In one of the final opportunities to make their mark before the NCAA Outdoor Championships later this month, the Emory University track & field program sent a small group of student-athletes to Life University in the first of two upcoming last chance meets.
Friday afternoon featured three program records as the Eagles put forth several top performances in Marietta.
All three record-setting times came from the men's squad, beginning with junior Dawit Dean in the 800m run. Dean shaved more than three seconds off his previous season-best time, turning in an event-winning time of 1:50.32 to set the team record. Dean came in .10 seconds faster, eclipsing Chris Essick's previous top time of 1:50.42 set at the 1997 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The second record-setting time of the evening occurred in the sprint relay as sophomore Sam Ryba, senior Thomas Davis, freshman Henry Brandstadter and sophomore Jackson Price threw down a blistering 40.91 mark in the 4x100m. The quartet knocked .31 off their season-best time and bested the previous school record mark of 41.14 set by Ryba, Davis, Price and former Eagle legend Liam Fost last spring.
The final record-setting time of the meet came in the distance relay as Dean teamed with juniors Spencer Watry, Scott Masterson and sophomore Marcus Cheema for a time of 7:38.99 in the 4x800m. Their time was nine seconds faster than the Eagles' season-best time and topped the previous team record of 7:41.05 set by Dean, Masterson, Justin Pecore and Jack Petkash at the 2022 UAA Outdoor Championship.
To go along with Emory's three record-setting marks, the Eagles saw additional top performances on Friday come from the women's 4x400m team consisting of sophomore Audrey Johnson, senior Annika Urban, sophomore Dashiel Tao Harris and junior Libby Ranocha who moved into top 10 nationally with a 3:50.72 time, sophomore Kaya Binetti in the 400m Dash (59.87), sophomore Jenna Daly in the 800m Run (2:15.43), sophomore Dana Catalano in the javelin (34.38m), senior Hope Jackson in the discus (38.18m), Brandstadter in the high jump (1.90m) and Price in the 200m Dash (21.81).
The Eagles will continue to march towards to the NCAA Championship with the Lee Flames Last Chance meet this Saturday (May 13) before the Emory Final Qualifier on Wednesday, May 17.