Powered by a national championship winning performance by senior Dilys Osei in the 400m hurdles, the Emory University women's track and field program secured its second consecutive top-seven finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, a first-ever feat for the program.
The national championship by Osei marked the second-ever outdoor track title in team history and the first since Sarah Byrd won the steeplechase in 2002. Osei captured gold with an incredible finish down the home stretch as she edged out Bella Solis of Loras College by just .04 seconds. Osei's winning mark of 58.98 was the second fastest winning time ever at the national meet and the third fastest time recorded in Division III history.
In addition to Osei, the Eagles earned All-America honors in four different events including individual performances by senior Dani Bland and junior Isabel Saridakis. Bland posted her second straight national runner-up finish in the 100m dash while Saridakis became the first-ever Emory All-American in the pole vault as she finished in fifth.
In the 4x100m relay, Osei, Bland along with sophomore Rebekah Bondi and freshman Hannah Lansberry nearly captured the team's first relay national championship, holding a slight edge in the race before being overtaken by Loras and RIC during the final few meters. The team still registered a third place finish in the event, second-best in program history, with a school record time of 46.37.
The Eagles rounded out the All-America honors with the team's third podium finish in the past four seasons in the 4x400m relay as Osei, Lansberry, senior Ariana Newhouse and sophomore Michelle Rosenblum came in eighth place.
The All-America honors gave Bland and Osei 12 and 10, respectively, in their impressive track careers, which mark the first and second highest totals in team history.
A month earlier, the Eagles turned in their third straight third place finish at the UAA Outdoor Championships as Emory served as the host institution for the meet. The Eagles, as a team, saw five event championships and 12 All-UAA finishes.
Bland claimed her second consecutive outdoor, and third combined, Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Year award as she won a pair of individual titles in the 100m and 200m dashes and was part of both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays that won gold.
Osei added an individual conference title in the 400m hurdles and assisted Bland on both relay championships. Joining Bland and Osei on the 4x100m relay title team was Bondi and Rosenblum and on the 4x400m relay squad was Rosenblum and Lansberry.
Also reaching the podium at the conference meet was Bondi (100m dash), Lansberry (400m dash), Osei (100m hurdles), sophomore Taylor Robinson (javlin), Saridakis (pole vault), senior Paris Wagner (hammer) and sophomore Laura Sheckter (shot put).
Interim Head Coach Derek Nelson and 11 Eagles were recognized by the USTFCCCA at season's end as the team finished as the highest ranked program in the South/Southeast All-Region rankings. Nelson was chosen as the region's Coach of the Year while the team saw 21 All-Region selections spread out over the 11 student-athletes.
Rounding out the seasonal honors for the Eagles were Bland and Newhouse as the duo collected Academic All-District honors as presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). In addition, both student-athletes were chosen as Academic All-American by the organization, becoming the 12th and 13th members in program history to be bestowed with the award.
The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2019 season:
NCAA Division III National Champion |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
400m Hurdles |
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All-America (Top-8 Finisher at NCAA Division III Championships) |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
100m Dash (2nd), 4x100m Relay (3rd) |
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Collegeville, PA (Perkiomen Valley) |
4x100m Relay (3rd) |
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Andover, MA (Andover) |
4x100m Relay (3rd), 4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Indianapolis, IN (Perry Meridian) |
4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
400m Hurdles (1st), 4x100m Relay (3rd), 4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Katonah, NY (Somers) |
4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Richfield, OH (Walsh Jesuit) |
Pole Vault (5th) |
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NCAA Division III Championship Participant |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
100m Dash (2nd), 4x100m Relay (3rd), 200m Dash (9th) |
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Collegeville, PA (Perkiomen Valley) |
4x100m Relay (3rd), 60m Dash (11th) |
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Andover, MA (Andover) |
4x100m Relay (3rd), 4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Indianapolis, IN (Perry Meridian) |
4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
400m Hurdles (1st), 4x100m Relay (3rd), 4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Katonah, NY (Somers) |
4x400m Relay (8th) |
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Richfield, OH (Walsh Jesuit) |
Pole Vault (5th) |
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South/Southeast Regional Coach of the Year (USTFCCCA) |
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Derek Nelson |
1st Season |
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USTFCCCA South/Southeast All-Region (Top 5 in Respective Event) |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
100m Dash, 200m Dash, 4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay |
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Collegeville, PA (Perkiomen Valley) |
100m Dash, 4x100m Relay |
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Andover, MA (Andover) |
400m Dash, 4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay |
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Plantation, FL (Pinecrest School) |
Long Jump |
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Westport, CT (Staples) |
10,000m Run |
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Houston, TX (AWTY International School) |
10,000m Run |
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Indianapolis, IN (Perry Meridian) |
4x400m Relay |
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Marietta, GA (Lassiter) |
800m Run, 1500m Run |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, 4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay |
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Richfield, OH (Walsh Jesuit) |
Pole Vault |
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Traverse City, MI (Traverse City West) |
Hammer |
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University Athletic Association Most Outstanding Performer |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
Running Events |
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UAA Champion |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
100m Dash, 200m Dash, 4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay |
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Collegeville, PA (Perkiomen Valley) |
4x100m Relay |
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Andover, MA (Andover) |
4x400m Relay |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
400m Hurdles, 4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay |
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Katonah, NY (Somers) |
4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay |
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All-UAA (Top-3 Finisher at UAA Championships) |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
100m Dash (1st), 200m Dash (1st), 4x100m Relay (1st), 4x400m Relay (1st) |
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Collegeville, PA (Perkiomen Valley) |
4x100m Relay (1st), 100m Dash (2nd) |
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Andover, MA (Andover) |
4x400m Relay (1st), 400m Dash (2nd) |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
400m Hurdles (1st), 4x100m Relay (1st), 4x400m Relay (1st), 100m Hurdles (3rd) |
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Seymour, CT (Seymour) |
Javelin (3rd) |
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Katonah, NY (Somers) |
4x100m Relay (1st), 4x400m Relay (1st) |
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Richfield, OH (Walsh Jesuit) |
Pole Vault (2nd) |
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Manhattan Beach, CA (Mira Costa) |
Shot Put (3rd) |
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Traverse City, MI (Traverse City West) |
Hammer (2nd) |
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CoSIDA Academic All-District Team |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
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Indianapolis, IN (Perry Meridian) |
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CoSIDA Academic All-America Team |
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Indianapolis, IN (Perry Meridian) |
First Team |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
Second Team |
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UAA Athletes of the Week |
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Mountville, PA (Hempfield) |
March 25th, April 15th |
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Richfield, OH (Walsh Jesuit) |
March 25th |
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Monroe, GA (George Walton Academy) |
May 28th |
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The following were the top marks by Emory athletes during the 2019 season:
100m Dash |
11.71 |
NCAA DIII Championships |
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200m Dash |
24.60 |
Berry Field Day Invitational |
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400m Dash |
57.96 |
UAA Championships |
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800m Run |
2:17.97 |
UAA Championships |
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1500m Run |
4:42.12 |
Tiger Track Classic |
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3000m Run |
10:39.96 |
Tiger Track Classic |
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5000m Run |
17:46.75 |
Tiger Track Classic |
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10000m Run |
37:51.99 |
Emory Invitational |
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100m Hurdles |
14.78 |
UAA Championships |
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400m Hurdles |
58.98* |
NCAA DIII Championships |
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3000m Steeplechase |
12:45.36 |
Emory Classic |
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High Jump |
1.59m |
UAA Championships |
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Pole Vault |
3.90m* |
NCAA DIII Championships |
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Long Jump |
5.58m |
Emory Classic |
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Triple Jump |
11.04m |
UAA Championships |
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Shot Put |
12.25m |
Emory Invitational |
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Discus |
37.46m |
Berry Field Day Invitational |
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Hammer |
49.63m |
Berry Field Day Invitational |
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Javelin |
38.45m |
Emory Classic |
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4x100m Relay |
46.37* |
NCAA DIII Championships |
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4x400m Relay |
3:49.01 |
NCAA DIII Championships |
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4x800m Relay |
Paige Lesslauer, Ileana Zeissner, Carrie McIntyre, Zoe Friedman |
9:50.35 |
UAA Championships |
* - Indicates Emory record