The Eastern Michigan Eagles women’s track team traveled to Saginaw Valley State University for the Doug Hansen Open on Friday, Jan. 17. The Eagles competed in 11 events, including the 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 800-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, the one-mile run and much more.
To start off the day, EMU impressed in the 60-meter dash preliminaries. For the Eagles, senior Brittni Mason finished in first place with a final score of 7.78. Coming in just behind Mason for second place was Kolby Ganther with a time of 7.60. Alyson Davis, a freshman, was able to finish in third place with a 7.82.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, 11 different EMU athletes participated. The Eagles took first, second and third place with finishes from sophomore Mair Edwards (24.79), junior Keypathwa Gibson (25.06) and sophomore Tiffany Cernej-Garcia (25.10). EMU kept the momentum going with another great showing in the 800-meter race.
The Eagles grabbed first place again, this time from sophomore Chevonne Wheeler. Her final time was 2:20.47. The next event was the 60-meter hurdles competition and the Eagles were able to earn first and second place titles this time around. Alyse Wade and Angel Gazaway, both sophomores for EMU, finished with times of 8.71 and 8.82, respectively.
In the high jump event, the Eagles finished with first place, fourth place and fifth place. Quintella Johnson, a junior, earned a score of 1.59 meters. Nina Ward and Morgan Iverson did good enough to finish in the top-five as well. Graysen Simmons came in first place in the pole vault with a score of 3.42 meters.
The winning continued for the Eagles as sophomore Brenna Cavanaugh finished in first place in the long jump. Her score was 5.53 meters. Second place went to freshman Antonia Woods as she clocked in at 5.25 meters. Senior Gianna Salzbrunn tied for third place with a score of 5.20 meters. Fourth place went to freshman Nya Lakin with 5.12 meters.
EMU also got a first place title in the women’s shot put event. Miranda Cadwell, a freshman, scored a 13.24. In the weight throw event, which was the second to last of the day, junior Kadian Clarke finished with a score of 17.96 meters. Clarke is from Kingston, Jamaica.
The final event would be the one-mile run but the Eagles were not able to claim first place. EMU showcased their talents and athletic ability at the Doug Hansen Open and they will try to keep that going on Saturday, Jan. 25 as the Eagles will host the Can Am Classic. The event will take place all day.
EMU will then finish the regular season with four consecutive road trips as they will compete in the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind. on Friday, Feb. 7 and the following day. The next event will take place in Allendale, Mich. beginning on Friday, Feb. 14. The last two events will be in the Iowa State Classic and Silverston Invitational.
