A former track sprinter at EMU, Watson serves as a guide runner for a visually impaired sprinter from Liberia (who couldn’t make the trip to Paris) and helped train an amputee javelin thrower and amputee shot put thrower on the team.��

And although neither of the two Liberians competing at this year’s Paralympics, Angie Myers and Jutomu Kollie, medaled in their events, Myers qualified for the shot put finals, which is an impressive achievement for the developing team. 

“They did as well as they could with the limited resources and training they had,” said Watson, who advocates for more support of the Paralympic athletes. “Getting to know them and see their hard work pay off was incredibly fulfilling.”

Path to the Paralympics

When he’s not training Paralympians, Watson works as a residential area director at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. 

Before graduating from EMU with a psychology degree and Cords of Distinction honors in 2016, he interned at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County to satisfy a requirement for his major. That internship led to a staff position at the organization. After graduating, Watson was promoted to unit director and led the club for two years.

“If it hadn’t been for that class requiring community service hours, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and get into the mindset of doing what I can do to help others,” he said. 

Watson, a U.S. citizen whose parents emigrated from Liberia in the 1980s, initially sought to join the Liberian national track and field team ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. When that dream failed to materialize, he found another. He learned that former EMU track teammate had been chosen as a guide runner for the U.S. Paralympic team and sprang into action, researching as much as he could about Liberia’s Paralympic team and contacting its organizer. He began working with the team in 2019 to prepare for the Tokyo Paralympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Learn more about Watson’s beginnings with the Liberian Paralympic team in this August 2021 article from EMU News.

Watson hopes to continue guiding and training the athletes for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles. “If they make it to LA, I’ll be there to support them every step of the way,” he said.

For the men,����(Mount Sidney, Va./Fort Defiance) took nearly six seconds off of his indoor PR in the 3000m, coming across in a time of 8:43.68 to re-break his own school record of 8:49.20 from the CNU Holiday Open in December.

A foursome of����(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock),����(Winchester, Va./Millbrook),����(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and Thibodeaux destroyed the program record in the distance medley relay.�� The foursome crossed in 10:29.09, topping the 2013 record of 10:37.15 by more than eight seconds and bumping the Royals to the No. 11 spot in the nation this season.

The 4x400m team of Faint, Denlinger,����(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) and����(Salem, Va./Salem) had the seventh-best time in EMU history at 3:28.34.

Denlinger set his indoor PR in the 800m, stopping the watch at 1:56.50.�� He moves to the second-best time in the event in EMU history.�� Luke Yoder set the record of 1:55.84 in 2007.�� Denlinger also sits at No. 23 in the nation so far this season with the time.

A pair of young runners made a splash in the 400m.�� Faint, a sophomore, clocked at 51.41 to win his heat and earn 21st overall.�� Faint PRed with the effort and moved up two spots to No. 8 in the EMU history books.�� Sampson, a freshman, knocked 0.01 of his PR to take sole possession of No. 9 in the books at 51.65.

��(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) had a successful re-entry to the track season, as he punched an ODAC spot in the 5000m.�� The 2014 S/SE Region Athlete of the Year in cross country, Gehman finished his race in 16:18.61.

��(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) improved upon his EMU No. 2 distance in the weight throw.�� His best toss landed at 14.87m (48-9.5ft), an improvement of more than two feet.�� Nathan Turner holds the EMU record at 15.77m (51-9ft).�� In the shot put, Heizer landed at 14.18m (46-6.25ft).

For his efforts, he was named ODAC Field Athlete of the Week.

In the 60m hurdles,����(Broadway, Va./Broadway) crossed in 8.78 while����(Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) came in at 8.96.

��(Charlotte Court House, Va./Randolph Henry) punched an ODAC ticket in the 200m, winning his heat in 23.69.�� He also participated in the long jump, sticking his best landing at 6.07m (19-11ft).

��(Bristow, Va./Patriot) made just one of his three attempts in the triple jump, but it was good enough to tie him for No. 7 in EMU history at 12.83m (42-1.25ft).

