2004

(Sept. 29) The Emory University men's track and field team has been recognized as an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track Coaches Association (USTCA) for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. In addition, four Emory track-athletes were cited as All-Academic Individuals.

Emory is one of four schools in NCAA Division III to receive All-Academic Team honors for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Emory is the only team to receive honors for both seasons and to be listed among the 25 best national universities according to the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings.

The men's team had a cumulative grade point average of 3.44 for the indoor season and 3.30 for the outdoor season (on a 4.0 scale). The team GPA for the indoor season was the highest in the nation in Division III.

The All-Academic Individuals for the Eagles in the outdoor season are Euler Bropleh, Phil Hagedorn, Chris Nehls and Blake Staub. Nehls also received All-Academic honors for the indoor season.

Nehls earned All-Academic individual honors for all four seasons in outdoor track and for the last three seasons in indoor track. Staub earned his second consecutive All-Academic individual award.

To qualify, individuals must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25, completed at least two semesters, and participated in the NCAA national track and field championships.

Teams are eligible for the honor if they have at least a 3.10 cumulative GPA with at least 14 competitors on the squad.

(June 22) Three Emory University athletes have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team for men's cross country and track & field. Chris Nehls and Phil Hagedorn made the first team while Adam Brunfeldt made the third team.

Emory is one of two schools in the nation to have three honorees. All three student-athletes previously were chosen for the Academic All-District first team.

This is the second time Nehls has made the Academic All-America team. He was a third-team selection last year. Nehls graduated as a six-time track All-American. He had a 3.58 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as an economics major.

Hagedorn was a cross country All-American last fall. He had a 3.61 grade point average as an English major.

Nehls and Hagedorn become the 10th and 11th Emory male student-athletes to achieve recognition as an athletic All-American, Academic All-American and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.

Brunfeldt also won an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He was an all-region and all-state cross country runner. He had a 3.81 GPA as a chemistry major.

The only other time Emory has had three Academic All-Americans from the same sport in a school year was 1997-98 when Vista Beasley (cross country, track), Jamie Hagerbaumer (cross country), and Kim Lupo (track) were honored.

(June 3) Three Emory University athletes have been named to the Academic All-District team for men's cross country and track and field. Chris Nehls, Phil Hagedorn and Adam Brunfeldt each made the Academic All-District first team. Their names will be placed on the national ballot for the Academic All-America team to be announced later this summer.

This is the second consecutive year Nehls has been chosen for the Academic All-District first team. He was later selected a third-team Academic All-American.

Nehls, a senior, had a 3.58 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as an economics major. He graduated as a four-time outdoor track All-American and a two-time indoor track All-American. This season, Nehls was third in the 55-meter hurdles at the NCAA indoor track national championships and fourth in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA outdoor track national championships.

This is the third consecutive year Hagedorn has been chosen for the Academic All-District first team. The senior had a 3.61 GPA as an English major. Hagedorn made the All-America team in cross country last fall with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA national championships. He was a six-time all-conference honoree in track as a distance runner.

Brunfeldt had a 3.81 GPA as a chemistry major. In cross country last fall, he earned all-region and all-state honors. Brunfeldt finished in the top 10 overall at the NCAA regional championships and the Georgia Collegiate Championships.

Voting for the all-district team is done by members of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

(May 29) Emory University finished 10th at the NCAA national outdoor championships, the highest finish in school history. The previous best was 15th at the 1994 championships.

A school-record four Eagles earned All-America honors. The previous record was three in 1994. This year's All-Americans are T.J. Jennings, Chris Nehls, Blake Staub and Wesley Thomas.

Jennings attained All-America status (top-eight finish) in three events, breaking another school record. The previous mark for All-America citations in a meet was two, set by Gerry Reece in 1989.

Jennings was fourth in the 100-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash. He teamed up with Nehls, Staub and Thomas to help the Emory finish fifth in the 4x100 relay.

Nehls was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles, becoming an All-American in that event for the third time in his career. The only time he missed was last year when he came into the NCAA meet with the fastest time but was knocked down in his preliminary heat.

Nehls ends his career with a total of four outdoor All-America certificates, tying the school record set by Troy Thompson (1994-97), who was a four-time All-American in the triple jump.

This is the first time an Emory relay has received All-America honors. The quartet was timed in 41.43 seconds in the preliminary heat, a season-best time and the third best in school history.

Jennings ran a 10.76 in the preliminaries of the 100 dash, the fourth-best time in school history. Coupled with his school-record setting performance earlier this season, Jennings now owns five of the top six times in Emory history in the 100 dash.

Nehls had the fastest time, 14.24, among all competitors in the 110 hurdles preliminaries. That was a season best and the second best in school history behind his own record set last year. Nehls owns all of the top 10 times in the Emory record book in this event.

Nehls had a 53.48 in the 400-meter hurdles, the second best ever by an Eagle, behind his own record set earlier this season.

