EMU’s track & field women broke two more school records this weekend at the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in Lynchburg. Junior Alyssa Bane (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) and sophomore Hannah Chappell-Dick (Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) each broke one of their own marks at the large meet full of D-I, D-II and D-III athletes.
Chappell-Dick took second place in the 800m, and was easily the top D-III finisher, as she broke her own school record with a time of 2:12.95. Her record from last spring was 2:13.19. The next D-III runner was more than seven seconds behind Chappell-Dick. Juni Schirch (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) also had a solid finish in the event, crossing 13th in 2:26.95. She was third among runners from EMU’s level.
Bane also broke her own school mark in the hammer throw, landing at 39.28m (128-10ft). Her previous best was 38.43m (126-1ft), also set in 2013.
Krista Rittenhouse (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) moved into EMU’s top 10 in the 5000m, setting her PR at 19:37.29.
On the men’s side, the Royals had eight top-10 finishes and three new ODAC qualifiers.
The highest finish went to Jared Nisly (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), who ran the 3000m steeplechase and took fourth with a final time of 10:21.78. The finish pits him fifth in EMU history.
Meanwhile the 4x100m relay team crossed in fifth with a time of 43.69. Chris Miller (Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy), Alex Crespo (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside), Londen Wheeler (Nelson, Va./Nelson County) and Rashan Winters (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) combined for the No. 5 time in the program’s books.
Ryan Gehman (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and Jacob Landis (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) looked good in the 5000m, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. Gehman was the top D-III finisher in 15:45.92, while Landis was right behind in 15:48.88. Jordan Leaman (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) tallied 13th and was the fourth D-III runner with a time of 16:28.89.
In the 400m, Winters was seventh and the top D-III male with his time of 50.41. He earns a trip to the ODAC Championships with his finish and is sixth in program history. Philip Watson (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) was three spots behind Winters in tenth with a time of 51.74.
Tyler Denlinger (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) had an eighth-place finish in the 800m, timing at 1:57.54. Alec Thibodeaux (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) was just outside of the top 10 in 11th, with his finish of 1:59.31. He was also 11th in the 1500m in 4:07.30, qualifying for ODACs in the process.
Quentin Moore (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who joined the team with the recent completion of the men’s volleyball season, finished tenth with his first efforts in the long jump. He also earned a trip to the ODAC meet with a landing at 6.37m (20-10.75ft). Moore was also the top D-III finisher.
The Eastern Mennonite track teams are back in action next Saturday at the Mason Spring Invitational, hosted by D-I George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.