Jordan King nearly broke the school record in the high jump, clearing 6-6.25ft, missing the record by 1.75inches. (Photo by Wayne Gehman)

New Marks Set in EMU All-Time Record Book at Commonwealth Duals

While the EMU track and field teams didn’t send full squads to the Commonwealth Duals Saturday in Lynchburg, the Royals did get some nice finishes.  The men saw a high jumper clear the second-best height in program history, while the women also had a handful of program top ten finishes.

Jordan King (Dalton, OH/Central Christian) won the high jump by two heights, clearing 1.99m (6-6.25ft).  His measurement also put him at the No. 2 spot on the EMU all-time list, behind only Phil Landes, who cleared 2.03m (6-8ft) in 1987.

Rich McBride (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) had a good day in the sprints.  He charted the No. 7 time in EMU history in the 200m dash, crossing in 22.73 seconds.  In the 100m dash, McBride took the No. 8 spot with a time of 11.22.

Distance runner Dan Nafziger (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) finished less than a quarter of a second behind Bridgewater’s Luke Sohl in the 800m run.  The senior’s time of 1:58.47 gave him sixth place at the duals, and the No. 8 spot in the EMU books.

Jonathan Bush (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) continued to impress in the 400m hurdles, as he set a new personal record at 58.15.  He was also part of a 4x100m relay team which took the seventh-best time in EMU history.  The team of Michael Allen (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County), McBride, Bush and Londen Wheeler (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) clocked at 44.00, also taking third at the event.

Philip Watson (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) was the top EMU finisher in the 400m with a time of 52.14.

Allen’s best leap in the long jump landed at 6.46m (21-2.5ft), but he fouled on all three attempts in the triple jump.

Aaron Sloan (Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) and Cody Walker (Salina, KS) both competed in the throws.  Sloan was the top Royal in the shot put at 11.36m (37-3.25ft), while Walker was ahead in the hammer throw at 21.97m (72-1ft).  Sloan also landed at 44.82m (147-0ft) in the javelin, for fourth at the meet.

The women’s team had fewer athletes participating, but freshman Hannah Chappell-Dick (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) flashed some top ten times in two events.  She tried her hand at the shorter distances Saturday and won the 400m dash with the fifth-best time in EMU history.  Chappell-Dick also ran the 200m dash, and finished with the No. 8 time in EMU’s books at 27.64 seconds.

Lanae Kreider (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) timed at 5:19.44 in the 1500m run, followed by teammate Hannah Clemmer (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) at 5:26.96.

In the throws, Alyssa Bane (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) set a new PR in the hammer throw, with her first heave landing at 34.43m (112-11ft).  She also had a distance of 27.17m (89-2ft) in the discus.

Becca Borg (Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) landed at 24.52m (80-5ft) in the discus and 26.80m (87-11ft) in the javelin.  Jenni Beck‘s (Archbold, OH/Archbold) best throw in the javelin measured at 19.90m (65-3ft).

Eastern Mennonite’s track teams return to Lynchburg next Saturday for the Liberty Invitational.  It will be their final tune-up for the ODAC Championships on April 19 & 20.