The Emory University track & field teams were on fire Thursday with one All-America performance and saw Eagles qualify for Saturday's finals in four additional events as the NCAA Outdoor Championships got underway from St. John Fisher University in Rochester, New York.
Freshman Henry Brandstadter headlined the Eagles on day one as the rookie standout reached the podium to begin the afternoon. Brandstadter became the first outdoor All-American in the men's long jump in program history, as he finished fifth with a mark of 7.30m. He reached that distance in his first jump of the day, solidifying his spot in the final. In the finals, Brandstadter posted marks of 7.16m, 6.88m and 7.27m across his final three jumps to clinch his spot on the podium.
The Eagles then took to the track with some outstanding performances.
The men's 4x100m relay squad of sophomore Sam Ryba, senior Thomas Davis, Brandstadter and sophomore Jackson Price advanced to the finals as they finished seventh out of 16 teams in prelims. The Emory group recorded a time of 41.00, placing fourth in the heat and secured one of the final qualifying spots edging out Loras and Texas Lutheran by .004 seconds for one of the last spots.
Next up, the women's sprint relay matched the men's effort to move onto Saturday as junior Clementine Bodus, sophomore Dashiel Tao Harris, sophomore Kaya Binetti and sophomore Audrey Johnson turned in a season-best time of 46.72 to finish fifth in the preliminary heats.
Senior Annika Urban, who entered as the top overall seed in the 1500m Run, cruised to a win in her heat as she'll be one of 12 runners advancing to the finals. Urban raced to a time of 4:29.15, the second fastest mark on the evening.
Price returned to the track two hours later and reached another final as he snared the eighth and final qualifying spot in the 200m Dash. Price finished second in the third heat at 21.32 and beat out Shenandoah's Miles Moore by .01 seconds for the last position.
The night concluded with Johnson, Harris, Bodus and junior Libby Ranocha taking part in the 4x400m Relay. The group finished fifth in the second heat at 3:52.44, good for 13th overall.
The NCAA Championships will continue Friday evening as Harris, Ranocha and junior Dawit Dean will represent the Eagles on the track. Harris is slated to compete in the prelims of the 400m Dash at 5:45pm followed by Dean and Ranocha in the 800m at 6:30pm and 6:45pm.