Men's Track and Field Ready to Host Can-Am International

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team is set to host the Can-Am International Saturday, Jan. 25 at Bob Parks Track inside Bowen Field House. This marks the second consecutive season that the Eagles have hosted an indoor meet.

Eastern will welcome Mid-American Conference opponents Bowling Green, Central Michigan, and Western Michigan, along with intrastate contenders Detroit Mercy and Oakland. In addition to Big East Conference foe Xavier, five Canadian programs will cross the border to take part in this meet, as McMaster, Toronto, Waterloo, Western Ontario, and Windsor are all scheduled to compete.

EMU led the pack at last season's Can-Am International with seven individual championships, Jan. 26, 2019. Then-senior Cameron Hart (Columbus, Ohio-Bishop Hartley) was the lone male athlete to win a pair of field events, as we won the long jump with a leap of 7.29 meters and claimed first prize in the high jump with a mark of 2.04 meters. Additionally, current junior Taige Bryant (Edmond, Okla.-Edmond Memorial) captured the weight throw with a 19.02-meter heave, while former Eagle Zach Purcilly earned the top spot in the shot put by clearing 16.82 meters.

On the track, then-freshman Payne Wylie (Saskatchewan, Canada-Colonsay School) used his Bowen Field House debut to secure the 60-meter hurdles title for the Eagles with a time of 8.11 seconds. From there, former Eagle Melika Ghali earned the podium-topping effort with a finish of 4:12.71, while then-sophomore Owen Richardson (Basingstoke, England) was the fastest man in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.84 seconds.

The Eagles return to competition after earning a half-dozen individual titles at the Doug Hansen Open, Jan. 17. Richardson took home first prize in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes with times of 21.29 and 47.62 seconds, respectively. After needing fewer than eight seconds to post the fastest time in the 60-meter hurdles preliminaries, redshirt junior Devonte Findlay (Lauderhil, Fla.-Banche Ely) won the final round with a near-identical time of 7.98. Meanwhile, the Green and White excelled in the 800-meter race as junior Derek Jones (Erie, Pa.-Cathedral Preparatory) clinched the top spot with a time of 1:55.17.

The Green and White also notched a pair of field titles, as freshman Kappa Bedoui (Doha, Qatar-Aspire Academy) recorded the meet's farthest weight throw at 19.59 meters, while junior Chukwusom Enekwechi (Valley Stream, N.Y.-Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences (Monroe College)) won the shot put with a heave of 16.84 meters. For his part, redshirt junior Baboucar Sallah-Moahmmed (Arlington, Va.-Fishburne Military) finished second in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 7.26 meters.

Admission to the event is $10, to be paid in cash only. Field events are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., and running events are set to get underway at 1 p.m. The meet is expected to run until approximately 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Kappa Bedoui

Taige Bryant

Chukwusom Enekwechi

Devonte Findlay

Melika Ghali

Derek Jones

Zach Purcilly

Owen Richardson

Payne Wylie

Eastern Michigan Athletics