From Emory University Athletics
For the first time since 2004 and the fifth time overall in the program's history, the Emory University Eagles claimed the men's team title at the University Athletic Association Championships, held at the Woodruff Physical Education Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Emory athletes won conference titles in eight events during the second day of the meet and added another nine all-conference finishes to storm back in the standings. After finishing the first day of competition in fifth place and 50 points behind early-leader Washington University (Mo.), the Eagles amassed 162 points on Sunday, blowing by the Bears in the team standings late in the meet and finishing with 197 total points.
Washington claimed second place with 182 points, followed by the University of Chicago (108 points), Case Western Reserve University (105.5 points), New York University (95 points), Carnegie Mellon University (90 points) and Brandeis University (30.5 points).
Three different Emory competitors won their events with conference meet record times. In the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Grant Murphy smashed the Emory program record by 1.45 seconds, en route to winning the event, his first career UAA Title. Murphy's time eclipsed the previous UAA record of 3:51.11, set in 2003 by Chicago's Patrick Sullivan, and ranks as the 10th-fastest in Division III this season.
Freshman Daniel Pietsch broke the UAA record in the 400-meter dash (previously set with a mark of 47.85 seconds by NYU's Daniel McKinney in 2011) with a time of 47.50 seconds for his first career UAA Outdoor Title. The time ranked as the fourth-best in Division III in 2015 and the seventh-fastest in school history.
Senior James Bassen broke the school javelin throw record (previously set by Jake Wheeler in 2008 with a mark of 61.08 meters) and the UAA record (previously held by Washington' Keith England with a mark of 60.48 meters in 2009) en route to winning the event. His throw of 61.87 meters is the sixth-best by a Division III competitor this season. Bassen added all-UAA finishes by placing third in the discus throw on Sunday (41.33 meters) and the hammer throw (44.77 meters) on Saturday.
Junior Adam Rabushka swept the two hurdle events, winning the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.10 seconds, and the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 53.86 seconds, while finishing third as a part of the Eagles' 4x400-meter relay team, along with senior Zachary Rosenberg, junior Spencer Koh and Pietsch. Freshman Phillip Greenfieldcapped off an outstanding meet with a championship in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.81 seconds (the eighth-fastest time in school history), while also finishing third in the 200-meter dash (22.55 seconds) and second as a part of the Eagles' 4x100-meter relay team, along with junior Maxwell Hoberman, Koh and Pietsch.
Adding championships in the field events were senior Scott Greathouse, who won the title in the high jump after clearing the bar at a career-best mark of 2.00 meters, and junior Jacob Seigel, who won the discus throw with a toss of 44.45 meters, tied for the sixth-best in school history.
Among the Eagles' 24 scoring performances on Sunday were all-UAA (top-three) finishes by freshman Benjamin Rogin in the 110-meter hurdles (third, 15.25 seconds), Rosenberg in the 400-meter dash (third, 49.06 seconds), freshman Shane Sullivan in the 5,000-meter run (third, 15:13.23), and Hoberman (second, 13.99 meters) and freshman Charlie Hu (third, 13.36 meters) in the triple jump.
The Eagles totaled nine individual conference championships, three second-place finishes and nine third-place finishes combined during the two-day meet.
The UAA team title was the first for the Emory men in any season since the 2009 indoor campaign, and marked the program's 12th conference championship overall, including both indoor and outdoor season.