Track & Field Returns to GVSU for Two-Day Meet

ALLENDALE, Mich. (EMUEagles) -- The Eastern Michigan University track & field teams will return to the campus of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. for the GVSU Big Meet. The meet will take place Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13, inside the Kelly Family Sports Center, start time is TBA. For the Eagles, this is the final regular season meet before the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships, Feb. 26-27 in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

The Eagles competed in Allendale, Mich. last weekend for the GVSU Snowdown Showdown where the program saw numerous spectacular performances, Feb. 5-6. Most incredible of all the EMU performances was junior Baldvin Magnusson's (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) career-high 7:53.92 time in the 3000m. With that clip, the Iceland native set a national Icelandic record in the event and placed himself second all-time at Eastern after passing former Eagle Willy Fink's 7:56.04 set in 2016. Magnusson's mark also puts him just behind former NCAA national champion and EMU legend Boaz Cheboiywo (7:52.40).

Currently, the junior harrier sits No. 8 in all of Division I in the 3000m, ahead of Power Five runners from institutions such as Michigan, Texas, and Arkansas. Meanwhile, his time is the best in the Mid-American Conference by nearly 20 seconds.

Magnusson was not the only distance runner to register a personal-best in the 3000m, as redshirt sophomores Andy Payne (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) and Noah Perrin (Akron, Ohio-Woodridge) produced bests of 8:13.64 and 8:27.87, respectively.

Elsewhere on the track, redshirt sophomore Ronald Brandal (Huron, Ohio-Huron) and senior Owen Day (Ottawa, Ontario-International School of Dusseldorf) achieved top-10 conference marks in the 800m. For Brandal, he ran a career-best 1:52.84 while teammate Day recorded a 1:55.65 time to rank fourth and 10th in the MAC, respectively.

Senior Owen Richardson (Basingstoke, England-The Costello School) won the 400m title at the Snowdown Showdown with an electric 48.61 clip, good for second in the conference. Also producing top-10 conference marks in the event were freshman Kaleb Simpson (Bexley, Ohio-St. Charles Preparatory) (49.02) and sophomore Trent Barron (Flint, Mich.-Carman-Ainsworth) (49.96), who now sit fourth and eighth in the MAC, respectively.

In the field, senior Chukwusom Enekwechi (Valley Stream, N.Y.-Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences (Monroe College)) won the shot put crown at the GVSU Snowdown Showdown with a 17.15m heave. The Empire State product's mark last weekend earned him the top spot in the MAC. Meanwhile, graduate senior thrower Taige Bryant (Edmond, Okla.-Edmond Memorial) recorded personal-bests in both the shot put (13.36m) and weight throw (21.87m). As a group, the EMU men's weight throwers rank No. 2 in Division I with their top four throws totaling 80.93m, according to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Eastern is one of just four teams in Division I to have both the men's and women's weight throw squads ranked in the top-10, alongside North Dakota State, Minnesota, and Iowa, per USTFCCCA. The women's weight throwers round-out the top-10 with their top four throws amounting to 72.47m. Senior Kadian Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica-Immaculate Conception) paces the Green and White with a toss of 19.31m, the second-best mark in the conference. Meanwhile, classmate Ariel Floyd (Mount Clemens, Chippewa Valley (Olivet College)) is fourth in the MAC after she recorded a career-high distance of 19.05m.

Last weekend, graduate student Alisha St. Louis (D'abadie, Trinidad and Tobago-St. Francois Girls College (Johnson C. University)) was victorious in the triple jump with a bound of 11.69m, placing her second in the conference. In the long jump, junior Nina Ward (Fairfield, Ohio-Fairfield) recorded a 5.86m leap during the pentathlon, which currently ranks fourth in the MAC. Additionally, senior Quintella Johnson (Las Vegas, Nev.-Saint Mary's (Texas Southern)) regained the high jump crown with a league-best 1.71m performance.

Senior pole vaulter Graysen Simmons' (Huber Heights, Ohio-Wayne) career-high clearance of 3.86m is good for third in the conference and places her eighth in school history in the event.

In the 3000m, redshirt senior Karlie Swanson (Coffs Harbour, Australia-Bellingen (Boise State)) crossed in the finish line in 9:50.01 as she now holds the No. 3 spot in the conference.

On the track, the women's 4x400 team consisting of junior Morgan Iverson (Hoschton, Ga.-Mill Creek), graduate student Micah Johnston (Toledo, Ohio-Toledo Christian), senior Keypathwa Gibson (Toledo, Ohio-Roy C. Start), and junior Tiffany Cernej-Garcia (Ann Arbor, Mich.-Pioneer) produced a 3:51.36 clip, the second-best time in the MAC by less than a half-second.

Junior Mair Edwards (Basingstoke, England-The Costello School) registered a 56.92 time in the 400m in Allendale, Mich., placing her fourth overall in the conference. The England native also ran a 24.88-second time in the 200m, the fifth-fastest time in the MAC.

Junior Alysse Wade (Mansfield, Ohio-St. Peter's) held on to her 60m hurdles crown at the Snowdown Showdown, as she won the event in an 8.64 time. For Wade, she has not lost a 60m hurdles event since she took fourth at the Silverston Invitational, Feb. 21, 2020.

For updates on all things Eastern Michigan cross country and track and field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, @EMUXC_TF, and Twitter, @EMUXC_TF.

Players Mentioned

Trent Barron

Ronnie Brandal

Taige Bryant

Tiffany Cernej-Garcia

Kadian Clarke

Owen Day

Mair Edwards

Chukwusom Enekwechi

Ariel Floyd

Keypathwa Gibson

Morgan Iverson

Quintella Johnson

Micah Johnston

Andy Payne

Noah Perrin

Owen Richardson

Graysen Simmons

Kaleb Simpson

Alisha St. Louis

Karlie Swanson

Alysse Wade

Nina Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics