Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, April 18
Charlottesville, Va.
All Day
Eastern Michigan University
at
Virginia Challenge
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Chloe Smith
Ijah Dominates Decathlon en Route to Breaking EMU Record
4/19/2015 12:21:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Men's track and field finishes competition at Virginia Challenge
Complete Results
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (EMUEagles.com)—Eastern Michigan University's men's track and field team finished up its third meet of the 2015 outdoor campaign, once again showing improvement throughout the close of the Virginia Challenge, April 18.
"We had a very encouraging overall team performance in Virginia," noted Head Coach John Goodridge. The EMU program leader made special mention of Solomon Ijah (Murrieta, Calif.-Murrieta Valley), who won the decathlon title and broke a 25-year-old EMU record previously held by Morris Ellis with 7,648 points. Goodridge exclaimed, "My staff and I are so proud and happy to see Solomon set a new EMU decathlon record. This young man has battled back physically and mentally since major knee surgery as a freshman and has had to learn to switch jumping legs. His perseverance is a testimony to tremendous character."
Ijah showcased his talent by winning the decathlon by nearly 250 points and tacking on more than 300 points to his previous personal best. Teammate Levi Selvig (Flushing, Mich.-Flushing Community) competed alongside Ijah, taking ninth overall with 6,627 points. In the opening event for the day, the pair took second and fourth in the 110m hurdles, with Ijah leading the way in a personal-best 14.43 seconds while Selvig cruised to fourth in 15.11 seconds. Going into the discus throw, Ijah set yet another career mark to win the event with a throw of 42.82 meters/140 feet 6-inches, while Selvig placed 11th at 34.17 meters/114 feet. Selvig led the duo in the pole vault, taking sixth after clearing 4.30 meters/14 feet 1.25-inches, but Ijah mustered a top-10 finish with a vault of 4.10 meters/13 feet 5.50-inches. Ijah picked up another section victory in the javelin with a launch of 57.70 meters/189 feet 4-inches, and Selvig had a career-best throw of 43.57 meters/142 feet 11-inches. The two student-athletes ended the day with top-10 finishes in the 1500m run, as Ijah shaved almost 10 seconds off his time to finish seventh in 4:42.95 and Selvig was just over half a second off his best time, taking 10th in 4:48.11.
Eastern had a few more performances that made their way into the EMU record book. Individually, Travis Harris (Walled Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Central) threw 17.17 meters/56 feet 4-inches in the shot put to notch the sixth-farthest throw in EMU history and finish fifth in the event. Also having a career day in the shot put was Keith Williams (Sherman, Ill.-Williamsville), who took eighth with a mark of 16.31 meters/53 feet 6.25-inches. Also competing in the shot put were Quinn Levering (Caledonia, Ohio-River Valley) with a throw of 15.77 meters/51 feet 9-inches and Mike Hierholzer (Medina, Ohio-Medina), notching a distance of 14.93 meters/48 feet 11.75-inches.
On the track, the 4x400m relay team of Matthew Williams (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Vista del Lago), Jeff Elam (Latrobe, Pa.-Greater Latrobe Senior), Cameron Bolton (Missouri City, Texas-Hightower), and Jason Ervin (Farmington Hills, Mich.-Farmington) finished runner-up behind Ohio State in 3:07.53, a time that is good for fifth in EMU laurels. Bolton and Elam also has strong individual performance for the Eagles. In the 200m, Bolton paced Tyler Brown (Findlay, Ohio-Findlay) and Brandon Bolden (Solon, Ohio-Solon), taking eighth in 21.14 seconds while Brown finished 10th in 21.34 seconds and Bolden set a personal record of 21.35 seconds to take 11th. Elam ran a season-best 52.56 seconds in the 400m hurdles to place sixth overall, and newcomer Mark Cooke (Edison, N.J.-John P. Stevens) cut more than three seconds off his time to place 18th in 55.97 seconds.
The Green and White had three more top-10 finish, all of which came from the field. Donald Scott (Apopka, Fla.-Apopka), fresh off breaking his own record in the triple jump for the second time this season, placed fourth in the invitational section of the long jump with a leap of 7.43 meters/24 feet 4.50-inches. In the high jump, Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) garnered an eighth-place finish after clearing 1.97 meters/ 6 feet 5.50-inches while James O'Shea (Toledo, Ohio-St. Johns Jesuit) took 10th with a mark of 1.92 meters/6 feet 3.50-inches.
