Borg (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) speaks with experience when discussing the perils of being a keeper on the field. The , Borg has worked (and played) through injuries her entire career, yet she recently moved into the No. 2 spot on EMU鈥檚 career saves list, while also holding a career best .741 save percentage.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know that EMU held records for goalies with the most saves,鈥� Borg admitted. 聽鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome to have something that shows your hard work. As goalkeeper, you don鈥檛 get recognized a lot.鈥�

In a game against Randolph-Macon on Oct. 13, she gathered 15 saves, making it the sixth consecutive game she finished with double-digit saves and improving her total career number to 387.

Abby Diffenbach holds the women鈥檚 record with 457 saves.

After the women鈥檚 game against Stevenson on Sept. 5, Borg had a wake-up-call from head coach about her potential. She recalls him saying, 鈥淵ou need to show the ODAC that you鈥檙e the best goalkeeper out there.鈥� 聽This fueled her to work even harder.

鈥淎fter that my work ethic increased so much, also because it鈥檚 my last year of playing,鈥� the senior said. 聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 care at all that I鈥檓 injured. 聽I want to show the players that even if I鈥檓 hurting, I鈥檓 still out there working my hardest.”

Borg began her journey playing soccer at the age of three. A versatile player, she has played every position.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in the goal, you can see the position of every single person,” she said. “You鈥檙e able to observe everyone and know how they play. Growing up, my coaches wanted me to learn every field position, so in the past I would do a lot of the field drills and then they鈥檇 say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing shooting drills now, get in the goal.鈥� 聽So I鈥檝e learned all of the positions. 聽A coach can literally put me anywhere they want.鈥�

Borg has also been a thrower for the team, which has added extra stress. Last April, during the ODAC conference meet, the wear and tear became unexpectedly noticeable.

鈥淚 was throwing discus and as I whipped my arm, my hand went completely numb,鈥� she said. 聽鈥淚 was supposed to do really well but I didn’t because it scared me so much. After discus, I went to throw javelin and it happened again.鈥�

Doctors informed Borg she had tennis elbow, an irritation of the tissue connecting the forearm muscle to the elbow, but this may be the least of her worries. She has also had reconstructive surgery on both of her ankles.

鈥淭he ligaments in them are torn,鈥� Borg noted. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e supposed to have three ligaments in your ankles but my right one only has two. Then in my left ankle they鈥檙e really stretched out so there鈥檚 no support. 聽It causes a lot of other problems to happen just because I have no support there. Right now I just tape them.鈥�

Due to these injurie,s Borg has spent much of her time in physical therapy. She appreciates the work of physical therapists so much that she is majoring in .

鈥淚 like the idea of helping people and watching them heal,鈥� she said. 鈥淗aving physical therapists help me through my injuries has made them like family to me. I love the atmosphere: you鈥檙e having fun while also helping someone.鈥�

Borg is soaking in the rest of her goalkeeping career by playing with no regrets. Her mantra is 鈥淲ork hard and understand what your role is. Develop that role and then take pride in it.鈥�

聽(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) helped to highlight the day as he pointed in a couple of events.聽 The sophomore had a short lead on a handful of finishers to win the 800m as he crossed in 1:55.02.聽 It was easily Thibodeaux’s season best time, although more than a second and a half off his PR from last year.聽 The second place runner came in at 1:55.86 while teammate聽聽(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) was third in 1:55.99, earning All-ODAC Third Team honors.

Thibodeaux then came in fourth in the 1500m with a PR time of 4:02.38, putting him fourth in the EMU history books as well.聽聽聽(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) destroyed his PR and won his heat by six seconds to take sixth place in the event in 4:08.29.

贵谤别蝉丑尘补苍听聽(Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) made a dazzling debut in the javelin, coming from the fourth seed to win gold with a PR throw of 50.10m (164-4ft).聽 He moves to No. 5 all-time at EMU.

The men also had some great finishes in the hurdles.聽 The Royals went 1-and-3 in the 400m hurdles, as freshman聽聽(Winchester, Va./Millbrook) claimed the gold.聽 Faint’s winning time was 54.23, a PR for him and fifth in EMU history.聽 Junior聽聽(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) also staked his PR, taking third place in the race in 57.04 and putting him at No. 10 in the EMU books.

聽(Broadway, Va./Broadway) pulled away at the finish of the 110m hurdles, grabbing gold and All-ODAC First Team with a time of 15.30.聽 His PR moved him to No. 3 all-time at EMU in the event.聽聽聽(Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) had a gritty effort to claim fourth in the race in 16.25.

聽(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) earned a silver in the shot put.聽 The big man landed at 14.39m (47-2.5ft), crushing his outdoor PR and moving to No. 2 in EMU history.聽 He earned All-ODAC Second Team honors with the throw and was just six inches short of first place at 14.54m (47-8.5ft).

The Royals had two point-takers in the high jump.聽聽聽(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), who entered as the favorite in the event, settled for a bronze finish.聽 He took third based on jumps, tying his season best at 1.91m (6-3.25ft).聽 Faint was sixth at 1.73m (5-8.0ft), setting his PR.

Faint also took a point in the triple jump, earning sixth by a single millimeter with his PR at 13.07m (42-10.75ft).聽 He moves in ninth all-time at EMU as well.

贵谤别蝉丑尘补苍听聽(Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) took fifth in a tight finals of the 200m dash.聽 After standing in eighth after the prelims, Dews clocked a 22.55 PR in the finals, with all of the top six finished within 0.47 seconds of each other.

Nisly grabbed the final point in the 3000m steeplechase, leading a group of four EMU runners in sixth place with a tie of 10:19.04.

In the relays, the 4x100m squad of聽聽(Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy), Dews,聽聽(Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) and聽聽(Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) earned fourth place with a time of 44.05.聽 The 4x400m foursome of Dews, Faint, Bush and Denlinger came in fifth in 3:22.50.

The men racked up 86 points to comfortably finish in third place for their highest outdoor finish since 2006.聽 Bridgewater won the men’s title with 154 points while Lynchburg was second with 132.聽 Washington and Lee was behind the Royals with 66 tallies.

Women Stand Fourth At ODACs And Win Individual Honors

Highlighted by four gold medals, the EMU track and field women earned their highest finish at the ODAC Outdoor Championships in nine year.聽 The meet was hosted by Bridgewater College Friday and Saturday.

To no one’s surprise,聽聽(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) and聽聽(Dover, Ohio/Dover) led the charge for the women, with each winning two gold medals with their All-ODAC First Team status.

Chappell-Dick won the 800m and 1500m, breaking the ODAC Championships record in the 800m.聽 In the two-lap race she had a pair of Bridgewater runners hanging near her, but not enough to challenge for top honors.聽 Chappell-Dick won in a time of 2:13.64, breaking the meet record of 2:13.91 set by Roanoke’s Carmen Graves two years ago.

In the 1500m, the All-American was her usual self, leading the pack in 4:46.81.聽 While a comfortable pace off her PR, it was still good enough to give Chappell-Dick the win by more than three seconds.聽 Lehman actually crossed fourth in the race in 4:53.38.

Lehman was then dominant in the two distance events.聽 In the 5000m she broke away from the pack early and strided her way to a facility record time of 18:03.55, breaking the old mark by more than 37 seconds.聽 Teammate聽聽(St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) claimed the silver with a second place finish at the ODAC meet, timing at 19:02.62.

Lehman ran a great race to win the 10,000m Friday night.聽 The freshman ran with the pack for most of the race, before making her move with two laps to go.聽 Lehman made a quick pass of Roanoke’s Kerri Dalton to take over the lead, and then bolted away with more than a 19-second margin over the final 800m.聽 Lehman’s winning time was another facility-record 39:01.45, a comfortable win over Dalton’s 39:20.83.聽 Paden stayed with the lead group most of that race as well and came in fifth with a time of 40:03.77.

