The men had the biggest contingent participating, and the runners made a habit out of clocking their career best times.

 (Nelson, Va./Nelson County) had a great day as he set personal bests in both the 200m (23.09) and 400m (52.87).  (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) also scored a PR in the 200m at 23.17, while  (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) finished with a time of 22.71. Winters also led the trio in the 400m with a time of 50.38.

 (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) had a breakthrough performance in the 800m as the freshman took sixth overall with a huge PR time of 1:54.58. The time puts him No. 3 on the all-time EMU list and just 0.06 seconds from Marcel Long at No. 2.

 (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) shaved six seconds off of his personal best time in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing fifth at the meet in 10:13.06. He improves his No. 5 time in the EMU record books.

In the high jump,  (Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) took fifth with a best height of 1.99m. After clearing 1.99m, King passed on the next height (2.04m), which was a mark he had already attained this year, and went for 2.09m (6-10.25ft). His third attempt was his best, but he just grazed the bar with his heel and did not clear the height.  (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) had an earlier than expected exit from the competition, but still grabbed a top-10 finish with a mark of 1.89m (6-2.25ft).

In the throws,  (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) had a huge day, taking home two personal best marks. In the shot put, he placed fifth overall with a best toss of 13.02m (42-8.75ft), good for No. 8 on the EMU list. In the discus, his best toss of 34.90m (114-6ft) was good for ninth place overall.

 (Bluffton Oh./Bluffton) was the lone female participant for EMU, but she made her presence felt in her one race. The sophomore dropped down to run the 400m and sped to the No. 2 time in EMU history at 59.08. Chappell-Dick’s time was more than a second faster than her previous best. Lorenda Abbott set the EMU record at 58.08 in 1999.

Coach Jason Lewkowicz said he was very pleased with the efforts the meet.

“We had personal best marks all over the place and some folks were able to end their season on high note,” Lewkowicz explained. “Jeremy Heizer had a great day in the throws and it’s hard to believe that he’s only been throwing for a few months. His improvement has been very impressive. Alec Thibodeaux got put in a great heat of 800m runners and cut over two seconds off of his lifetime best in the event. Finally, I was really proud of how Londen Wheeler competed, taking home two huge PRs in the 200m and 400m.”

The focus continues for a handful of EMU athletes to prepare for trips to the national meet later in May. Despite not running in the event at Liberty, Chappell-Dick is No. 4 in the nation in the 800m at 2:11.89, and seems a lock to qualify for nationals. King is currently No. 19 with his height of 2.04m (6-8.25ft) from the ODAC Championships and seems likely to earn a spot in the field of 22 participants. Vrolijk is tied at No. 28 at 2.00m (6-6.75ft).

Lewkowicz sees King hitting his stride and hopes his senior can go out on a high note.

“Jordan King was able to take jumps at over 6-10,” he said, “and although he was unable to improve his season best mark, he came really close and goes into next week with confidence to get those few extra centimeters he needs to cement a place at the NCAA championships.”

Eastern Mennonite’s tracksters are at back-to-back meets next week, with many of the Royals participating in Thursday’s Roanoke Twilight Invitational.  Just a handful will turn around the next day for the high-level Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville.

Women’s track and field

³§´Ç±è³ó´Ç³¾´Ç°ù±ðÌý (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) highlighted the ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø track & field women at the ODAC Championships as she won two individual titles and broke a record.  Roanoke College hosted the conference’s title meet in Salem, Va.

Chappell-Dick claimed a pair of gold medals with the resulting All-ODAC First Team status.  In the 1500m, Chappell-Dick had a huge PR to break the ODAC Championships record.  The sophomore crossed in 4:38.61, out-pacing rival Annalise Madison of Washington and Lee by a full second.  Both runners broke the meet record of 4:43.08, set by All-American Carmen Graves in 2012.  It was also an EMU record for Chappell-Dick, who easily broke her own mark of 4:47.12 from last spring.

Chappell-Dick and Madison went head-to-head again in the 800m, with Chappell-Dick again coming out on top.  She ran off her EMU record time, but still cleared the field by three seconds with a time of 2:18.31.  Teammate  (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) had a great race and PRed in 2:25.23.  She finished eighth and just missed pointing by a mere nine-tenths of a second.

In the javelin,  (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) just missed All-ODAC honors with a fourth-place finish.  Borg’s best spear landed at 29.32m to just edge out W&L’s Leigh Dannhauser on her final effort.