Three more events were run on the track to wrap up the day. Bryce Lindsey (New Middletown, Ohio-Fairfield Senior) took 12th in the 110m hurdles, crossing the line in 14.69 seconds. In the distance events, Mitch Lenneman (River Falls, Wis.-River Falls) ran a personal best in the 1500m to lead the Eagles in 3:50.61 for 34th overall, followed by Nick Raymond (Erie, Mich.-Mason) in 3:56.31 and Caleb Hess (Owosso, Mich.-Owosso) in 4:00.94. Warren Witchell (Williamston, Mich.-Dansville) capped off the day in the 5000m, placing 22nd in 14:28.51.
Eastern will remain in the Great Lakes State next weekend, heading west to Hillsdale, Mich. for the Hillsdale Gina Relays, April 24-25.
EMU Individual Results (* is a personal best; ^ signifies a MAC qualifying mark; # represents an EMU record)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (EMUEagles.com)—Eastern Michigan University's men's track and field team finished up its third meet of the 2015 outdoor campaign, once again showing improvement throughout the close of the Virginia Challenge, April 18.
"We had a very encouraging overall team performance in Virginia," noted Head Coach John Goodridge. The EMU program leader made special mention of Solomon Ijah (Murrieta, Calif.-Murrieta Valley), who won the decathlon title and broke a 25-year-old EMU record previously held by Morris Ellis with 7,648 points. Goodridge exclaimed, "My staff and I are so proud and happy to see Solomon set a new EMU decathlon record. This young man has battled back physically and mentally since major knee surgery as a freshman and has had to learn to switch jumping legs. His perseverance is a testimony to tremendous character."
Ijah showcased his talent by winning the decathlon by nearly 250 points and tacking on more than 300 points to his previous personal best. Teammate Levi Selvig (Flushing, Mich.-Flushing Community) competed alongside Ijah, taking ninth overall with 6,627 points. In the opening event for the day, the pair took second and fourth in the 110m hurdles, with Ijah leading the way in a personal-best 14.43 seconds while Selvig cruised to fourth in 15.11 seconds. Going into the discus throw, Ijah set yet another career mark to win the event with a throw of 42.82 meters/140 feet 6-inches, while Selvig placed 11th at 34.17 meters/114 feet. Selvig led the duo in the pole vault, taking sixth after clearing 4.30 meters/14 feet 1.25-inches, but Ijah mustered a top-10 finish with a vault of 4.10 meters/13 feet 5.50-inches. Ijah picked up another section victory in the javelin with a launch of 57.70 meters/189 feet 4-inches, and Selvig had a career-best throw of 43.57 meters/142 feet 11-inches. The two student-athletes ended the day with top-10 finishes in the 1500m run, as Ijah shaved almost 10 seconds off his time to finish seventh in 4:42.95 and Selvig was just over half a second off his best time, taking 10th in 4:48.11.
Eastern had a few more performances that made their way into the EMU record book. Individually, Travis Harris (Walled Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Central) threw 17.17 meters/56 feet 4-inches in the shot put to notch the sixth-farthest throw in EMU history and finish fifth in the event. Also having a career day in the shot put was Keith Williams (Sherman, Ill.-Williamsville), who took eighth with a mark of 16.31 meters/53 feet 6.25-inches. Also competing in the shot put were Quinn Levering (Caledonia, Ohio-River Valley) with a throw of 15.77 meters/51 feet 9-inches and Mike Hierholzer (Medina, Ohio-Medina), notching a distance of 14.93 meters/48 feet 11.75-inches.
On the track, the 4x400m relay team of Matthew Williams (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Vista del Lago), Jeff Elam (Latrobe, Pa.-Greater Latrobe Senior), Cameron Bolton (Missouri City, Texas-Hightower), and Jason Ervin (Farmington Hills, Mich.-Farmington) finished runner-up behind Ohio State in 3:07.53, a time that is good for fifth in EMU laurels. Bolton and Elam also has strong individual performance for the Eagles. In the 200m, Bolton paced Tyler Brown (Findlay, Ohio-Findlay) and Brandon Bolden (Solon, Ohio-Solon), taking eighth in 21.14 seconds while Brown finished 10th in 21.34 seconds and Bolden set a personal record of 21.35 seconds to take 11th. Elam ran a season-best 52.56 seconds in the 400m hurdles to place sixth overall, and newcomer Mark Cooke (Edison, N.J.-John P. Stevens) cut more than three seconds off his time to place 18th in 55.97 seconds.
