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.