Competing at the Gem of the Hills Invitational at Jacksonville State University this weekend, the Emory University men’s track and field team recorded a third-place finish, while the women placed third.

The Eagles’ men finished with 103 points scored during the meet, finishing only behind Morehouse College (157 points) and Stillman College (116 points).  The women ended the meet with 39 points scored.

The Emory men once again scored big in the field events.  Emory’s Xavier Fowler claimed second place in the triple jump with a leap of 14.09 meters, while Ian Francis was right behind him, claiming third with a jump of 14.07 meters.  Tony Lombardo claimed a victory over a small field of competitors in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.40 meters, and Brad Pruente finished third in the high jump by clearing the bar at 1.80 meters.

Ben Euwer paced the Eagles in the throwing events by winning the hammer throw (46.17 meters), finishing second in the shot put (13.29 meters), and fourth in both the discus throw (39.14 meters) and the javelin throw (46.06 meters).

The top finish in the running events for the Emory men came from the Eagles’ 4x100-meter relay team of Jide Lawal, Pat Lanter, Everett Bryant and Courtlandt Perkins, who finished fourth with a time of 43.96 seconds.  Other strong performances during the day included Nathan Gordon’s fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:05.89), and sixth-place finishes from Isaac Chambers in the 400-meter dash (50.88 seconds), Manvir Heir in the 1,500-meter run (4:20.77), Bryant in the 110-meter hurdles (16.01 seconds) and the Eagles’ 4x400-meter relay team of Chambers, Jason Campbell, Francis and Mike Moserowitz (3:26.29).

The top finish of the day for the women also came from the 4x100-meter relay team, as Jasmine McCullough, Alycia Adams, Morgan Monroe, and Alicia Reynolds finished third with a time of 48.95 seconds, just three tenths of a second away from a provisional qualifying time. 

The Eagles did get a provisional qualifying mark from Lauren Attiah in the triple jump, as the junior reached a distance of 11.42 meters in the event, finishing fourth overall.  Attiah was also Emory’s top finisher with a 17^th-place finish in the 200-meter dash (26.65 seconds), a sixth-place finish in the high jump (1.50 meters), and a seventh-place finish in the long jump (5.22 meters).

Adding to the Eagles’ success in field events was Theresa Ford, who tied for sixth with Attiah in the high jump by clearing the bar at 1.50 meters, in addition to a fifth-place finish in the discus throw (34.29 meters), a ninth-place finish in the long jump (5.07 meters), and a 10^th-place finish in the javelin throw (27.32 meters).

Other top finishes on the day for the Emory women included Meredith Lorch’s fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:12.31), fifth-place finishes from Charlotte Diggs in the 400-meter hurdles (1:06.55) and the Eagles’ 4x400-meter relay team of Adams, Laura Lambie-Hanson, Kaele Leonard and Reynolds (4:04.60), and a sixth-place finish from Emily Caesar in the 800-meter run (2:23.74).

Up next for the Emory Track and Field team will be the Duke Invitational in Raleigh, NC, next Friday and Saturday, April 8^th and 9^th.