The Emory University track and field team officially opened the 2024-25 indoor season at the CrossPlex IceBreaker in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday.
 
The team saw a number of Eagles competing in different events against competitors from all NCAA Divisions.
 
Starting on the field for the women was freshman Erin Makhanian in the pole vault who finished 11^th with a height of 3.40m followed by a 19^th place finish from sophomore Hannah Riley (3.25m). Fellow freshman Anna Jennings also saw a top-20 finish on the field taking 17^th with a height of 1.50m in the high jump. Freshman Amaya Grant (11.13m) and senior Caroline Hansen (10.85m) rounded out the field competition with 11^th and 15^th place finishes in the triple jump respectively.
 
Four different Eagles saw top-20 finishes on the field for the men with junior Henry Brandstadter starting things off with a 2^nd place finish in the long jump (7.07m). Junior Steven Ditelberg followed next taking seventh in the pole vault with a height of 4.30m. Freshmen Sam Gouvalaris and Ryan Coleman finished the field events with 16^th and 18^th place finishes in the triple jump.
 
One of the best finishes on the track for the women came from freshman Aaliyah Jalloh who finished second in the 800m with a time of 2:16.18. Senior Dashiel Tao Harris also took home a top-10 finish in the 300m taking seventh running a 40.95 while freshman Jada Kenner took 14^th in the event with a time of 41.47. Senior Audrey Johnson took two ninth-place finishes in the 60m prelims (7.75) and the 200m run (25.01). Also competing in the 60m prelims and 200m run was senior Kaya Binetti (10^th, 18th) and freshman Eva Carchidi (14^th, 11th). Junior Payton Sullivan saw action in the 1000m run finishing 13^th with a time of 3:11.74
 
Grant, Kenner, Jalloh and Riley later teamed up for a third place finish in the 4x400m relay running a 3:58.22 while Hansen, Sullivan, freshman Sophia Deeney and senior Samantha Glass took 13^th with a time of 4:12.49.
 
Graduate student Ethan Thompson got things started for the men on the track taking a third place finish in the 3000m run running an 8:26.66 followed by a fourth place finish in the 300m dash from senior Jackson Price (34.34). Price also competed in the 60m prelims taking 16^th with a time of 6.98 while sophomores Sebastian Kou and Jayden Bai finished 17^th and 20^th respectively in the 60m hurdles. Sophomore Theodore Drye also took home a top-20 finish on the day placing 19^th in the 400m dash with a time of 50.71 while teammates Dawit Dean and Ryan McGonigle finished fourth and eighth in the 800m run.
 
The Emory men had two groups compete in the 4x400m relay with the first group of Joshua Han, Ethan Lu, Maxwel Gurkovic and Chris Belz took 10^th with a time of 3:31.40 while the second group of Sebastian Kou, Jack Tsai, William Gossett and Thompson finished 13^th running a 3:35.55.
 
The Eagles will see action in two meets on Saturday, December 7 with more field athletes heading to Sewanee, Tennessee for the Mountain Goat Invitational while teammates Brigid Hanley and Liesl Scherrer will head to Boston, Massachusetts for the BU Sharon Colyear-Danvile Season Opener.