Track & Field Preps for Michigan Invitational Saturday

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University track and field programs will return to Ann Arbor, Mich. to compete in the Michigan Invitational, hosted by the University of Michigan, at the U-M Indoor Track Building Saturday, Feb. 7.

The Michigan Invitational will mark the third of five total meets this season the Eagles will attend at Michigan, as they competed in the Wolverine Invitational and the Simmons-Harvey Invitational so far this season, and this weekend will be followed by the Silverston Invitational, Feb. 20, and the Len Paddock Open, May 8.

The meet will begin with field events at 10 a.m., and running events begin at 11:30 a.m.

Fans interested in attending the meet can access all meet information here.

Fans can also track live results here. A post-meet recap will be posted to EMUEagles.com.

Last Time at Michigan Invitational
The Eagles competed in the Michigan Invitational last season on Feb. 8. They set a combined four program top 10 marks and 38 personal bests. Highlighting the women's team, returners Micah Martin (Clinton Township, Mich./L'Anse Creuse) and Natalie Buratczuk (Saint Charles, Ill./Saint Charles North) earned first and second place in the high jump with personal bests of 1.75m (5-08.75) and 1.72m (5-7.75) marks, respectively.

The men's team saw Lucky Fiaku (Nimo, Nigeria/Busy International Secondary) earn second place in both the high jump and triple jump with marks of 2.06m (6-09.00) and 13.98m (45-10.50), respectively. Carson McCoy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Deer Lakes) ran a personal best 1:50.28 in the 800m, leading the conference at that point in the season. Leo Ignacio (Saline, Mich./Saline) and Michael Hawkins (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical/Michigan State) both ran personal bests in the 60m hurdles to take second and third place.

Wiles: MAC Men's Scholar Athlete of the Week
Kian Wiles (Hull, England/St. Mary's College) earned Mid-American Conference (MAC) Scholar Athlete of the Week on Feb. 4, after winning the mile championship at the Meyo Invitational, a meet hosted by the University of Notre Dame, Jan. 30-31, with a time of 3:59.78, a time that currently leads the MAC and is the fifth best in Eastern program history. This award is the first of Wiles' career and the second for the Eagles this season, as Jake McEachern earned the accolade Jan. 14.

Last Time Out: Two-Meet Weekend
The Eagles sent athletes to two different meets last weekend, as the distance runners competed in the Meyo Invitational, hosted by the University of Notre Dame, and multi athletes competed in the Saginaw Valley State University Jet's Pizza Invitational, Jan. 30-31. At the Meyo Invitational, Eastern was highlighted by Wiles' MAC-leading and program No. 5 mile, along with four more distance athletes earning personal best times.

At the Jet's Pizza Invitational, Shamoya Clemetson (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) earned third place in the pentathlon with 3,156 points and finished in the top three in three of the five events. In the men's heptathlon, Cason Doolittle (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty Benton) finished in fifth place, earning an event win in the high jump and a spot in the program top 10 for his day two score of 2,063 points, taking the 10th spot in the ranks. Julien Badoo (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) cleared 4.00m (13-01.50) in the pole vault, earning spot No. 8 in program history.

Previously Noted
A Look Back: 2024-25 MAC Honors
Saraiah Walkes (Manatee County, Fla./The-Out-of-Door-Academy), was named Most Valuable Performer in the outdoor season after scoring 38 points at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, May 15-17. She became the 13th most valuable performer in program history and the first since Alsu Bogdanova in 2018.

All-MAC Returners – Indoor Season
Eastern returns 10 All-MAC honorees from the indoor season.
Women's All-MAC Returners
Saraiah Walkes – First Team (200m)
Josephine Oloye – Second Team (400m)

Men's All-MAC Returners
Carson McCoy – First Team (800m)
Kian Wiles – First Team (mile)
Jake McEachern – Second Team (weight throw)
Tajay Roberts – Second Team (4x400m relay)
Bamidele Ajayi – Second Team (4x400m relay)
Ty Dailey – Second Team (distance medley relay)
Josh Flake – Second Team (distance medley relay)
Jimmy Geller – Second Team (distance medley relay)

All-MAC Returners – Outdoor Season
The Eagles return 15 All-MAC athletes from the outdoor season.

Women's All-MAC Returners
Saraiah Walkes – First Team (100m, 200m, 4x400m relay)
Demetria Henderson – First Team (4x400m relay)
Josephine Oloye – First Team (4x400m relay)
Alimot Alowonle – Second Team (4x100m relay)
Ajah Arscott – Second Team (4x100m relay)
Jaeden Garraway – Second Team (4x100m relay)
Micah Martin – Second Team (high jump)

Men's All-MAC Returners
Bamidele Ajayi – First Team (4x400m relay)
Mill Coleman III – First Team (4x100m relay)
Lachlan Cornelius – First Team (800m)
Jake McEachern – First Team (hammer throw)
Olawole Olanrewaju – First Team (4x400m relay)
Tajay Roberts – First Team (4x400m relay)
Kian Wiles – First Team (1500m)
Samuel Jeffery – Second Team (decathlon)

Captains
The 2025-26 squad is led by eight captains. The women's leaders include Walkes, seniors Sophie Emin (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) and Micah Martin (Clinton Township, Mich./L'anse Creuse), and junior Megan Rybitski (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne). The men's leaders include senior Kian Wiles (Hull, England/St. Mary's College), juniors Jeffery and Leland Godfrey (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral), and sophomore Michael Hawkins (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical).

Up Next
The Eagles will next compete in two different meets, with the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Allendale, Mich. on Friday, Feb. 13, and the Heartland Invitational at the Indiana State Fairground in Indianapolis, Ind., Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14.

Follow Us
For updates on all things EMU cross country/track & field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, X, and Facebook at @EMUXC_TF.

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Players Mentioned

Bamidele Ajayi

Alimot Alowonle

Ajah Arscott

Julien Badoo

Natalie Buratczuk

Shamoya Clemetson

Mill Coleman III

Lachlan Cornelius

Ty Dailey

Cason Doolittle

Sophie Emin

Lucky Fiaku

Josh Flake

Jaeden Garraway

Jimmy Geller

Leland Godfrey

Michael Hawkins

Demetria Henderson

Leo Ignacio

Samuel Jeffery

Micah Martin

Carson McCoy

Jake McEachern

Olawole Olanrewaju

Josephine Oloye

Tajay Roberts

Megan Rybitski

Saraiah Walkes

Kian Wiles

Eastern Michigan Athletics