In additon to their All-America performances, Nehls was 10th in the 400 hurdles and Jennings was 11th in the long jump. Neither advanced to the finals in those events.

This is the first time Jennings, Staub and Thomas made the All-America team. Of the four All-Americans, only Staub returns next season.

(April 28) Emory University senior Chris Nehls has been awarded a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He is one of 29 male athletes nationally from all NCAA divisions to receive the award for winter sports.

Nehls is one of five indoor track athletes honored, regardless of school affilation. He is one of two Division III indoor track athletes honored.

Nehls recently received the school's Bridges Award as its best all-around athlete for the second consecutive year. He is the fourth Eagle ever to win the award more than once.

Nehls is a two-time indoor track All-American in the 55-meter hurdles. He is just the third two-time indoor All-American in school history.

He had a 3.58 cumulative grade point average as an economics major. He has been recognized three times as an All-Academic Individual by the U.S. Track Coaches Association.

(April 25) Emory University won the University Athletic Association outdoor championships for the third time in the last four years. The Eagles won eight individual events and one relay. There were a total of 18 all-UAA performances.

T.J. Jennings was named the meet's Most Outstanding Performer. Jennings won the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and the long jump, and ran on the conference champion 4 x 100-meter relay team. He earned all-UAA honors in seven total events.

Chris Nehls won the 110-meter hurdles for the fourth time with a season-best time of 14.42 seconds. He is just the second Eagle athlete and the fourth in UAA history to win an event all four years at the outdoor conference championships.

Teammate Euler Bropleh finished second with a time of 14.78 seconds. This time provisionally qualifies Bropleh for the NCAA national meet.

Nehls also finished second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.16 seconds. This time breaks his own school record, the UAA conference record, and provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA national meet.

In field events, Josh Heiber won the shot put and discus with throws of 14.47 meters (47-5 3/4) and 42.24 meters (138-7) respectively. Heiber's throw in the shot put breaks the outdoor school record. Heiber now holds the indoor and outdoor school records for shotput. He also finished second in the hammer throw with a throw of 44.45 meters (145-10). Heiber narrowly missed becoming the second athlete in UAA history to win the shot put, discus throw, and hammer throw.

Rob Bullard won the high jump with a season-best jump of 2.05 meters (6-8 3/4). Bullard also won this event in the conference championships last year.

In distance events, Rob Leventhal won the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute and 55.67 seconds. This is the eighth time in the past 11 years an Emory runner has won the 800-meter run. Teammate Seth Crislip finished second in the event with a time of 1:56.02.

Phil Hagedorn earned all-UAA honors in two events. He finished third in the 5,000-meter run with a career best time of 14:53.14 and second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 31:35.41.

In relays, the 4 x 100-meter relay team of Jennings, Nehls, Blake Staub, and Wesley Thomas finished first with a time of 41.58 seconds. This time breaks the UAA and stadium records and provisionally qualifies the team for the UAA championships. The 4 x 400-meter relay team of Nehls, Crislip, Bullard, and Jennings finished second with a time of 3:17.95. This time broke the UAA and stadium records.

Two Eagle runners won their events. Chris Nehls finished first in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.83 seconds. Nehls also finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.59 seconds. Rob Bullard finished first out of 19 jumpers in the high jump with a jump of 2.02 meters (6 feet, 7.5 inches). These winning marks provisionally qualify both Nehls and Bullard for the NCAA national meet.

Emory also finished among the top five in eight other events. In distance events, Phil Hagedorn finished second out of 50 runners in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15 minutes and 12.83 seconds and Rob Leventhal finished third out of 60 runners in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.97. Fellow Eagle runner Seth Crislip finished close behind in fourth with a time of 1:55.37 seconds. Andrew Podgurski finished fifth in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:53.83.

In sprint events, T.J. Jennings finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.81 seconds. In the preliminaries for the 200-meter dash, Jennings ran a time of 21.78 seconds, which provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA national meet.

The 4 x 100-meter relay team of Jennings, Nehls, John Pitts, and Wesley Thomas finished fifth out of 14 teams with a time of 42.69 seconds. The 4 x 200-meter relay team of Pitts, Andrew Seidenberg, Brian Platt, and Jennings ran the second fastest time in school history in the event and the fastest since 1989 with a time of 1:30.03.

In field events, Josh Heiber finished third in the shot put with a throw of 13.39 meters (43' 11.25"). Tyler Stubblefield finished fourth in the pole vault with a height of 4.10 meters (13' 5.25") and Jennings finished fifth in the long jump with a jump of 6.65 meters (21' 10").

(March 20) Emory University performed against mostly Division I teams at the Clemson Relays.

Rob Bullard finished tied for second in the high jump with a jump of 2.00 meters (6 feet, 6.75 inches). Euler Bropleh finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.14 seconds, beating six Division I runners.

In all six relay events, the Eagles finished as the top non-Division I school. Two relays recorded times among the top three in school history.

