Sophomores Victoria Voronko, Cameron Bolton and redshirt sophomore Warren Witchell highlighted 19 top-five finishes for the Eastern Michigan University men’s and women’s track and field teams at the Sea Ray Relays which took place in Knoxville, Tenn., this past weekend.
Voronko broke her own record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing the race first in 10 minutes, 23.23 seconds.
Voronko’s previous record was 10:30.41, set last season at the NCAA Championships East Preliminary Round.
Bolton crossed the finish line second in the 400 dash with a 47.74.
In the 10,000 run, Witchell finished in 30:30.95, good enough for third.
“I was really happy about my time but I am going to train harder to get my times down,” Witchell said.
Junior Grzegorz Kalinowski ran a 3:49.19 in the showcase division of the 1,500 run and placed fourth.
In the 4×100 relay, Bolton, junior Chris Scott, freshman Wayne Blanchard and senior Jay Saunders finished fourth in 41.12.
Kalinowski, freshman Tyler Ross, junior co-captain Josh George and freshman Scott Bradley placed fourth in the 4×800 relay with a time of 7:34.72.
Junior Max Babits pole vaulted 17 feet, 3/4 inches, which is a new personal best and is the fourth-best mark in EMU laurels.
George finished with a time of 1:53.50 in the 800 run, good enough for fifth.
In the 3,000 steeplechase, redshirt junior Nick Petro finished in fifth with a time of 9:14.72.
Sophomore Darrell Butler also finished fifth in the 400 hurdles, crossing the line in 52.90.
In the high jump, senior co-captain Tatijana Jacobson leaped 5 feet, 8.75 inches to take home first.
Senior Rachel Quaintance captured her first win of the season as she outpaced the field in the 5,000 dash with a time of 17:37.71.
In the pole vault, freshman Alysha Newman tied a new Canadian Junior National Outdoor record by leaping 13 feet, 9.25 inches, good enough for the victory.
Sophomore Lydia Gomez-Diaz finished fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 177 feet, 1 inch.
In the 400 hurdles, senior Asia Rawls finished in second with a time of 59.89.
Freshman Makeda DeBardelaben leaped 39 feet, 11.25 inches in the triple jump, good enough to take fifth.
In the 1,500 run showcase, senior co-captain Morgan Churchwell qualified for the Mid-American Conference outdoor championships with a third place finish in 4:31.38, a personal best.
Freshmen Vanessa Clerveaux, Aaliyah McKinney, Morgan Yeadon and sophomore Danielle Clark finished fourth in the 4×100 relay in 45.98.
In the 4×1,500 relay, Churchwell, Voronko, Quaintance and sophomore Marina Manjon-Rivadulla
took second with a time of 18:43.52.
Meet notes:
The event took place from Thursday to Saturday on the campus of the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium, site of the 1995 NCAA Championships as well as numerous USA track and field championships.
This was EMU’s first trip back to the Sea Ray Relays since April 9-10, 2010.
Looking ahead:
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be back home to host EMU’s only home outdoor meet of the season in the EMU Twilight at the Olds/Marshall Track on April 19 and 20.
The meet will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday and admission is free.
You can follow the action on www.emueagles.com.
The following week, the men will travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for the Central Michigan University Invitational on April 27, while the women will be in Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays from April 25-27.
The Penn Relays will take place on April 27 in Philadelphia. Some of the members of the men’s team will make the trip, while the others will be at the CMU Invitational.
