Senior (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) thoroughly dominated the throwing events, easily winning the shot put and weight throw. He was named the Athlete of the Meet, the first EMU male since Michael Allen in 2011, and the first male to win the title at the ODAC’s Indoor Championship.

Classmate (Broadway, Va./Broadway) bettered his prelimary qualifying time with a first-place finish of 8.28 in the finals. His time broke both the ODAC conference and championships records.聽 It was also Robinson’s third ODAC Champion title of his career, repeating as the 60m hurdles champion after also winning the 110m hurdles from outdoor season last spring.

Lagging team health hindered the women, who finished sixth, despite a pair of individual championships for senior (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) who defended her titles in the 800m and mile. Bridgewater edged Washington and Lee 135 to 133 for the team title.

Two Royals also won scholar-athlete awards. Junior was voted the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Scholar-Athlete.聽 A biology/pre-med major with a minor in business administration, Denlinger holds a 3.98 GPA is also a four-time All-ODAC honoree.聽 This is the second straight indoor scholar award for Denlinger.

Chappell-Dick also earned her fifth consecutive ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Scholar-Athlete award.聽 She is a biology major with minors in coaching, exercise science and honors.聽 Chappell-Dick holds a 3.84 GPA and has won every scholar-athlete honor possible from the ODAC since the beginning of her junior season.

Men’s results

Heizer PRed in the shot put and the weight throw, while also claiming the three best throws in each at the meet.聽 In the shot put, Heizer’s best landed at a monster 15.81m (51-10.75ft), not only winning gold but also vaulting him to No. 25 in the nation.聽 Then in the weight throw, he landed at 15.06m (49-5.25ft).聽 Both improved on his No. 2 spots in the EMU record books.

(Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) claimed fourth behind teammate Robinson in the 60m hurldes race in 8.68, while (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) took sixth in 8.73.聽 It was a PR for Faint.

Jumper (Bristow, Va./Patriot) had a great first effort, as the freshman took All-ODAC Third Team honors in the triple jump at 13.61m (44-8ft).聽 His PR distance was the third-best effort in EMU history.

Amoateng then cleared 1.79m (5-10.5ft) in the high jump to claim seventh.聽 The freshman also grabbed seventh in the long jump, landing his best at 6.36m (20-10.5ft).聽 Both efforts were PRs, with the long jump distance putting him No. 8 all-time at EMU.

(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) earned third place in the 800m for All-ODAC Third Team status.聽 The junior crossed in 1:57.24, behind only a pair of Bridgewater runners.

Running partner (Mount Sidney, Va./Fort Defiance) had a similar finish in the mile, settling for third in 4:25.98.聽 He then took fifth in the 3000m with a time of 9:03.55.聽 Thibodeaux was five seconds behind four runners clumped within just over a second of each other.

The 4×400 relay team staked a third-place.聽 The foursome of Faint, (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass), (Salem, Va./Salem) and Denlinger finished in 3:27.32. Faint had a great all-around individual effort, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 400m, clocking in at 50.83.聽 The sophomore’s PR also bumped him up to No. 8 in the EMU’s record books.聽 Sampson also grabbed two points for taking seventh in the event at 51.47.聽 He comes in at No. 9 in EMU history.

The distance medley relay team added two points towards the team total with a seventh-place finish.聽 (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg), (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle), (Dayton, Va./Ben Logan) and (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) came in at 11:52.21.

Women’s results

Chappell-Dick broke the ODAC Championships record in the mile, registering a time 5:03.54.聽 She was more than four seconds better than the previous best at the ODAC Indoor Meet, beating Carmen Graves’ time of 5:07.84.

Then in the 800m, she edged Marissa Combs of Virginia Wesleyan in 2:20.62, just ahead of Coombs’ 2:20.80.聽 She has now won the last four indoor and outdoor 800m ODAC titles, as well as the last two miles, which are only an indoor event.

Sophomore (Dover, Ohio/Dover), who won the 3000m and 5000m last year, took fifth in the 5000m with a time of 19:36.21.聽 After finishing runner-up last year, (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) also didn’t run the 3000m.

The distance medley relay team just missed defending last year’s title, coming in second.聽 (Goshen, Ind./Goshen), (King George, Va./King George), (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) and Paden put together a time of 13:14.36, finishing nearly four seconds behind Bridgewater’s winning foursome.

(Bedford, Va./Liberty) finished fourth in the triple jump.聽 Her first two jumps each landed at 10.57m (34-8.25ft), but Lynchburg’s Shanice Clarke edged her with one late jump at 10.66m (34-11.75ft).聽 Kittrell then settled for eighth in the long jump, sticking her best at 4.78m (15-8.25ft).聽 She was less than an inch from seventh place and 3.5 inches from sixth.

The 4x400m relay team of Williams, Yoder, Chappell-Dick and Schirch took fifth, combined for a time of 4:13.85.

(Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) claimed sixth in the 60m dash, crossing in 8.15 in the finals.聽 The freshman’s PR improves her No. 2 time in the EMU record books.

In the 400m, Williams also finished sixth.聽 She was second in her heat, clocking at 1:02.54.聽 Pole vaulter (Denton, Md./North Caroline) was another of the women who finished sixth, as she cleared 2.22m (7-3.25ft).

(Portsmouth, Va./Churchland) finished seventh in the shot put, with her best toss landing at 10.10m (33-2ft).

