Track Wins Two ODAC Golds

Leaman stretches on the starting blocks before her 4×400 race. (Photo: Jason Godshall)

Hurdler Michelle Leaman and thrower Chelsea Lawhorn posted first place finishes for EMU as the women’s track team finished fifth at the ODAC indoor championships at Liberty University on February 29.

Leaman, a sophomore, won the 55 meter hurdles, and then helped the 4×400 relay team to a third place finish, contributing 16 total points to the Royals team score of 42. Through the preliminary heats, she was seeded second in the hurdles behind Roanoke’s Meredith Withers. “I was nervous, but somewhat confident at the same time. After coming out of the blocks, I don’t really think anymore.” In a dead heat, Leaman edged Withers by .04 seconds, setting a new ODAC meet record and EMU school record of 8.48 seconds. “I crossed the line and just smiled. I knew Meredith was close and had started to catch up with me, but I still held her off.”

Leaman would go on to compete on March 8 at the Virginia Tech Last Chance meet. Her time of 9.13 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles was a new ODAC and EMU school record. She met the NCAA Division III provisional qualifying standard, but ended up just short of earning a spot at the National championships. “They took 13 qualifiers and I was in a three-way tie for 14th. The 13th qualifier was one .01 seconds in front of me.” Leaman is intent on making her first trip to Nationals in the 100 hurdles outdoors. “In outdoors, the minimum field size for each event is 15, so they will take more people per event, but I plan to automatically qualify so that I don’t have to worry about getting in or not.”

In the shot put, Junior Lawhorn was tied for first position in the conference going into the ODAC meet. “I was kind of nervous and wowed at the same time,” she said. After the preliminaries and her first two throws of finals, Lawhorn stood in second place. “Girls were throwing better than at the previous meets of the season, so I knew I had to step it up on my last one.” Her final throw of 12.1 meters (39’8”), a five-foot improvement over her best throw of 2007, launched her into first by almost half a meter and gave her the win.

After a 5th-place finish at last year’s outdoor ODAC championships, Lawhorn put in some serious work on her own to get ready for 2008. “Seth told me that I knew what to do.” As a participant in EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center, she kept up with her training by practicing with the Catholic University men’s track team. “Twice a week we threw, and I lifted on my own three times a week. I’m so glad I worked out there because it paid off…winning the shot felt awesome.”

As the outdoor season gets underway, Lawhorn has her sights set on bigger things. “I know I can hit 40 feet, because I’ve hit it at practice before.” She and Leaman will get their first chance this Saturday as the EMU women’s and men’s track teams travel to Bridgewater.