The Eastern Michigan University’s track and field program saw 10 top ten finishes and eight personal bests over the weekend. The Eagles traveled to California to compete in the Mt. SAC Relays at Mt. San Antonio College, the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University and the Beach Invitational at Long Beach State University.
Eddie Zuercher (Rocky River, Ohio) led the Eagles at the Mt. SAC Relays as he placed third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:01.62. Newlyn Stephenson (Gary, Indiana) placed second in the hammer throw with a toss of 63.93 meters.
The 4x100m relay team consisting of Almighty Williamson (Baltimore, Maryland), Kaleb Simpson (Bexley, Ohio), Kyle Martin (Ypsilanti, Michigan) and Richie Sadler (Greenville, South Carolina) placed fourth in the meet with a time of 40.25, marking the sixth-fastest time in EMU history.
Simpson also grabbed fifth place in the 200 meters in 21.18 and 10th place in the 100 meters with a time of 10:43.
Yvan Lopes Riberio (Nice, France) placed fourth in the long jump as Brendan Hill (Huber Heights, Ohio) finished 10th in the high jump. Hill also came in seventh for the high jump-A contest for the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Dante Lander (Dayton,Ohio) placed sixth in the 400 meter hurdles while Payne Wylie (Elstow, Saskatchewan) finished the 110 meter in 14.54 in eighth place. Toby Gaulter (Tawa, New Zealand) also placed eighth but in the 5,000 meters with a new personal best of 13:53.25.
On the women's side, the 4x400m relay team with Angel Gazaway (Cincinnati,Ohio) , Mair Edwards (Basingstoke, England), Cheboone Wheeler (Redford, Michigan), and Noriyah Johnson (Chania, Greece) completed the race in eighth place in 3:42.30.
Gazaway led the women’s team recording a new personal best time of 59.91 with a fourth place win in the 400 meter hurdles while placing sixth in the 100 meter 13.61 seconds. The Ohio native is now the seventh woman to finish the 400m race in under 60 seconds, ranking the seventh-fastest time in EMU history.
Micah Martin (Clinton Township, MI) put on a stellar performance placing sixth with a personal best of 1.68 meters in the high jump.
In the discus, Miranda Caldwell (Plainfield, Illinois) finished eighth with a throw of 43.68 meters. Kyra Buffen (Columbus, Ohio) placed fifth in the triple jump at the Long Beach Invitational with a personal record of 12.31 meters.
Fluer van der Linden (Drunen, Netherlands) posted a personal best 3.60 meters perfect for third place in the pole vault C at the Bryan Clay Invitational while Marta Moreno (Wassaner, Netherlands) placed third in the 1,500 meters. Maura Lane (Cary, North Carolina) finished the pole vault B in seventh placing matching Linden’s 3.60 meters.
Up next, the Eagles are set to run at the University of Michigan in the Len Paddock Open on Saturday, April 22.
For more information on the Eastern Michigan Track and Field team, you can listen to “TheBlockE Podcast” for updates and in-depth information on all EMU athletics.
