The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the 23rd annual Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., over the weekend, placing in several events.
The men and women were up against competition from around the country, squaring off against the likes of Alabama, Purdue, Missouri, Illinois and others.
For the men, David Brent ran a 4:00.89 in the one-mile run, which was good for the ninth-fastest in the nation. The performance gave Brent an NCAA automatic qualifier mark, the first for EMU this year.
Vanier Joseph, a freshman competing in his fourth collegiate meet, took second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.97. Clint Allen also ran well for the Eagles, taking third place in the 60 dash with a time of 6.70.
For the women, Ashlee Abraham placed fourth in the 60 with a time of 7.55 seconds, an event that had 60 competitors.
Shade St. Louis and Asia Rawls also placed for the Eagles, finishing third and fourth in the 500 dash, respectively. Rawls also ran a personal best in the 400.
ReJeana Marigna also had a strong showing, placing fifth in the 300 with a time of 39.53.
The men and women are set to hit the road again this Saturday, traveling to Ohio for the Akron Invitational.
Men’s and women’s swim drop contests in Ohio
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Ohio over the weekend, the men losing to No. 9 Ohio State University, 177-112, and the women dropping their contest against Mid-American Conference opponent Ohio University, 151-149.
The men started off the competition Friday at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion against a top-ranked Ohio State squad. The Buckeyes came out of the gate strong, swimming to victories in the first nine events before EMU’s Jacob Hanson came through with a win in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.28.
Other wins for the men included Justin Griggs’ victory in the 100 butterfly, Carlos Nunez in the 200 individual medley and Keith Coghlan in the 500 free. The 400 freestyle relay team of Griggs, Hanson, Jake Heyblom and Matt Zavislak also won.
The contest was the last for the Eagles in their regular season, as the team has nearly a month off until it competes in the MAC Championships at Jones Natatorium, March 4-6.
The women’s team narrowly lost to Ohio on Saturday but had several strong showings in the process, winning nine of the 16 events.
Briana Emig took home a first in the 1,000 and 500 freestyle, and Sarah Maraskine got victories in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Sarah Kowalski was first in the 100 freestyle and third in the 50 freestyle.
Next up for the women are the MAC Championships Feb. 24-27, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
