2011 Season Recap: Emory Men’s Outdoor Track & Field

The Emory University men’s outdoor track and field team saw three of its athletes record NCAA provisional qualifying times and set two school records during the 2011 season, in addition to a fourth place finish at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships.

Junior Ian Francis was Emory’s lone representative at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 18^th in the triple jump.  Francis qualified for the NCAA Championships with a jump of 14.52 meters to win the triple jump at the UAA Championships, a career best and one of two provisional qualifying distances in the event during the season for Francis.

Although they were not selected to compete at the NCAA Division III Championships, two other Eagles recorded NCAA provisional qualifying marks during the season.  Senior Everett Bryant ran a provisional time of 14.81 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at the UAA Championships.  Xavier Fowler added a provisional qualifying distance of 14.45 meters in the triple jump, a career best for the junior.

Two Emory outdoor track and field records were set during the season by Eagles.  Sophomore Tony Lombardo cleared a height of 4.60 meters in the pole vault, besting the previous school record of 4.57 meters, which had been in place for 26 years.  During the season, Lombardo recorded three of the top-10 pole vault performances in the program’s history.  In addition, the Eagles’ 4x800-meter relay team of freshman Cameron Edwards, senior Kevin Lanza, junior Aaron Gregg and senior Jason Campbell set a program record with a time of 7:46.94 at the UAA Championships.

Junior thrower Ben Euwer took a major step forward in 2011, recording the seventh-best hammer throw in school history, with a season-best distance of 47.95 meters at the Furman Invitational.  He also set two of the top-10 shot put marks in school history, including a distance of 13.56 meters at the Emory Classic, the eighth-best mark ever by an Eagle.

The Eagles finished fourth at the 2011 UAA Championships, scoring 106 points during the meet.  Washington University won the conference title with 216 points, followed by the University of Chicago (162 points) and Carnegie Mellon University (107.5 points).  Francis’ win in the triple jump was the only individual conference title for the Eagles, but Emory also claimed all-UAA honors (awarded for a top-three finish) from seven individuals and two relays.

The Eagles also finished second out of 14 teams at the Emory Invitational, second out of 15 teams at the Emory Classic, and third out of 15 teams at the Gem of the Hills Invitational.

The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2011 outdoor season:

The following were the top marks by Emory athletes during the 2010-11 outdoor season:

*P – NCAA Provisional Qualifying Mark
*E – Emory Record