The Green and White had three more top-10 finish, all of which came from the field. Donald Scott (Apopka, Fla.-Apopka), fresh off breaking his own record in the triple jump for the second time this season, placed fourth in the invitational section of the long jump with a leap of 7.43 meters/24 feet 4.50-inches. In the high jump, Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) garnered an eighth-place finish after clearing 1.97 meters/ 6 feet 5.50-inches while James O'Shea (Toledo, Ohio-St. Johns Jesuit) took 10th with a mark of 1.92 meters/6 feet 3.50-inches.
Three more events were run on the track to wrap up the day. Bryce Lindsey (New Middletown, Ohio-Fairfield Senior) took 12th in the 110m hurdles, crossing the line in 14.69 seconds. In the distance events, Mitch Lenneman (River Falls, Wis.-River Falls) ran a personal best in the 1500m to lead the Eagles in 3:50.61 for 34th overall, followed by Nick Raymond (Erie, Mich.-Mason) in 3:56.31 and Caleb Hess (Owosso, Mich.-Owosso) in 4:00.94. Warren Witchell (Williamston, Mich.-Dansville) capped off the day in the 5000m, placing 22nd in 14:28.51.
Eastern will remain in the Great Lakes State next weekend, heading west to Hillsdale, Mich. for the Hillsdale Gina Relays, April 24-25.
EMU Individual Results (* is a personal best; ^ signifies a MAC qualifying mark; # represents an EMU record)
| Mark | Points | |
| Decathlon 110m Hurdles | ||
| 2. Ijah, Solomon | 14.43*^ | 920 |
| 4. Selvig, Levi | 15.11 | 836 |
| Decathlon Discus Throw | ||
| 1. Ijah, Solomon | 42.82m/140-06*East | 722 |
| 11. Selvig, Levi | 34.17m/114-00 | 558 |
| Decathlon Pole Vault | ||
| 6. Selvig, Levi | 4.30m/14-01.25 | 702 |
| 10. Ijah, Solomon | 4.10m/13-05.50 | 645 |
| Decathlon Javelin Throw | ||
| 1. Ijah, Solomon | 57.70m/189-04 | 703 |
| 13. Selvig, Levi | 43.57m/142-11* | 494 |
| Decathlon 1500m | ||
| 7. Ijah, Solomon | 4:42.95* | 662 |
| 10. Selvig, Levi | 4:48.11 | 630 |
| Decathlon Final | ||
| 1. Ijah, Solomon | 7648*# | |
| 9. Selvig, Levi | 6627 | |
| 200m Dash | ||
| 8. Bolton, Cameron | 21.14^ | |
| 10. Brown, Tyler | 21.34^ | |
| 11. Bolden, Brandon | 21.35*^ | |
| 1500m Run | ||
| 34. Lenneman, Mitch | 3:50.61*^ | |
| 53. Raymond, Nick | 3:56.31 | |
| 67. Hess, Caleb | 4:00.94 | |
| 5000m Run | ||
| 22. Witchell, Warren | 14:28.51^ | |
| 110m Hurdles | ||
| 12. Lindsey, Bryce | 14.69 | |
| 400m Hurdles | ||
| 6. Elam, Jeff | 52.56^ | |
| 18. Cooke, Mark | 55.97* | |
| 4x400m Relay | ||
| 2. Williams, Elam, Bolton, Ervin | 3:07.53 | |
| High Jump | ||
| 8. Brumfield, Ryan | 1.97m/6-05.50 | |
| 10. O'Shea, James | 1.92m/6-03.50 | |
| Long Jump Invitational | ||
| 4. Scott, Donald | 7.43m/24-04.50^ | |
| Shot Put | ||
| 5. Harris, Travis | 17.17m/56-04.00*^ | |
| 8. Williams, Keith | 16.31m/53-06.25* | |
| 10. Levering, Quinn | 15.77m/51-09.00 | |
| 15. Hierholzer, Mike | 14.93m/48-11.75* | |
Players Mentioned
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Sprints
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Distance
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Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
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/ Men's Track & Field
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/ Men's Track & Field
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/ Men's Track & Field
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/ Men's Track & Field
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Multis
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Distance
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