMU history, posting a personal-best mark of 52.11 meters during the women’s hammer, coming in as runner-up, ranking her seventh all-time. Recording another personal-record was Safeya Woolcock (Kingston, Jamaica) as she tossed the ball at 42.51 meters in the hammer contest. 

All three Eagles for the women’s pole vault finished in the top eight as Fluer van der Linden led the way with a career best mark of 3.75 meters which also placed her second on the current Mid-American Conference descending order list in 2023. Nicole Bow (Dexter, Michigan) finished eighth with a clearance of 3.45 meters. 

An additional seven personal-best were posted during the 1,500 meter races as the women’s side finished with four and the men’s side finished with three. 

On the women’s side, Sadie Williams (Charleston, South Carolina) and Ella Garvin (Indianapolis, Indiana) both recorded their personal-best for the third time as Williams finished with a time of 4:58.08 and Garvin with 5:07.77. Kiera Hansen(Freeland, Michigan) improved her record by 12 seconds finishing with a career mark of 5:01.55 while Elena Wheeler (Plymouth, Michigan) posted her personal-record of 5:09.47.

Tirecia Walcott (Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica) sprinted to second place in the women’s 200 dash as she recorded a new personal-record of 24.84. 

The men’s team concluded with Sam Peterson (Charlevoix, Michigan) running the race in 3:53.25, Brady Messer (Mason, Ohio) posting a time of 3:54.81 and Grant Sweningson(North Tustin, California) finishing with a time of 3:55.78. 

The Eagles will be headed to Lexington, Kentucky, to compete at the University of Kentucky’s Jim Green Invitational on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29. This will conclude the regular season before the 2023 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, May 11-13, in Akron, Ohio.

For more information on the EMU track and field program, you can listen to "TheBlockE Podcast" for updates and in-depth information on all EMU athletics.

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