Meanwhile on the women’s side,����(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) put herself fourth in the nation in the mile run with her time of 5:02.05.�� The All-American was the top D-III runner at the meet and took fifth overall. Chappell-Dick broke the finish line seventh overall in the 800m with a time of 2:16.02.�� She is ninth in the nation with the time. She was named ODAC Athlete of the Week for her win.

Three other women ran in the 800m, with each earning an ODAC-qualifying time.������(King George, Va./King George) had a PR of 2:30.74, jumping herself to No. 6 on the all-time EMU charts.�� �������󳾲�������(Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) shaved more than a second off of her first collegiate race with a time of 2:31.21 to take No. 8 in EMU history, and����(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) came in at 2:33.60.

In the 3000m,����(Dover, Ohio/Dover) crossed in 10:34.38.�� ����Ծ��ǰ�����(St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) was 12th overall in the 5000m, clocking in at 20:19.51.

The distance medley relay team of Chappell-Dick, Williams, Yoder and Schirch had a solid time of 13:42.21.

In the field events, sophomore����(Bedford, Va./Liberty) was the lone EMU representative.�� She just missed her indoor PR in the triple jump, landing at 10.55m (34-7.5ft).�� In the long jump she measured at 4.44m (14-7.0 feet).

The Royals head to Selinsgrove, Pa., next Saturday for the Crusader Challenge hosted by Susquehanna University.

Before the indoor meet in March, it had been 10 years since Eastern Mennonite had sent two women in the same year to the national meet.

Similar to what she did two months ago, Chappell-Dick again qualified in two events, the 800m and the 1500m, but she elected to concentrate on the 1500m and pass up a spot in the other event.�� She choose the mile over the 800m at the indoor meet and ended up with the silver medal and All-American status from that effort.

Chappell-Dick enters the national meet as the No. 8 seed, claiming an ODAC-record top time of 4:30.97 from the Duke Twilight on May 6.�� The preliminaries of the 1500m will be run at 3:45pm Thursday afternoon, with the top four from each of the two heats along with the next top four runners advancing.�� The 12-woman finals are set for Saturday at 1:30pm, with the top eight finishers earning All-American status.

Chappell-Dick did have the No. 4 time nationally in the 800m (2:09.37) but will concentrate on the 1500m.�� She participated in the 800m in the national outdoor meet last year.

Lehman punched her ticket in the 5000m, where she will be seeded No. 17 with her time of 17:08.75 from the Colonial Relays on April 3.�� She is one of just two freshmen in the field of 22 women in the event.�� Lehman enters nationals with an interesting dynamic, as she has not run competitively since the ODAC Championships on April 17 and 18 while she studied in Hawaii on a three-week cross-cultural program.

The 5000m has just one race, scheduled for 4:05pm on Saturday.

Both women have also been to the nationals in cross country, with Lehman going this past fall and Chappell-Dick doing it as a sophomore in 2013.

Men’s hurdler (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) just missed qualifying for nationals in the 400m hurdles.�� With his best time of 53.45, the freshman had been No. 18 in the nation heading into the final week of last chance meets, but he was passed by a handful of other men and ended No. 25.�� Only the top 20 finishers go to the national meet on the men’s side.�� Faint was just 0.11 second off of the final qualifying time of 53.34.

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

�������󳾲�������(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).�� He moves to No. 5 all-time at EMU.

The men also had some great finishes in the hurdles.�� The Royals went 1-and-3 in the 400m hurdles, as freshman����(Winchester, Va./Millbrook) claimed the gold.�� Faint’s winning time was 54.23, a PR for him and fifth in EMU history.�� Junior����(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.

��(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.�� His PR moved him to No. 3 all-time at EMU in the event.������(Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) had a gritty effort to claim fourth in the race in 16.25.

��(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) earned a silver in the shot put.�� The big man landed at 14.39m (47-2.5ft), crushing his outdoor PR and moving to No. 2 in EMU history.�� 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.������(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), who entered as the favorite in the event, settled for a bronze finish.�� He took third based on jumps, tying his season best at 1.91m (6-3.25ft).�� 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).�� He moves in ninth all-time at EMU as well.