聽(Bedford, Va./Liberty) completed a great first season in the jumping events.聽 She took fourth in the long jump, landing a PR jump at 5.27m (17-3.5ft), less than an inch behind the All-ODAC status of third place at 5.29m (17-4.25ft).聽 The distance also bumped her up to No. 3 in EMU history.聽 In the triple jump, Kittrell grabbed another fourth place finish, totaling 10.72m (35-2ft).

厂别苍颈辞谤听聽(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) was one of four women to break the facility record in the hammer throw.聽 She claimed fourth with a landing at 44.10m (144-5ft), within sight of Bridgewater’ Katelyn Senger in third with 44.18m (144-11ft).聽 It was a huge PR for Bane, upping her own school record, which had been 39.28m (128-10ft).聽 Bane added a point to the team total in the discus, taking sixth with a season best of 31.00m (101-8ft).

Chappell-Dick also earned some points in this high jump.聽 In just her second-ever effort in the event, the junior tied for fourth by clearing 1.51m (4-11.5ft).

聽(Peninsula, Wash./Gig Harbor) was sixth in the javelin, as the junior landed at 30.97m (101-7ft) and inched up her PR and No. 2 spot in the EMU history books.

贵谤别蝉丑尘补苍听聽(Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) grabbed a point in the 3000m steeplechase.聽 She earned sixth place with a time of 13:07.23.

The 4x400m relay team of聽聽(King George, Va./King George), Chappell-Dick,聽聽(Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) and聽聽(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) claimed fourth, just missing All-ODAC status, with a time of 4:04.41.聽 The 4x100m group of聽聽(East Norriton, Pa./Christopher Dock), Chappell-Dick, Kittrell, and McKinsey was sixth with a time of 52.16.

The Royals had 77 points as a team, earning fourth place overall for their highest team finish since 2006.聽 Roanoke won the women’s side with 156 points, followed by Bridgewater at 105 and Washington and Lee at 91.聽 Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan were tied for fifth behind EMU with 63.

The ODAC Championships meet completes the main season for the Eastern Mennonite track teams.聽 Now the focus turns to twilight meets and preparing for hopeful runs at the NCAA National Championships in late May.聽 The next meet scheduled for the Royals is the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on April 29.

Individual Awards
The Royals picked up a trio of individual honors at the ODAC Championships as well.聽聽Kat Lehman聽was named the Rookie of the Year, winning two events and looking for another trip to the national meet after going in cross country and indoor track as well.

Hannah Chappell-Dick聽made it a sweep of the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete awards, as she also claimed that honor in cross country and indoor track.聽 Chappell-Dick recently added an All-American title to her name after finishing second in the mile at the national indoor meet to go with a 3.86 GPA as a biology major.

Coach Jason Lewkowicz聽was named the ODAC Coach of the Year, as he was recognized for his work with the women in picking up his first ODAC award in his final season with the Royals.

After scoring just one goal over their first three games of the season, the Royals’ explosion of scores 聽was not just a welcome relief for the players, but a sign of the jelling talent on the young team.

The visiting Blazers actually scored first in the game, which was started in a drizzle, when they scored in the eighth minute.聽 But freshman聽聽(Glenwood Springs, Colo./Glenwood Springs) put EMU on the board with their first shot of the night in the 16th minute. Martin drove up the right side of the field, and her tough shot deflected off a Hood defender and into the goal.

聽(Springfield, Va./West Springfield), an All-ODAC Second Team forward last fall, got her first goal of the season by knocking in a header off a Hill corner in the 34th minute.

Action really picked up in the second half, as Hood equalized in the 51st minute and then re-took the lead 12 minutes later.聽 But Hill and Osei hooked up once again on a corner with just over 10 minutes left in regulation, knotting the score at 3-3.

The Blazers had some surges in overtime, but freshman聽聽(Millsboro, Del./Delmana Christian) set up Hill’s clinching PK when she made a move up the right side and got taken down in the box. Hill finished with a career best four points, notching the one goal with two assists.

Shots were evenly distributed in the contest, with Hood holding a slight 15-12 advantage.聽 The visitors also had a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.聽聽(Gig Harbor Wash./Peninsula) made three saves for EMU.

The Royals look to defend their home turf once again on Wednesday when they host Marymount University. Game time is 7 p.m.

厂辞辫丑辞尘辞谤别听聽(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) had the only gold for the weekend, winning the 800m in 2:17.21.聽 She was nearly two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor in a large field of 41 women.聽 Chappell-Dick also finished fifth in the 400m, clocking at 1:00.72.聽 That race had a tight finish, as she was within a quarter of a second of third place.

Elsewhere for the women in Lexington,聽聽(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) and聽聽(Puyallup, Wash./Mountainview International) qualified for ODAC in the 400m, crossing in 1:04.99 and 1:07.12, respectively.聽 Schirch also earned a ticket in the 800m with a time of 2:27.70.

The Royals qualified three runners in the 5000m, led by聽聽(Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) in 11th place with a time of 19:32.58.聽聽聽(Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area)crossed in 19:52.71 and聽聽(Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) clocked at 20:33.23, easily breaking the 21-minute barrier for the first time in her career.

聽(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) and聽聽(Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) participated in the Roanoke meet, and both had runner-up finishes there.聽 Bane took second in the discus with a PR throw of 33.20m (108-11ft).聽 She just missed third in the hammer throw, settling for fourth at 34.95m (114-8ft).聽 Borg PRed in the javelin, taking silver with a distance of 30.78m (101-0ft).

The men had the second- and third-place finishers in the high jump at the W&L Carnival.聽 厂辞辫丑辞尘辞谤别听聽(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) took silver with the No. 5 jump in EMU history, clearing 1.97m (6-5.5ft).聽聽聽(Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) earned the bronze, having a best height of 1.92m (6-3.5ft).

聽(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) took a conservative approach to his first 3,000m steeplechase experience but still came through with an ODAC qualifying time of 10:45.01 which places him seventh on the EMU top-10 list.

聽(Sterling, Ill./Sterling) made his outdoor 5,000m debut a solid one as the junior came through with a time of 15:25.08 which was good for seventh place. The time also places him No. 2 on the EMU top-10 list. 聽聽(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) now sits at No. 5 on the EMU list with his time of 15:33.46. 聽聽(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) also had a solid showing in his outdoor 5000m debut running a personal best time of 16:16.43.

聽(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) finished third in the 800m, clocking at 1:57.06.聽 He was just over one second out of first place.聽聽(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) crossed seventh in 1:58.62.聽 Both men also qualified for ODACs in the 400m, with Thibodeaux registering a time of :52.30 and Denlinger coming in at :52.79.

厂辞辫丑辞尘辞谤别听聽(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) led a large EMU contingent in the event, taking tenth in :51.65.聽聽聽(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) wasn’t far behind in :52.03, while聽聽(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) was the last of the five Royals in :53.46.

厂辫谤颈苍迟别谤听聽(Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) was sixth in the 200m, timing at :22.62, and was tenth in the 100m in :11.31.聽聽聽(Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) also qualified for ODACs in the 200m, coming in at :23.16.

聽(Staunton Va./Riverheads) highlighted his day by taking third in the shot put in Roanoke, landing at 11.96m (39-3ft).

Coach Jason Lewkowicz said he was very pleased with the start to the outdoor season.

“We had a hard week of training across the board and to see the team perform this well on tired legs is a great sign,” he explained. 聽“We were blessed with great weather and great competitive atmospheres.聽 With such a young team, it is important that we take each opportunity to go out, compete, and show consistent improvement. 聽This weekend was a great step in the right direction.聽 We look forward to having a lot of fans come out to support us next Saturday at Bridgewater!”

The Eastern Mennonite track teams give their fans the best chance of the year to see them participate next Saturday, when they compete at the Dr. Harry GM Jopson Invitational hosted by Bridgewater College.

“I’m really excited to see growth in our track & field program this year,” Lewkowicz said.聽 “We have a lot of talented newcomers on the men’s side and a number of All-ODAC performers returning for the women. 聽Expectations are high and we are excited about that.”