The 4x400m relay team grabbed sixth, as  (Puyallup, Wash./Mountainview International), Schirch,  (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) and Chappell-Dick combined to time at 4:27.36.

 (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) snuck a point in the discus, finishing sixth at 31.45m.

³§±ð²Ô¾±´Ç°ùÌý (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) finished her career well, setting her PR in the 5000m with a time of 19:29.20.  Similar to Schirch, Rittenhouse finished eighth, with the top six in each event earning points to the team total.

The Royals totaled 26 points to finished seventh out of nine teams at the meet.  Roanoke won the team title with 150.33 points.

Men’s track and field

It was almost expected, but the ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø men’s track & field team made a clean sweep of the high jump medals at the 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship meet.  Roanoke hosted the two-day event in Salem, Va., on Friday and Saturday.

EMU entered the ODAC Championships with three of the top four heights in the high jump during the season.  They made it a top-three sweep.   (Dalton, Ohio/Central Christian) earned his fourth consecutive indoor and outdoor title, as the senior had no problem in clearing 2.04m (6-8.25ft) to win the meet and set a new EMU record.   (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) had the most surprising finish, claiming the silver at 2.02m (6-7.5ft).  Moore recently joined the team after the completion of the men’s volleyball season a few weeks ago.  ³§´Ç±è³ó´Ç³¾´Ç°ù±ðÌý (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) was third at 1.91m (6-3.25ft).  All three claim All-ODAC status, and each also have a shot at qualifying for the national meet.

 (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) just claimed a spot in the finals of the 400m dash, standing sixth after the preliminaries with a time of :50.41.  The freshman then set his PR in the finals, finishing fourth with a time of :50.20.

 (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) took points in the 3000m steeplechase, earning fifth with a time of 10:19.7.

The 4x400m relay team of  (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), Winters,  (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) was fifth as well, combining for a time of 3:25.08 and a photo finish ahead of Roanoke’s time of 3:25.13.

Thibodeaux and  (Perkasie, Pa./ Christopher Dock) continued their season-long efforts at pushing each other in the 800m.  Thibodeaux crossed sixth to grab the final point toward the team total, timing at 1:57.88.  He was just three-tenths of a second from jumping into fourth place.  Denlinger then took seventh place in 1:58.33.

 (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) set his PR by more than seven seconds in the 5000m run, crossing in 15:26.11 to take sixth place.  Classmate  (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) was one position behind him with a time of 15:37.21.

 (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) and  (Broadway, Va./Broadway) each qualified for the finals of 110m hurdles, with Cox grabbing sixth place in :16.07.

 (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) was one spot from pointing in the 10,000m run, crossing seventh in 34:22.97.

 (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) topped his PR on three different efforts in the shot put, and finished eighth with his best heave at 12.38m (40-7.4ft).  He also destroyed his PR in the discus, landing at 34.12m (111-11.3ft).

Eastern Mennonite finished seventh in a very tight grouping in the men’s team standings.  EMU had 35 points, but was within three points of fourth-place Roanoke at 38.  Virginia Wesleyan was fifth with 37 while Shenandoah was sixth at 36.

This was the final meet of the year for most of the Royals, although a few athletes will stick around in efforts to prepare for a potential trip to the NCAA National Championships, which are May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio.  The first meet scheduled as part of that stretch run is the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on Wednesday, April 30.

Chappell-Dick  took second place in the 800m, and was easily the top D-III finisher, as she broke her own school record with a time of 2:12.95.  Her record from last spring was 2:13.19.  The next D-III runner was more than seven seconds behind Chappell-Dick.   (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) also had a solid finish in the event, crossing 13th in 2:26.95.  She was third among runners from EMU’s level.

Bane also broke her own school mark in the hammer throw, landing at 39.28m (128-10ft).  Her previous best was 38.43m (126-1ft), also set in 2013.

 (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) moved into EMU’s top 10 in the 5000m, setting her PR at 19:37.29.

On the men’s side, the Royals had eight top-10 finishes and three new ODAC qualifiers.

The highest finish went to  (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), who ran the 3000m steeplechase and took fourth with a final time of 10:21.78.  The finish pits him fifth in EMU history.

Meanwhile the 4x100m relay team crossed in fifth with a time of 43.69.   (Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy),  (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside),  (Nelson, Va./Nelson County) and  (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) combined for the No. 5 time in the program’s books.

