The Eastern Michigan women’s track and field team placed first at the GVSU Open in Allendale on Friday, Jan. 21. Out of 11 teams, the Eagles finished in first place with 138.5 points.
During the 60m dash prelims, the Eagles had three top-five finishers, all earning a spot in the 60m dash finals. Junior Jasmine Jones finished in second place with a time of 7.72 seconds, sophomore Jessica Harris finished in fourth place with a time of 7.73, and freshman Britni Mason finished in fifth place with a time of 7.77. In the 60m dash finals, Mason finished second with a time of 7.70 seconds, Jones finished third with a time of 7.77, and Harris finished fifth with a time of 7.77.
In the 200m dash, the top three finishers were all Eagles, as Jasmine Jones finished in the top spot with a time of 24.55 seconds, freshman Micah Johnston finished in second place with a time of 25.36, and Britni Mason finished in third with a time of 25.57. Both Johnston and Mason put up personal bests in the 200m dash. In the 400m dash, the Eagles had another strong showing from Micah Johnston, as she finished in second place and put up a personal best time of 57.29 seconds. Senior Khadesha Jones also had a strong showing, finishing in third place with a time of 58.06 seconds.
In the 800m run, Eastern Michigan had two top-five finishers, as junior Rebekah Branham finished second with a time of 2:14.38 and junior Claire Mesa finished third with a time of 2:14.94, a personal best. Eastern Michigan dominated the mile run as five of the top-ten finishers were Eagles. Senior Alsu Bogdanova finished in first place with a time of 4:42.33, junior Natalie Cizmas finished in third place with a time of 4:44.13, a personal best, sophomore Sydney Meyers finished in fifth place with a time of 4:55.20, junior Danielle Bentzley finished in ninth place with a time of 5:02.51, and sophomore Allie Knoll finished in tenth place with a time of 5:04.05, a personal best. In the 3000m run and Alsu Bogdanova finished in first place with a time of 9:38.16, Natalie Cizmas finished in third place with a time of 9:52.66, a personal best. Freshman Abbigail Stemple also put up a personal best, finishing in 12th place with a time of 11:02.61. In the 4x400m relay, a group of Eagles finished in the top spot, as James, Branham, Mesa, and Sharpe finished with a time of 3:58.37.
In the 60m hurdles prelims, a pair of Eagles finished in the top two spots, both earning spots in the 60m hurdles finals, as junior Tifani Byrd finished first with a time of 8.82 seconds and senior Dayna Hurd finished second with a time of 8.86 seconds. Freshman Gianna Salzbrunn had a personal best time, finishing 11th overall with a time of 9.65 seconds. In the 60m hurdles finals, Tifani Byrd took home the top spot with a time of 8.82 seconds.
In the high jump, Eastern Michigan had two top-ten finishers, as freshman Aleah Bailey placed sixth with a jump of 1.55m and Gianna Salzbrunn placed tenth with a jump of 1.50m, a personal best. At the pole vault event, senior Natalie Uy place fourth with a mark of 3.8m, sophomore Rebekah Carr placed tenth with a mark of 3.35m, and freshman Kristine Bourg finished in 16th place with a mark of 3.05m. At the long jump, the Eagles had one top-five finisher, as junior Dace Dreimane finished in second place with a jump of 5.80m. Dace Dreimane took home the top spot in the triple jump with a mark of 12.26m and.
The Eagles had a strong showing at the GVSU Open, and look to use that momentum as they host the EMU Triangular on Saturday, January 28 here in Ypsilanti.