(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) is back for her sophomore season after breaking five Eastern Mennonite middle distance records in her first year.聽 For the men, (Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) will look to improve on his incredible growth from last year.聽 As a junior transfer, King was talked into trying the high jump by Lewkowicz.聽 In his first-ever campaign in the event, King won both the indoor and outdoor ODAC titles, and also broke the EMU outdoor record.聽 Not bad.

Lewkowicz said that with a balance of faith, team camaraderie and talent, he senses his men and women are poised to reach new heights in 2014.

“We are looking to continue to build off of that success from last year and part of that is the expectation that school records will continue to be broken,” he explained.聽 “This adds to the level of excitement on the team because setting records is an indication of performing at a level that will help us as a team at the ODAC level.聽 At the end of the day, the goal is to get better each time out and let the accolades come as they will.”

Also back for the men is sophomore (Broadway, Va./Broadway), who took the silver in the 60m hurdles at the ODAC indoor meet and bronze in the 100m hurdles at the outdoor meet.聽 For the women, sophomore (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) was third in 800m outdoor race, finishing just behind Chappell-Dick.聽 The women had a distance medley relay team take third at the indoor meet in 2013, and Brumfield, (Gap, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), and (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) all return from that foursome.聽 Another sophomore, (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula), was third in the javelin last spring to round out EMU’s athletes who earned an All-ODAC honor last year.

Lewkowicz expects those athletes to be the core of his squads this year, along with (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) in the distance runs, (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) in the throws and jumper (Canby, Ore./Western Mennonite).聽 Garber earned the No. 3 spot in the EMU record books in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump as a freshman in 2011, but took the last two years off.聽 For men, (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) will help push King in the high jump.聽 Last year as a freshman, he broke the school’s indoor high jump record before King took it over.聽 Cross country standouts (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) will lead the distance group.

EMU’s coach pointed out that the men’s talent level is getting much deeper this year.

“In the hurdles, All-ODAC performer Richard Robinson is joined by talented freshman (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage),” explained Lewkowicz.聽 “ (Mechanicsville, Pa./Atlee) and (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside) highlight a talented group of freshmen sprinters, with (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) coming into a middle distance group that could score a lot of points at the ODAC meets.聽 Returners (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) and (Nelson, Va./Nelson Country) give us a level of depth that we have not had in years.”

Along with the freshmen men that Lewkowicz pointed out, he noted a handful of returners who might turn heads with the improvements they have made.

“I think Erica Garber will make steady progress as the season goes on,” he said.聽 “Juni Schirch and (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) missed most of last year due to sickness and injury and I expect them both to do well.聽 On the men’s side, Philip Watson and Jonathan Bush are poised to breakout this season.

With a number of Royals runners either competing or training with the cross country team this fall, Lewkowicz explains the transition of the group into the track season.

“Moving out of a successful cross country season, the focus turned to bringing the entire track team together as a unit,” he said.聽 “We have a lot of newcomers, some folks returning from/leaving for cross culturals, and some returning from injuries.聽 Getting everyone on the same page and focused on the same goals is always a priority.聽 We are also putting a lot of emphasis on doing the little things well to help keep us healthy in body, mind and spirit.

After years of running their championship meets with an “open” format, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference has added qualifying standards this year.聽 Although the Eastern Mennonite teams continue to grow in number (25 men and 14 women), the benchmarks are more likely to provide nice targets for EMU’s athletes rather than limit how many Royals participate.

“At this point, the standards should not have too much of an effect on our team,” said Lewkowicz, “since each school is guaranteed three spots in each event, regardless of time/mark attained, in addition to four ‘wild card’ placements at the ODAC meet.聽 While we do have depth in several areas that could leave some folks out, I believe most of our athletes will be able to hit the qualifying mark for their respective event(s).”

The 2013 track season nearly became synonymous breaking records, and the Royals hope to do the same thing in 2014.聽 They also want to rise out of the middle of the pack at the ODAC meet.

“We want both teams to improve their finish at the ODAC meet, both for the indoor and outdoor season,” Lewkowicz said.聽 “We already saw a school record broken at the December meet and we anticipate a lot more of that taking place over the course of the season.聽 It is also my hope that we use our platform as a collegiate team to represent our university well and to glorify Christ through our attitude, effort, humility and sportsmanship.聽 He is the giver of all good gifts and we want to honor Him in all that we do.”

The EMU teams are in action this weekend at the Liberty Open in Lynchburg.聽 The ODAC Indoor Championships are March 2 in Hampton, Va., with nationals two weeks later in Lincoln, Neb.聽 The outdoor season then starts on March 22, with the ODAC Outdoor Championships on April 18 and 19.聽 After a handful of “last chance” meets, the national outdoor meet is May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio.

Eastern Mennonite scored three goals in the each half, started by (Springfield, Va./West Springfield), the ODAC’s leading scorer. A corner in the 20th minute opening things up, as (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle) lofted the corner and Osei topped the crowd to head the ball into the net. Ten minutes later, Osei went in unassisted, as she took off on a breakaway. The forward was bumped to the ground, but recovered quickly to slice the ball into the right side of the net for her 13th tally of the season.

Then in the 42nd minute, (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) chipped a shot over the head of SBC’s keeper for the 3-0 lead at halftime.

In the 62nd minute, Osei set up Kirby with a great cross which pulled out the keeper. Kirby easily tapped in the ball for her second of the game.聽 After a quiet 20 minutes, the Royals got two more in the final eight minutes. (Bristow, Va./Patriot) found a loose ball and buried it for her first career goal. Hill flew in another loose ball from 20 yards out to produce the final score.

The Royals had an 18-5 advantage in shots, including 9-4 on goal. (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) started in goal and had two saves. (Leesburg, Va./Heritage) played the final 21 minutes and had a pair of saves as well.

The women improve to 9-4 overall, their most wins since 2008.聽 At 4-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, EMU is tangled in a four-way tie for fourth place. On Wednesday, they host rival Bridgewater, another of the teams in that tie. Game time with the Eagles is 7 p.m.

(Dalton, OH/Central Christian) won the high jump by two heights, clearing 1.99m (6-6.25ft).聽 His measurement also put him at the No. 2 spot on the EMU all-time list, behind only Phil Landes, who cleared 2.03m (6-8ft) in 1987.

(Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) had a good day in the sprints.聽 He charted the No. 7 time in EMU history in the 200m dash, crossing in 22.73 seconds.聽 In the 100m dash, McBride took the No. 8 spot with a time of 11.22.

Distance runner (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) finished less than a quarter of a second behind Bridgewater’s Luke Sohl in the 800m run.聽 The senior’s time of 1:58.47 gave him sixth place at the duals, and the No. 8 spot in the EMU books.

(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) continued to impress in the 400m hurdles, as he set a new personal record at 58.15.聽 He was also part of a 4x100m relay team which took the seventh-best time in EMU history.聽 The team of (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County), McBride, Bush and (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) clocked at 44.00, also taking third at the event.

(Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) was the top EMU finisher in the 400m with a time of 52.14.

Allen’s best leap in the long jump landed at 6.46m (21-2.5ft), but he fouled on all three attempts in the triple jump.

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) and (Salina, KS) both competed in the throws.聽 Sloan was the top Royal in the shot put at 11.36m (37-3.25ft), while Walker was ahead in the hammer throw at 21.97m (72-1ft). 聽Sloan also landed at 44.82m (147-0ft) in the javelin, for fourth at the meet.

The women’s team had fewer athletes participating, but freshman (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) flashed some top ten times in two events.聽 She tried her hand at the shorter distances Saturday and won the 400m dash with the fifth-best time in EMU history.聽 Chappell-Dick also ran the 200m dash, and finished with the No. 8 time in EMU’s books at 27.64 seconds.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) timed at 5:19.44 in the 1500m run, followed by teammate (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) at 5:26.96.

In the throws, (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) set a new PR in the hammer throw, with her first heave landing at 34.43m (112-11ft).聽 She also had a distance of 27.17m (89-2ft) in the discus.

(Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) landed at 24.52m (80-5ft) in the discus and 26.80m (87-11ft) in the javelin.聽 ‘s (Archbold, OH/Archbold) best throw in the javelin measured at 19.90m (65-3ft).

Eastern Mennonite’s track teams return to Lynchburg next Saturday for the Liberty Invitational.聽 It will be their final tune-up for the ODAC Championships on April 19 & 20.

(Broadway, VA/Broadway) took second in the 100m hurdles while also charting the No. 5 run in EMU history.聽 His time of 15.82 in the finals got him a silver behind the winning time of 15.53 from Ben Martindell of Bridgewater.

(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) won the 400m hurdles in his first try at the event.聽 He crossed the finish in 58.34, ahead of Martindell at 59.02.

In the 100m dash, (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) showed the biggest improvement between his preliminary and his finals time, taking second at 11.47.聽 He just missed the gold to RC’s Trevor Hunt at 11.43.聽 He also won the 200m dash, ahead of teammate (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County).聽 McBride broke the tape in 23.28, followed by Allen at 23.56.

(Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) won the 400m by nearly a half second, clocking in at 51.47.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) took the gold in the 1500m run, finishing six seconds ahead of teammate (Wichita, KS/Wichita East).聽 Nafziger’s winning time was 4:17.04, while Parker came in at 4:23.00.聽 (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) took sixth place in 4:35.61.

Nafziger and Parker also highlight the 800m.聽 Nafziger took fourth with a time of 2:04.70 while Parker also pointed, getting sixth in 2:10.98.

In the relays, the EMU team in the 4x100m took second and charted the No. 7 time in EMU history.聽 The squad of Robinson, Allen, Watson and McBride crossed in 44.04, just behind Bridgewater’s foursome in 43.73.

The 4x400m team didn’t set an EMU time, but did manage to win the event at the meet.聽 Bush, Robinson, (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) and Watson combined for a time of 3:31.92, winning by more than three seconds.

In the field events, (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) and (Dalton, OH/Central Christian) were in a group of four men who each had a best jump of 1.82m.聽 Vrolijk ended up second based on jumps, while King settled for fourth.

Allen won the long jump and took second in the triple jump.聽 In the long jump, the senior landed at 6.63m, while in the triple he measured at 12.22m.

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) led the way in the throws.聽 He won the javelin with a fling of 47.40m, the No. 7 distance in the EMU record books.聽 Sloan took third in the hammer throw with the No. 6 measurement in EMU history at 32.15m.聽 Then in the shot put he just missed gold, getting second in 11.29m, behind the winning throw of 11.54m.

The Royals grabbed 152 points for the team win, ahead of host Roanoke at 142.

On the women’s side, Chafin Brumfield (Harrisonburg, VA/Spotswood) and Jolee Paden (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Odgen) had big days in the middle distances.聽 Brumfield won the 800m run in 2:30.35, with Paden taken second in 2:32.77.聽 Hannah Patterson (Puyallup, WA/Mountainview International) was fourth in 2:44.27 while Saralyn Mast (Gap, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) took sixth in 2:48.99.

Paden then won the 1500m by 4.51 seconds.聽 Her time of 5:05.15 earned the gold and the No. 8 spot in the program records.聽 Brumfield also grabbed a No. 8 all-time spot in the 400m.聽 She finished third at the meet in 1:03.19.

Becca Borg (Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) approached the EMU record in the javelin, taking third place at the Roanoke meet in the process.聽 Borg speared at 30.18m, which was second in EMU history only to Connie Steiner’s throw of 33.08m in 2004.

Alyssa Bane (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) also earned points in the throws.聽 She just missed her PR in the hammer throw, taking fifth at 31.18m.聽 In the discus, the sophomore landed at 28.14m, good for sixth place.

The Lady Royals finished with 48 points, taking third place at the meet, ahead of Hood College with 38.聽 Host Roanoke easily won with 243 points.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams are busy next weekend, participating in two meets.聽 A group of athletes will go to Lexington on Friday and Saturday for the VMI-W&L Carnival.聽 Another group will also participate in the Jopson Invitational in nearby Bridgewater.