The Eastern Michigan University track and field programs returned to their home turf this Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, to host the third annual Bob Parks Memorial at Bowen Field House. It was a day defined by high emotion and elite performance as the Eagles honored their graduating class while setting a string of wins and collegiate personal bests.
Before the starting pistols fired for the afternoon's running events, the program paused to celebrate its senior class, recognizing 11 student-athletes for their contributions to EMU track and field. The men's honorees included Josh Flake, Carson McCoy and Sam Peterson, while the women's ceremony highlighted Aleah Johnson, Lena Korte, Alimot Alowonle, Tijana Japundzic, Micah Martin, Natalie Buratczuk, Ruby Wyles and Cara Weber.
Field events reach new heights
Sophomore Mariah Taylor provided one of the meet's most significant highlights in the triple jump. Taylor leaped to a massive personal-best mark of 12.49m (40-11.75), which secured first place and earned her the No. 63 spot in the current NCAA rankings. This performance followed her previous program Top 10 mark set just a week earlier at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational.
The jumps continued to be a gold mine for the Eagles. In the women’s long jump, sophomore Shay Clemetson took the top spot with a 5.71m leap, leading a strong Eastern contingent where Ashtan Winfrey placed third with 5.54m and Kaydence Doxley finished fourth with 5.30m. On the men’s side, Lucky Ezechukwuchiri dominated the triple jump with a first-place bound of 13.91m, while freshman Tanner Schick cleared 1.95m to win the high jump. Junior Megan Rybitski also delivered a podium performance, taking second in the pole vault with a 3.75m clearance.
Sprint and hurdle speed on display
The sprints were headlined by junior Bamidele Ajayi, who proved unbeatable in the short sprints. Ajayi captured gold in the 60m dash with a personal-best time of 6.82 seconds and followed it up with another victory in the 200m collegiate, clocking in at 21.96. He was joined on the 200m podium by teammates Leo Ignacio, who came in at 22.15, and freshman Jamyle Anderson at 22.30, completing an EMU sweep of the top three spots.
The women’s sprint events featured a razor-thin finish in the 200m. Freshman Jordynn Young took first place with a time of 25.29.284, narrowly edging out teammate Ajah Arscott, who finished second with an identical 25.29.286. Young also impressed in the 60m dash, securing a second-place finish in 7.65 seconds.
In the hurdles, Michael Davis-Hawkins continued his strong season by winning the 60m hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.00 seconds. Leo Ignacio finished right behind him in second place with his own PR of 8.17. For the women, Nikol Antoniadi led the way with a silver-medal finish in the 60m hurdles, clocking 8.86 seconds.
Mid-distance and distance excellence
The Eagles' middle-distance squad showed depth and grit throughout the afternoon. Junior Sophie Emin won the 800m collegiate in a personal-best 2:12.81, with Demetria Henderson taking second in 2:20.80. In the mile, sophomore Jimmy Geller secured a first-place finish with a PR of 4:10.18, leading senior Sam Peterson, who came in at 4:14.6,5 and Nicholas Kline at 4:22.64 to a 1-2-3 EMU finish.
Other notable distance performances included sophomore Liv Hatch, who ran a PR of 5:09.80 for second place in the women’s mile, and senior Cara Weber, who placed third in the 3000m with a time of 10:38.19.
Freshman Alba Vinals Calixto also stood out by winning the 400m dash in 56.83, part of another EMU sweep where Josephine Oloye finished second with 57.91, and Liusmar Rivas Velasquez came in third at a time of 58.61.
Looking ahead
Following this successful home stand, the Eagles will hit the road for split-squad action on Jan. 30-31. Part of the team will head to South Bend for the Meyo Invitational, while others will compete at the Jet’s Pizza Invitational hosted by Saginaw Valley State University. Based on the results from the Bob Parks Memorial, Eastern Michigan is carrying significant momentum into the heart of the indoor season.