For the men,聽聽(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聽聽(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock),聽聽(Winchester, Va./Millbrook),聽聽(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and Thibodeaux destroyed the program record in the distance medley relay.聽 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,聽聽(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) and聽聽(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.聽 He moves to the second-best time in the event in EMU history.聽 Luke Yoder set the record of 1:55.84 in 2007.聽 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.聽 Faint, a sophomore, clocked at 51.41 to win his heat and earn 21st overall.聽 Faint PRed with the effort and moved up two spots to No. 8 in the EMU history books.聽 Sampson, a freshman, knocked 0.01 of his PR to take sole possession of No. 9 in the books at 51.65.

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

聽(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) improved upon his EMU No. 2 distance in the weight throw.聽 His best toss landed at 14.87m (48-9.5ft), an improvement of more than two feet.聽 Nathan Turner holds the EMU record at 15.77m (51-9ft).聽 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,聽聽(Broadway, Va./Broadway) crossed in 8.78 while聽聽(Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) came in at 8.96.

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

聽(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,聽聽(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) put herself fourth in the nation in the mile run with her time of 5:02.05.聽 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.聽 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.聽聽聽(King George, Va./King George) had a PR of 2:30.74, jumping herself to No. 6 on the all-time EMU charts.聽 Freshman聽聽(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聽聽(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) came in at 2:33.60.

In the 3000m,聽聽(Dover, Ohio/Dover) crossed in 10:34.38.聽 Senior聽聽(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聽聽(Bedford, Va./Liberty) was the lone EMU representative.聽 She just missed her indoor PR in the triple jump, landing at 10.55m (34-7.5ft).聽 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.

Each year, a new group of highly motivated and gifted scholars is invited to join the EMU . From this group, two prospective students are selected to receive the annual full-tuition .

Nicole Litwiller of Sarasota, Florida, and Maria Yoder of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will begin their education in the fall of 2015 as contributors to EMU鈥檚 legacy of academic excellence.

During Honors Weekend in February, Litwiller and Yoder came to campus with 42 other candidates for the final interview process. The group averaged 1,269 on the SAT critical reading and math sections, 29 on the ACT and a high-school grade point average (GPA) of 4.11.

Full Tuition Yoder Scholarships

The Yoder Scholarships, established in 1993, are named for Paul and Carol Yoder of Harrisonburg, Virginia, both 1963 graduates of EMU. The rigorous selection process for the two scholarships includes a comprehensive academic and service resume, letters of recommendation, creative essays and interviews with Honors Program professors. Candidates who do not win the full-tuition scholarships receive academic scholarships covering approximately half of tuition, as well as membership in the Honors Program.

鈥淲e are looking for creative students with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities,鈥� said , a mathematics professor and faculty member in the Honors Program.

Benefits Include 1:1 Mentoring and Critical Thinking Boosts

Over the past three years, the graduation rate for EMU honors students was 100 percent, with a third completing double or triple majors. These students, representing diverse cultural, racial and religious backgrounds, participate in special academic and co-curricular opportunities to learn from and be mentored by faculty.

A majority of honors graduates responding to a 2009 alumni survey 鈥渟trongly agreed鈥� that the program increased their overall learning and deepened critical thinking skills. Forty-two percent of the survey respondents indicated an educational track beyond their undergraduate degree.

Maria Yoder: The Animal Lover

Maria Yoder loves cats and dogs, and as she took biology classes in the past year, she thought about becoming a veterinarian someday. Lately she鈥檚 been volunteering at an animal hospital. At EMU, she plans to enroll in the pre-professional health sciences program.

At Hempfield High School, Yoder is involved in sports, music, tutoring and academic clubs. She was captain of her school鈥檚 volleyball team, which won consecutive state championships in 2013 and 2014. She is also captain of the track and field team. A cellist in the school orchestra, she was selected this spring for the state orchestra.

At EMU, Yoder will run , her favorite sport, and join the team. She will play cello in the orchestra.

鈥淚 like to keep a busy schedule,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut I have to be organized and make sure to leave some time for relaxing so I don鈥檛 feel overwhelmed.鈥�

Her parents, Randy and Marianne Kurtz Yoder, graduated from EMU in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Her mother earned a in 2013. Although EMU was high on Yoder鈥檚 list, she also considered Haverford College near Philadelphia and the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

Nicole Litwiller: Looking Forward to Cross-Cultural

Nicole Litwiller says that 鈥淓MU has been on my radar since I was young.鈥� Her parents are both graduates 鈥� Larry 鈥�80 and Nelda Rempel Litwiller 鈥�85. 鈥淚 am excited to expand my faith and be challenged by professors,鈥� she says. 鈥淎lso, I love how EMU puts a huge focus on becoming more knowledgeable about other cultures worldwide.鈥�

During the middle of her sophomore year, Litwiller went through an emotional experience when her family moved from Kansas to Florida the day after Christmas. She did not know anyone at Sarasota Christian School, but she looks back on that transition as full of 鈥渕any new and fun things.鈥�

Today she is president of her senior class, and she is trying to make the year an unforgettable one for her classmates. During her sophomore and junior years, she was on her school鈥檚 team that advanced to world competition both times.

A member of her high school soccer team and one of its three captains, Litwiller will probably play for EMU this fall.

Her major, at this point, is undecided. 鈥淚 hope that through my classes, the cross-cultural trip and other experiences at EMU that my path will become clearer,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 am looking forward to many opportunities to experience the world.鈥�

By Heather Bowser, Daily News-Record

On Sunday, Mark Risser will graduate from 草莓社区.

His cousin, Elisabeth Barthlow, 22, of Cleveland, Tenn., officially received her diploma in December, but will walk across the stage this weekend with him.

Touching, but there