The Emory University Track and Field team kicked off its outdoor campaign this weekend, hosting the Emory Invitational at the Woodruff Physical Education Center on Friday and Saturday.  The Emory men finished in third place out of 23 teams, while the women's squad claimed fifth place out of 25 teams.

In one of the largest meets ever hosted by Emory, the men's squad accumulated 73 points, finishing behind only Marian University (Ind.), which registered 106 points, and Kennesaw State University, which scored 83.  Rounding out the top-five squads were Clayton State University (68 points) and Hope College (58 points).

On the women's side, the Eagles finished the meet with 59.5 points, taking home fifth place behind Kennesaw State (175 points), Hope (76 points), Brenau College (70.50 points), and the University of Wisconsin – Stout (62.5 points).

Emory registered three first-place finishes during the meet.  For the women, senior Meredith Lorch won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:36.58, while junior Electra Korn was victorious in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 1:03.74.  In addition, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of junior Zachary Rosenberg, sophomore Adam Rabushka, junior Gui Silva and sophomore Maxwell Hoberman won the event with a time of 3:19.50.

During the first day of competition, Emory's 4x800-meter relay team of sophomore Josh Traynelis, junior Patrick Crews, senior William Matheson and freshman Walker Marsh finished second, recording a time of 7:51.24, the fifth-fastest in school history.  Adding an individual second-place finish for the Emory men was Hoberman, who was the runner-up in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.31 seconds. 

Other scoring performances (top-eight finishes) for the Emory men came from Rabushka in the 400-meter hurdles (fourth, 55.77 seconds) and 110-meter hurdles (fourth, 15.71 seconds), senior Brandon Bassell in the high jump (sixth, 1.75 meters), sophomore Spencer Koh (fifth, 47.37 meters) and junior James Bassen (sixth, 46.00 seconds) in the javelin throw, senior Mike Moserowitz in the triple jump (seventh, 13.15 meters), freshman Dennis Kamara in the 100-meter dash (eighth, 11.15 seconds), Rosenberg in the 400-meter dash (seventh, 50.25 seconds), Matheson in the 800-meter run (eighth, 1:57.17), freshman Christian Johnson in the 1,500-meter run (eighth, 4:02.36), junior Ankush Mohile in the 110-meter hurdles (seventh, 16.32 seconds), sophomore Jacob Seigel in the discus throw (eighth, 41.75 meters), the 4x800-meter relay team of junior Kevin Delaney, senior Eric Weiner, sophomore Andrew Hemingway, and freshman Jake Schlessinger (fourth, 8:00.31), the distance medley relay team of Johnson, freshman Grant Murphy, freshman Ian McIsaac and freshman Samuel Cohen, and two 4x100-meter relays teams – senior Samuel Jean-Baptiste, Kamara, Silva and Hoberman (fourth, 42.83 seconds) and junior Evan Rhea, Moserowitz, Koh and Rosenberg (seventh, 43.43 seconds).

For the women, junior Tamara Surtees finished as the runner-up in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:51.65, while senior Emily Caesar claimed fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.94.  Junior Katie Wilson was third in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.55 meters, while the women's distance medley relay team of junior Marissa Gogniat, sophomore Julie Williamson, junior June Ilowite and freshman Elizabeth Magno finished third as well with a time of 13:01.86.

Adding on scoring finishes for the Emory women were junior Hannah Parra (sixth, 1:08.46) and junior Hannah Smith (eighth, 1:09.02) in the 400-meter hurdles, senior Hope Olszewski in the javelin throw (fifth, 32.45 meters), freshman Sophie Cemaj in the 10,000-meter run (sixth, 40:59.39), junior Ulrica Tull in the hammer throw (sixth, 41.45 meters), and junior Elaina Kim in the pole vault (eighth, 3.15 meters).

Emory will be back in action next weekend, hosting its second and final home meet of the 2014 outdoor season, the Emory Classic, on Friday, March 28^th and Saturday, March 29^th at the Woodruff Physical Education Center.