Going up against mostly NCAA Division I competition at both the Vulcan Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama and the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, SC, the Emory University track and field team recorded a number of season-best performances, including a pair of new program-record times.

Highlighting the weekend was a record-setting performance by the women's 4x400-meter relay team of freshman Debora Adjibaba, sophomore Gabrielle Clark, junior Kaele Leonard and senior Alix Dyer.  The quartet broke the school record in the event for the second time this season, as their time of 3:55.26 was over two seconds faster than their previous record.  It was the fifth-fastest raw time in Division III this season.

Also breaking a school record at the meet was senior Tess Gallegos, whose time of 10:09.69 broke the mark of 10:11.34 set by Melissa Jones during the 2007 season.  Gallegos finished 10^th overall in the event.

Other top performances this season by an Eagle at the Vulcan Invitational included Adjibaba's time of 7.97 seconds in the 60-meter dash, good for a 32^nd-place finish and also the second-best mark by a University Athletic Association (UAA) competitor and 38^th-best in Division III this season.  Adjibaba added a 31^st-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.04 seconds, the fastest raw time by a UAA competitor this season and seventh-fastest mark in school history.

Leonard finished 21^st in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.19 seconds, the fastest raw mark in the UAA this season.  In the high jump, sophomore Melissa Notis and freshman Katie Wilson matched the team's best mark of the year by clearing the bar at 1.60 meters, the third-best in the UAA and tied for 42^nd in Division III.

Among the men's team best marks this season at the Vulcan invitational was senior Ian Francis' ninth-place finish and mark of 14.11 in the triple jump, the best in the UAA this season, 18^th among all Division III competitors, and the sixth longest jump in school history.  Francis also recorded the season-best time by an Eagle in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.09 seconds. 

Other top Emory marks this season for the men at the Vulcan Invitational included junior Stephen Ellwood's time of 4:21.52 in the mile run (the third-fastest raw time in the UAA this season), sophomore Hank Ashforth's time of 15:45.70 in the 5,000-meter run, sophomore Somon Nader's pole vault of 4.00 meters, senior Ben Euwer's weight throw of 14.05 meters (seventh in the UAA), freshman Patrick Crews' time of 1:58.75 in the 800-meter run (the sixth-fastest raw mark in the UAA), and senior Geraint Davies' time of 8:50.09 in the 3,000-meter run.  The Eagles' distance medley relay team of sophomore Edward Mulder, sophomore Nick Cortellessa, Crews and Ellwood recorded a season-best time of 10:35.91 as well.

At the Tiger Paw Invitational, senior Hadiza Sa-Aadu finished 21^st in the 300-meter dash with a time of 42.80 seconds, the second-fastest in school history.  She also ran the distance medley relay with junior Calley Edwards, freshman Marissa Gogniat and freshman Stephanie Crane, which finished fifth with a time of 12:30.44, the 11^th-fastest in Division III this season and ninth in school history.

Crane added an 11^th-place finish in the mile run with a time of 5:10.26, second among all UAA runners this season and 29^th in Division III.  Junior Theresa Ford contributed with a high jump of 1.60 meters, finishing ninth in the event, while senior Lauren Attiah finished 34^th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.19 seconds.

For the men at the Clemson meet, junior Jay Okeke's time of 37.77 seconds in the 300-meter dash was the best by an Eagle this season.

Next up for the Eagles will be their final indoor track and field meet before the UAA Championships, the Tiger Tune-Up at Clemson University on Saturday, February 18^th.