PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (EMUEagles.com) – For the Eastern Michigan University women's track and field team, day one of the Penn Relays was highlighted by outstanding performances in the 4x100-meter relays, the 4x400-meter relays and the 5,000-meter Olympic Development run.
Early in the day, the all-underclassman team of freshmen Ashlee Abraham and Naomi Andre, and sophomore duo Margaret White and ReJeana Marigna posted a 4x100-meter dash time of 45.55 seconds for the 14th-best finish out of 95 teams.
“We are excited about being in a final here at Penn with two freshmen and two sophomores on the relay team,” said EMU Head Coach Sue Parks.
Freshman runner Courtney Calka's 16:53.43 eighth-place finish in the 5,000m Olympic Development was the second best for a runner representing a college. Six of the top seven runners were unattached or professional runners representing Adidas and New Balance, among others.
The 4x400-meter relay team also had an impressive showing, finishing 21st in a time of 3:42.67. Andre, along with Asia Rawls, LaDonna St. Louis and Shantavia Williams will serve as the second alternative in the Saturday finale. #Rachel Quaintance# also posted a solid time of 36:55.21 in her first ever 10,000-meter race.
The Penn Relays is one of the premiere attractions for top-notch athletes worldwide. During the three-day extravaganza, more than 425 races are run, at least 60 countries are represented and more than 22,000 entrants participate. Saturday marks the final day of competition.
Below are EMU's results.
400m hurdles
35. Asia Rawls 62.20
38. Frederike Schoenfeld 63.12
4x100m relay (Qualifier)
14. Eastern Michigan (Ashlee Abraham, ReJeana Marigna, Rosie White, Naomi Andre) 45.55
4x400m relay
21. Eastern Michigan (Asia Rawls, Shade St. Louis, Naomi Andre, Shantavia Williams) 3:42.67
10,000m run (Championship)
25. Rachel Quaintance 36:55.21
32. Rachel Hollinger-Janzen 37:46.81
Women's 5,000m Olympic Development
8. Courtney Calka 16:53.43