 (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and  (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) looked good in the 5000m, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.  Gehman was the top D-III finisher in 15:45.92, while Landis was right behind in 15:48.88.   (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) tallied 13th and was the fourth D-III runner with a time of 16:28.89.

In the 400m, Winters was seventh and the top D-III male with his time of 50.41.  He earns a trip to the ODAC Championships with his finish and is sixth in program history.   (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) was three spots behind Winters in tenth with a time of 51.74.

 (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) had an eighth-place finish in the 800m, timing at 1:57.54.   (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) was just outside of the top 10 in 11th, with his finish of 1:59.31.  He was also 11th in the 1500m in 4:07.30, qualifying for ODACs in the process.

 (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who joined the team with the recent completion of the men’s volleyball season, finished tenth with his first efforts in the long jump.  He also earned a trip to the ODAC meet with a landing at 6.37m (20-10.75ft).  Moore was also the top D-III finisher.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams are back in action next Saturday at the Mason Spring Invitational, hosted by D-I George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

³§´Ç±è³ó´Ç³¾´Ç°ù±ðÌý (Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) had the only gold for the weekend, winning the 800m in 2:17.21.  She was nearly two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor in a large field of 41 women.  Chappell-Dick also finished fifth in the 400m, clocking at 1:00.72.  That race had a tight finish, as she was within a quarter of a second of third place.

Elsewhere for the women in Lexington,  (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) and  (Puyallup, Wash./Mountainview International) qualified for ODAC in the 400m, crossing in 1:04.99 and 1:07.12, respectively.  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  (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) in 11th place with a time of 19:32.58.   (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area)crossed in 19:52.71 and  (Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) clocked at 20:33.23, easily breaking the 21-minute barrier for the first time in her career.

 (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) and  (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) participated in the Roanoke meet, and both had runner-up finishes there.  Bane took second in the discus with a PR throw of 33.20m (108-11ft).  She just missed third in the hammer throw, settling for fourth at 34.95m (114-8ft).  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.  ³§´Ç±è³ó´Ç³¾´Ç°ù±ðÌý (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) took silver with the No. 5 jump in EMU history, clearing 1.97m (6-5.5ft).   (Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) earned the bronze, having a best height of 1.92m (6-3.5ft).

 (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.

 (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.   (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) now sits at No. 5 on the EMU list with his time of 15:33.46.   (Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) also had a solid showing in his outdoor 5000m debut running a personal best time of 16:16.43.

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

³§´Ç±è³ó´Ç³¾´Ç°ù±ðÌý (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) led a large EMU contingent in the event, taking tenth in :51.65.   (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) wasn’t far behind in :52.03, while  (Nelson, Va./Nelson County) was the last of the five Royals in :53.46.

³§±è°ù¾±²Ô³Ù±ð°ùÌý (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) was sixth in the 200m, timing at :22.62, and was tenth in the 100m in :11.31.   (Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) also qualified for ODACs in the 200m, coming in at :23.16.

 (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.  “We were blessed with great weather and great competitive atmospheres.  With such a young team, it is important that we take each opportunity to go out, compete, and show consistent improvement.  This weekend was a great step in the right direction.  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.  “We have a lot of talented newcomers on the men’s side and a number of All-ODAC performers returning for the women.  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.  For the men, (Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) will look to improve on his incredible growth from last year.  As a junior transfer, King was talked into trying the high jump by Lewkowicz.  In his first-ever campaign in the event, King won both the indoor and outdoor ODAC titles, and also broke the EMU outdoor record.  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.  “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.  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.  For the women, sophomore (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) was third in 800m outdoor race, finishing just behind Chappell-Dick.  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.  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).  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.  For men, (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) will help push King in the high jump.  Last year as a freshman, he broke the school’s indoor high jump record before King took it over.  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.  “ (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.  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.  “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.  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.  “We have a lot of newcomers, some folks returning from/leaving for cross culturals, and some returning from injuries.  Getting everyone on the same page and focused on the same goals is always a priority.  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.  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.  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.  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.  “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.  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.  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.  The ODAC Indoor Championships are March 2 in Hampton, Va., with nationals two weeks later in Lincoln, Neb.  The outdoor season then starts on March 22, with the ODAC Outdoor Championships on April 18 and 19.  After a handful of “last chance” meets, the national outdoor meet is May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio.