Harriers Shine at Raleigh Relays

Complete Results

RALEIGH, N.C. (EMUEagles.com)—Eastern Michigan University's men's track and field team opened up the 2015 outdoor campaign with the first day of the Raleigh Relays, March 27.

The highlight of the day came late in the evening, as Willy Fink (Maumee, Ohio-Maumee) claimed the title in the 5000m run out of over 100 harriers. Fink not only cut down on his personal record by more than 20 seconds, but his winning mark of 13:51.35 is the third-fastest in EMU history and the fastest since Boaz Cheboiywo broke the record in 2003.

Another standout performance took place in the long jump invitational, where Donald Scott (Apopka, Fla.-Apopka) placed second with a leap of 7.08 meters/23 feet 2.75-inches, missing out on the winning spot by a slim two inches. Tyler Brown (Findlay, Ohio-Findlay) competed alongside the redshirt-senior, finishing eighth at 6.46 meters/21 feet 2.50-inches.

Three other events were contested on the field on the first day of action. In the discus throw, Mike Hierholzer (Medina, Ohio-Medina) paced the Eagles with a throw of 41.92 meters/145 feet 1-inch to place 13^th, while Travis Harris (Walled Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Central) claimed 18^th at 40.50 meters/132 feet 10-inches. Harris went on to lead the Green and White in the shot put, placing 13^th with a throw of 15.29 meters/50 feet 2-inches, and the pair of Keith Williams (Sherman, Ill.-Williamsville) and Quinn Levering (Caledonia, Ohio-River Valley) finished in 14^th and 15^th with throws of 15.23 meters/49 feet 11.75-inches and 15.22 meters/49 feet 11.25-inches, respectively.

In the high jump, Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) and James O'Shea (Toledo, Ohio-St. Johns Jesuit) both cleared 1.90 meters/6 feet 2.75-inches, with Brumfield tying for seventh and O'Shea claiming 11^th overall.

Back on the track, the Eagles had a pair of sprinters finish in the top-10 in the 100m dash. Kevin Snead (Richmond, Va.-George Wythe (Pima CC)) and Brandon Bolden (Solon, Ohio-Solon) both crossed the line in 10.88 seconds, but Snead had the upper hand when it came down to thousandths of a second, placing eighth while Bolden took ninth. Another close finish between teammates came in the 400m dash, as Matthew Williams (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Vista Del Lago) and Jason Ervin (Farmington Hills, Mich.-Farmington) took 11^th and 12^th, respectively. Williams clocked in at 48.17 seconds, while Ervin garnered a mark of 48.41 seconds.

In the 110m hurdles, Bryce Lindsey (New Middletown, Ohio-Fairfield Senior) claimed another top-10 mark of the day for Eastern, placing ninth in 14.68 seconds while Solomon Ijah (Murrieta, Calif.-Murrieta Valley) was close behind in 14.74 seconds for 11^th. Additionally, Jeff Elam (Latrobe, Pa.-Greater Latrobe Senior) set a personal best of 14.89 seconds, finishing 17^th.

In the three remaining distance events, Steve Hammond (Warsaw, Ohio-River View (Wingate)) finished 21^st in the 3000m steeplechase after notching a 9:22.65, followed by Caleb Hess (Owosso, Mich.-Owosso) in 10:11.65. The 1500m saw Mitch Lenneman (River Falls, Wis.-River Falls) as the lead runner for the Eagles, finishing in the top-40 with a time of 3:55.80 while Nick Raymond (Erie, Mich.-Mason) clocked in at 3:58.40.

In the nightcap run of the 10,000m, the distance group came out in fine showing, as two Eagles earned spots on the all-time top-10 list. Warren Witchell (Dansville, Mich.-Williamston) churned out a ninth-place finish in 29:36.19 and Hlynur Andresson (Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland-Mountain Ridge (Alderson Broaddus)) clocked in at 29:38.42 to claim 13^th. The two times take over as the ninth and 10^th-fastest marks in program laurels, and the Green and White had one final top-20 run by John Knox (Gloversville, N.Y.-Gloversville) in 29:47.05 to finish 17^th.

Eastern will resume competition tomorrow, beginning with the hammer throw at 10 a.m. On the track, the 4x1500m relay will start at 11 a.m. For live results and streaming, please visit the Raleigh Relays site at www.gopack.com.

EMU Individual Results (* signifies a personal best)

110m Hurdles
9. Lindsey, Bryce	14.68
11. Ijah, Solomon	14.74
17. Elam, Jeff	14.89*
25. Selvig, Levi	15.18

Discus Throw
13. Hierholzer, Mike	41.92m/145-01*
18. Harris, Travis	40.50m/132-10

100m Dash
8. Snead, Kevin	10.88*
9. Bolden, Brandon	10.88*
22. Bolton, Cameron	11.13
31. Delgado, Pedro	11.21
32. Blanchard, Wayne	11.21

400m Dash
11. Williams, Matthew	48.17
12. Ervin, Jason	48.41
22. Waynes, Mason	49.34
53. James, Nick	50.61*

1500m Run
39. Lenneman, Mitch	3:55.80*
61. Raymond, Nick	3:58.40*
100. Sparks, Stephen	4:03.13*

3000m Steeplechase
21. Hammond, Steve	9:22.65*
39. Hess, Caleb	10:11.65*

Shot Put
13. Harris, Travis	15.29m/50-02.00
14. Williams, Keith	15.23m/49-11.75
15. Levering, Quinn	15.22m/49-11.25
40. Hierholzer, Mike	13.69m/44-11.00*

High Jump College Division
7. Brumfield, Ryan	1.90m/6-02.75
11. O'Shea, James	1.90m/6-02.75

Long Jump Invitational
2. Scott, Donald	7.08m/23-02.75
8. Brown, Tyler	6.46m/21-02.50

5000m Run
1. Fink,Willy	13:51.35*

10,000m Run
9. Witchell, Warren	29:36.19*
13. Andresson, Hlynur	29:38.42*
17. Knox, John	29:47.05*
60. Flores, Abel	31:51.98*

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hlynur Andresson

Brandon Bolden

Tyler Brown

Ryan Brumfield

Jeff Elam

Jason Ervin

Willy Fink

Steve Hammond

Travis Harris

Caleb Hess

Mike Hierholzer

John Knox

Mitch Lenneman

Quinn Levering

Bryce Lindsey

James O'Shea

Nick Raymond

Donald Scott

Solomon Simmons

Kevin Snead

Keith Williams

Matthew Williams

Warren Witchell

Eastern Michigan Athletics