�������󳾲�������(Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) took fifth in a tight finals of the 200m dash.�� 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����(Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy), Dews,����(Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) and����(Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) earned fourth place with a time of 44.05.�� 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.�� Bridgewater won the men’s title with 154 points while Lynchburg was second with 132.�� 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.�� The meet was hosted by Bridgewater College Friday and Saturday.

To no one’s surprise,����(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) and����(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.�� In the two-lap race she had a pair of Bridgewater runners hanging near her, but not enough to challenge for top honors.�� 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.�� While a comfortable pace off her PR, it was still good enough to give Chappell-Dick the win by more than three seconds.�� Lehman actually crossed fourth in the race in 4:53.38.

Lehman was then dominant in the two distance events.�� 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.�� Teammate����(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.�� The freshman ran with the pack for most of the race, before making her move with two laps to go.�� 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.�� Lehman’s winning time was another facility-record 39:01.45, a comfortable win over Dalton’s 39:20.83.�� Paden stayed with the lead group most of that race as well and came in fifth with a time of 40:03.77.

��(Bedford, Va./Liberty) completed a great first season in the jumping events.�� 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).�� The distance also bumped her up to No. 3 in EMU history.�� In the triple jump, Kittrell grabbed another fourth place finish, totaling 10.72m (35-2ft).

����Ծ��ǰ�����(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) was one of four women to break the facility record in the hammer throw.�� She claimed fourth with a landing at 44.10m (144-5ft), within sight of Bridgewater’ Katelyn Senger in third with 44.18m (144-11ft).�� It was a huge PR for Bane, upping her own school record, which had been 39.28m (128-10ft).�� 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.�� In just her second-ever effort in the event, the junior tied for fourth by clearing 1.51m (4-11.5ft).

��(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.

�������󳾲�������(Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) grabbed a point in the 3000m steeplechase.�� She earned sixth place with a time of 13:07.23.

The 4x400m relay team of����(King George, Va./King George), Chappell-Dick,����(Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) and����(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) claimed fourth, just missing All-ODAC status, with a time of 4:04.41.�� The 4x100m group of����(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.�� Roanoke won the women’s side with 156 points, followed by Bridgewater at 105 and Washington and Lee at 91.�� 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.�� Now the focus turns to twilight meets and preparing for hopeful runs at the NCAA National Championships in late May.�� 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.����Kat Lehman��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��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.�� 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��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.

In the mile, Chappell-Dick broke the five-minute barrier for the first time and did so quite handily.�� She charted a time of 4:56.37, shattering her own school record of 5:05.65, and breaking the ODAC record of 4:58.17 set by Roanoke All-American Carmen Graves in 2013.�� The junior also sits at No. 4 in the nation this year with the time.�� She placed sixth at the meet, behind runners from Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

��������������ٱ�����(St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) ran the mile for the first time this year and jumped to No. 7 in the ODAC this season at 5:27.27.

Lehman’s mark also came in her only event of the day, the 3000m, where she crossed in 9:55.49, whacking more than 27 seconds of her PR and school record of 10:22.72.�� She shattered the Old Dominion Athletic Conference record with the time, as the old mark was 10:10.61, set by Roanoke’s Casey Smith in 2001.�� Nationally, Lehman leaps to No. 9 as she looks to join Chappell-Dick with a trip to the NCAA National Championships.�� She took fourth in the race, coming in behind two women from Wake Forest and one from Virginia Tech.

Eastern Mennonite sent only a handful of athletes to the meet in Winston-Salem, N.C.�� Elsewhere,����(King George, Va./King George) earned the No. 5 time in EMU history with a time of 1:02.52.

In the long jump,����(Bedford, Va./Liberty) came close to her PR with a best leap of 4.96m (16-3.25ft).�� The freshman’s best effort this year is 5.05m.

The duo of����(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and����(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) continued to shine in the men’s 800m.�� Thibodeaux just beat his teammate, taking eighth overall with a time of 1:57.18.�� It was his PR, which is No. 4 in the ODAC and improves him to No. 4 in EMU history.�� Although Thibodeaux sits one spot behind Denlinger in program history, Denlinger came in just behind him in Saturday’s race, crossing in 1:57.22.

��(Winchester, Va./Millbrook) set a new PR in the triple jump, charting the No. 9 distance in the EMU books at 12.47m (40-11.00ft).

EMU had four men running in the 200m.������(Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) led the way with a time of 23.77, just missing his PR by .01.������(Ashburn, Va./Briarwood) tied his PR by finishing in 23.86.������(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) crossed in 24.38 while����(Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) timed at 25.12.

Wheeler also clocked at 54.09 in the 400m.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams wrap up the indoor season next week at the ODAC Indoor Championships in Landover, Md.

Freshman distance runner����(Dover, Ohio/Dover) cemented her status as an elite athlete, breaking EMU’s record in the 5000m and taking second place overall at the mostly D-I meet. Lehman roasted the track to a finish of 17:43.77, finishing in between a pair of runners from the University of North Carolina. She destroyed her own EMU record of 18:10.40, set in December.

��������������ٱ�����(Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) broke her personal record in the event, crossing in 20:15.98 to also grab the No. 8 spot in EMU’s history books.

In the 4x400m relay, the women’s foursome of����(King George, Va./King George),����(Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood),����(Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) and����(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) timed the No. 3 effort in program history at 4:20.40.

Chappell-Dick was the top D-III finisher in the mile run, taking a time of 5:16.47.����(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) clocked a season best in the 800m at 2:36.34, narrowly missing the ODAC qualifying time by 0.05 seconds. And Williams broke her PR in the 400m, timing at 1:04.62.

��(Bedford, Va./Liberty) landed a nice effort in the triple jump, measuring at 10.44m (34-3.00ft).�� Also in the field,����(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) had a best toss of 13.02m (42-8.75ft) in the weight throw.

For the Eastern Mennonite men,����(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) had a monster toss in the shot put.�� His best heave of 14.00m (45-11.25ft) was not only the top D-III distance at the meet, but also put him third in EMU history and with the second-best throw in the ODAC this season.�� He was also solid in the weight throw, landing at 11.93m (39-1.75ft)

��(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) punched an ODAC ticket in the 5000m, but more importantly earned the No. 2 time in the EMU record books.�� His time of 15:49.48 was only behind cross country teammate��Jacob Landis‘ 15:41.94, a record set last year.

In the 800m run, sophomore����(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) earned the third-best finish in EMU history with a time of 1:57.01.����(Staunton, Va./Fore Defiance) wasn’t far behind as he landed at No. 4 in the EMU books at 1:57.77.

The duo also ran in the mile.�� Denlinger again crossed first in 4:31.19 to take seventh in program history, while Thibodeaux had his season best run at 4:35.20.

��(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) earned a trip to the ODAC Championships in the 200m, timing at 23.90.�� In the 400m, EMU had two men qualify for ODACs, highlighted by����(Winchester, Va./Millbrook) PRing in 52.07.����(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) had a finish of 53.11.

��(Broadway, Va./Broadway) continued his road back in the 60m hurdles with a season best time of 8.79.

Then in the 4x400m relay, the Royals had a foursome cross in 3:30.16, which was just a tenth of a second behind a team from ODAC rival Washington and Lee.������(Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass), Bush, Denlinger and Faint combined for the No. 7 time in EMU history.

And a foursome also landed in No. 7 in the distance medley relay, as��(Churchville, Va./Fort Defiance),����(Nelson, Va./Nelson County),����(Richmond, Va./Huguenot) and����(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) clocked at 11:08.35.

��(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) kept in his ODAC-leading shape by clearing 1.92m (6-3.5ft) in the high jump.

Eastern Mennonite’s teams are back in action next weekend, participating at the DuCharme Invitational in Carlisle, Pa., on Saturday.