Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eagles Set for NCAA East Preliminary Championships
5/19/2021 12:58:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The regional meet takes place May 26-29 in Jacksonville, Fla.
NCAA EAST PREMILINARY CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
EAST MEN'S PARTICIPANTS | EAST WOMEN'S PARTICIPANTS
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University track & field program will see several competitors display their best at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships, Wednesday-Saturday, May 26-29. The regional meet is set to take place on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.
"I'm excited that these 15 athletes will get the chance to compete at the NCAA level," said Director/Head Coach Sue Parks. "We always pride ourselves on trying to have a complete team so it's great to be represented in so many different events. We're looking forward to competing against the best and seeing if we can get some athletes qualified for the championship in Eugene."
Freshman sprinter Kaleb Simpson (Bexley, Ohio-St. Charles Preparatory) will take the stage in the 200m dash for EMU. The Ohio product ran a personal-best time of 20.90 at the Bobcat Invitational to earn a spot in the regional competition, March 27.
Junior Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) is set to represent the Eagles in the 5000m run in the Sunshine State. The harrier produced a 13:45.66 time in the event at the Raleigh Relays, March 25, to set a new national Icelandic record and rank 21st in the nation. Additionally, Magnusson's performance in the 5000m puts him fourth all-time at EMU, passing former steeplechase national champion Jordan Desilets' 13:52.71 and places him behind former Eagle Willy Fink's 13:43.06.
Joining Magnusson in the event will be redshirt sophomore Chris Devaney (New Plymouth, New Zealand-New Plymouth). At the Rick Erdmann Twlight meet, the New Zealand native cruised to a sub-14 minute finish with a PR of 13:59.12, April 17. Devaney topped all runners in the 5000m race at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships, setting a new meet record of 14:17.81, Feb. 26.
Elsewhere on the track, junior Payne Wylie (Elstow, Saskatchewan-Colonsay School) will compete in the 110m hurdles after setting a personal-best clip of 13.96 at the MAC Outdoor Championships, May 8. For Wylie, his mark in the event is tied for 33rd in the country going into the regional meet. His gold medal performance was good for sixth in program history.
In the 400m hurdles, sophomore Dante Lander (Dayton, Ohio-West Carrollton (Central Michigan)) will represent the Green and White. The Ohio native PR'd in the event at the league championships, May 8, with a time of 52.23. Also competing in the event will be junior Tiffany Cernej-Garcia (Ann Arbor, Mich.-Pioneer). Earlier in the season, Cernej-Garcia recorded a 1:00.32 time in the event at the Texas Relays, March 25, to punch her ticket to Florida.
In the field, senior Quintella Johnson (Las Vegas, Nev.-Saint Mary's (Texas Southern)) will make an appearance in the high jump. Johnson's season-best leap of 1.78m is currently tied for 20th in the country heading into the regional competition. Redshirt senior Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed (Windhoek, Namibia-Fishburne Military (Bethany College)) looks to show his skills in both the long jump and triple jump. The Namibia native is tied for 11th (7.87m) and 33rd (15.57m) in the events, respectively. Junior Nina Ward (Fairfield, Ohio-Fairfield) aims to have a great showing in the long jump as well with her season-high bound of 6.31m ranking 26th in the country.
Senior thrower Chukwusom Enekwechi (Valley Stream, N.Y.-Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences (Monroe College)) hopes to display his best next week in the shot put. The New York product is 40th in Division I with a throw of 17.99m at the Raleigh Relays, March 25.
Graduate students Taige Bryant (Edmond, Okla.-Edmond Memorial) and Zach Harkey (Huron, Ohio-Huron) are set to take on both the discus and hammer throws on the Jax Track at Hodges Stadium. Bryant sits ninth in the country in the discus (58.27m) and 19th in the hammer throw (66.01m). Meanwhile, Harkey is 32nd (54.10m) and 15th (66.51m) in the events, respectively.
Senior Newlyn Stephenson (Gary, Ind.-Thea Bowman Leadership Academy) and sophomore Kappa Bedoui (Doha, Qatar-Aspire Academy) will join Bryant and Harkey in the hammer throw competition as well. Stephenson reached a career-high of 63.97m (25th), at the Knights Invite, April 24. Bedoui notched a personal-best throw of 63.33m (28th) at the Raleigh relays, March 27. Furthermore, senior Kadian Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica-Immaculate Conception) will join the hammer throw squad after recording a career-high toss of 58.87m (47th) at the conference meet, May 7.
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.
Full List of EMU Qualifiers (Alphabetically)
Kappa Bedoui - Hammer Throw
Taige Bryant - Discus & Hammer Throw
Tiffany Cernej-Garcia - 400H
Kadian Clarke - Hammer Throw
Chris Devaney - 5000m Run
Chukwusom Enekwechi - Shot Put
Zach Harkey - Discus & Hammer Throw
Quintella Johnson - High Jump
Dante Lander - 400H
Baldvin Magnusson - 5000m Run
Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed - Long Jump & Triple Jump
Kaleb Simpson - 200m Dash
Newlyn Stephenson - Hammer Throw
Nina Ward - Long Jump
Payne Wylie - 110H
EAST MEN'S PARTICIPANTS | EAST WOMEN'S PARTICIPANTS
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University track & field program will see several competitors display their best at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships, Wednesday-Saturday, May 26-29. The regional meet is set to take place on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.
"I'm excited that these 15 athletes will get the chance to compete at the NCAA level," said Director/Head Coach Sue Parks. "We always pride ourselves on trying to have a complete team so it's great to be represented in so many different events. We're looking forward to competing against the best and seeing if we can get some athletes qualified for the championship in Eugene."
Freshman sprinter Kaleb Simpson (Bexley, Ohio-St. Charles Preparatory) will take the stage in the 200m dash for EMU. The Ohio product ran a personal-best time of 20.90 at the Bobcat Invitational to earn a spot in the regional competition, March 27.
Junior Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) is set to represent the Eagles in the 5000m run in the Sunshine State. The harrier produced a 13:45.66 time in the event at the Raleigh Relays, March 25, to set a new national Icelandic record and rank 21st in the nation. Additionally, Magnusson's performance in the 5000m puts him fourth all-time at EMU, passing former steeplechase national champion Jordan Desilets' 13:52.71 and places him behind former Eagle Willy Fink's 13:43.06.
Joining Magnusson in the event will be redshirt sophomore Chris Devaney (New Plymouth, New Zealand-New Plymouth). At the Rick Erdmann Twlight meet, the New Zealand native cruised to a sub-14 minute finish with a PR of 13:59.12, April 17. Devaney topped all runners in the 5000m race at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships, setting a new meet record of 14:17.81, Feb. 26.
Elsewhere on the track, junior Payne Wylie (Elstow, Saskatchewan-Colonsay School) will compete in the 110m hurdles after setting a personal-best clip of 13.96 at the MAC Outdoor Championships, May 8. For Wylie, his mark in the event is tied for 33rd in the country going into the regional meet. His gold medal performance was good for sixth in program history.
In the 400m hurdles, sophomore Dante Lander (Dayton, Ohio-West Carrollton (Central Michigan)) will represent the Green and White. The Ohio native PR'd in the event at the league championships, May 8, with a time of 52.23. Also competing in the event will be junior Tiffany Cernej-Garcia (Ann Arbor, Mich.-Pioneer). Earlier in the season, Cernej-Garcia recorded a 1:00.32 time in the event at the Texas Relays, March 25, to punch her ticket to Florida.
In the field, senior Quintella Johnson (Las Vegas, Nev.-Saint Mary's (Texas Southern)) will make an appearance in the high jump. Johnson's season-best leap of 1.78m is currently tied for 20th in the country heading into the regional competition. Redshirt senior Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed (Windhoek, Namibia-Fishburne Military (Bethany College)) looks to show his skills in both the long jump and triple jump. The Namibia native is tied for 11th (7.87m) and 33rd (15.57m) in the events, respectively. Junior Nina Ward (Fairfield, Ohio-Fairfield) aims to have a great showing in the long jump as well with her season-high bound of 6.31m ranking 26th in the country.
Senior thrower Chukwusom Enekwechi (Valley Stream, N.Y.-Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences (Monroe College)) hopes to display his best next week in the shot put. The New York product is 40th in Division I with a throw of 17.99m at the Raleigh Relays, March 25.
Graduate students Taige Bryant (Edmond, Okla.-Edmond Memorial) and Zach Harkey (Huron, Ohio-Huron) are set to take on both the discus and hammer throws on the Jax Track at Hodges Stadium. Bryant sits ninth in the country in the discus (58.27m) and 19th in the hammer throw (66.01m). Meanwhile, Harkey is 32nd (54.10m) and 15th (66.51m) in the events, respectively.
Senior Newlyn Stephenson (Gary, Ind.-Thea Bowman Leadership Academy) and sophomore Kappa Bedoui (Doha, Qatar-Aspire Academy) will join Bryant and Harkey in the hammer throw competition as well. Stephenson reached a career-high of 63.97m (25th), at the Knights Invite, April 24. Bedoui notched a personal-best throw of 63.33m (28th) at the Raleigh relays, March 27. Furthermore, senior Kadian Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica-Immaculate Conception) will join the hammer throw squad after recording a career-high toss of 58.87m (47th) at the conference meet, May 7.
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.
Full List of EMU Qualifiers (Alphabetically)
Kappa Bedoui - Hammer Throw
Taige Bryant - Discus & Hammer Throw
Tiffany Cernej-Garcia - 400H
Kadian Clarke - Hammer Throw
Chris Devaney - 5000m Run
Chukwusom Enekwechi - Shot Put
Zach Harkey - Discus & Hammer Throw
Quintella Johnson - High Jump
Dante Lander - 400H
Baldvin Magnusson - 5000m Run
Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed - Long Jump & Triple Jump
Kaleb Simpson - 200m Dash
Newlyn Stephenson - Hammer Throw
Nina Ward - Long Jump
Payne Wylie - 110H
Players Mentioned
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Hurdles
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Distance
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Throws
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Throws
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Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
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Jumps
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Sprints
/ Men's Track & Field
Throws
/ Men's Track & Field
Jumps/Sprints
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Hurdles
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