Alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members showed up in large numbers for the Track & Field Complex Dedication on Saturday, Oct. 12 during EMU’s 2024 Homecoming and Family Weekend.
Kirk Shisler ‘81, vice president for advancement, introduced alumni in attendance spanning eight decades. Among them were Bob Hostetler ‘59 who “still runs the 100-meter dash like a jackrabbit,” according to Shisler; Roland Landes, an EMU cross-country coach for nine seasons starting in the ’60s and a 2024 Hall of Honor inductee; Hannah Chappell Dick ‘16, a five-time NCAA DIII All-American EMU runner with countless awards and seven school records; and Ryan Gehman ‘16, a star EMU runner, advocate, and speaker at the 2023 EMU TenTalks.
The program also featured remarks from Carrie Bert ‘97, director of athletics; Ray Ray Taylor, MS ‘24, an All-American track and field athlete; and Jim ‘68 and Gloria Horst Rosenberger ‘70 who put forth an early gift of $600,000 and a recent $400,000 challenge fund to encourage support for the track and field.
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More than $4 million has been raised toward the $6 million campaign goal. President Susan Schultz Huxman thanked the “salt-of-the-earth, visionary supporters who stepped up with unwavering conviction going back nearly a decade.” And with student-athletes making up 43 percent of the first-year student population, she said it has been a long time coming.
Before attendees could set foot on the new track, Laura Rosenberger ’03 (EMU pole vault record holder for 21 years) and sophomore Micah Mast did a symbolic run with a pole, followed by a ceremonial relay lap with alumni, donors, students, and faculty/staff. These served as a “passing of the baton” to future generations of athletes who will use this state-of-the-art complex for years to come.
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