The 4 x 200-meter team of Blake Staub, Brian Platt, John Pitts, and T.J. Jennings finished fourth with a time of 1 minute and 30.03 seconds, which is the second-best time in school history and the best since 1989.

The 4 x 800-meter relay team of Rob Leventhal, Seth Crislip, Anthony Caponiti, and Mike Bowman finished fourth with a time of 8:01.35, which is the third-best time in school history.

(March 15) Emory University finished 20th out of 55 teams at the NCAA national meet.

Chris Nehls finished third in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.60 seconds, earning All-American status for the second consecutive year. He is just the third two-time indoor All-American in school history.

Rob Bullard finished fifth in the high jump with a jump of 2.03 meters. Bullard earned All-American honors for the first time and was the first Eagle ever to earn All-American status in the high jump.

This is the third time Emory has had two indoor All-Americans in one season.

(March 7) Three Emory University athletes are awaiting official selection for the NCAA Division III national indoor championships.

Rob Bullard, Chris Nehls and T.J. Jennings have provisionally qualified for the NCAA meet.

As of today, Bullard has the sixth-best mark in the nation this season in the high jump at 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06 meters). Bullard was selected for the nationals last season and finished 15th.

Nehls ranks ninth nationally in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.61 seconds. Nehls earned All-America honors with a third-place finish in the event at last year's NCAA meet.

Jennings is 17th in the long jump at 22 feet, 10 inches (6.96 m). Jennings has never competed in an NCAA indoor championship.

The official announcement of selections is Monday evening (March 8).

(March 6) Emory University won the University Athletic Association team championship for the fourth time in five years.

Senior T.J. Jennings was named the meet's Most Outstanding Performer for the second time in his career. The other honor came last year.

Jennings won the 55- and 200-meter dashes, finished second in the high jump, third in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump. He earned all-conference honors in the first four events listed.

Other event winners were Rob Bullard in the high jump, Chris Nehls in the 55-meter hurdles and Josh Heiber in the shot put.

This is the third time in his career that Nehls, a senior, has won the conference title in the 55 hurdles. For Bullard, a sophomore, it is his second consecutive UAA crown in the high jump.

Emory had 13 all-conference event performances (top-three finish) in individual or relay events.

In addition to the event winners, all-conference honorees include Blake Staub, second in the 55-meter dash, Wesley Thomas, third in the 55m dash, Adam Brunfeldt, third in the 1500m run, Seth Crislip, third in the 800m run, Phil Hagedorn, third in the 5,000m run, and Emory's second-place 1,600-meter relay team of Nehls, John Pitts, Crislip, and Jennings.

Honored as the conference Coaching Staff of the Year was the Emory staff with Head Coach John Curtin and assistants Heather Atkinson, James Goss, Kevin Graham and Pedro Vasquez.

Emory has won six of the last nine conference indoor and outdoor championships, and finished second in the other three.

(Feb. 28) Emory finished in the top three in five events at the Clemson Classic.

The distance medley relay team of Kile Krol, Graham Dufault, Mike Bowman and John Washington finished first out of six teams. Other top performers in running events included Paul Tufaro, who finished third in the 3000-meter run.

Top field event performers included T.J. Jennings, who finished second in the long jump, Rob Bullard, who finished third in the high jump, and Josh Heiber, who finished third in the weight throw. Bullard's jump of 2.06 meters provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA national meet

In sprints, John Pitts finished seventh in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.36 seconds.

In field events, Josh Heiber finished first in the shot put with a throw of 13.31 meters. Other top field event performers included T.J. Jennings, who finished second in the long jump with a jump of 6.96 meters, Rob Bullard, who finished fourth in the high jump with a jump of 1.98 meters, and John Wofford, who finished sixth in the pole vault with a jump of 3.50 meters.

Chris Nehls' time of 7.75 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles was just one one-hundredth of a second away from provisionally qualifying for the NCAA national meet.

(Jan. 31) Emory University won the Sewanee Dual Meet, defeating the University of the South by 32.5 points.

Six Eagle runners won eight individual events at the meet. T.J. Jennings won three events, taking first in the high jump the long jump, and the 55-meter dash. Stan Tolkachjov finished first in the shot put with a throw of 40 feet and one-half inch (12.20m).

Chris Nehls won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.04 seconds and Graham Dufault placed first in the 400-meter run with a time of 55.16 seconds.

In distance events, Rob Leventhal won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 2.43 seconds and John Washington earned first in the 3000-meter run with a time of 9:27.60.

Sophomore Rob Bullard won the high jump with a jump of 2.03 meters, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA national meet. Josh Heiber also performed well in his field event with a career best 13.29 meters in the weight throw. He finished ninth out of 15 competitors.

Top performers for the Eagles in sprints included Chris Nehls who finished 15th out of 40 competitors in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.55 seconds, and T.J. Jennings, who finished 25th out of 101 runners in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.46 seconds.

Adam Brunfeldt won the 1 mile run in a field of 30 with a career best time of 4:26 seconds. Paul Tufaro also ran well for the distance team with a career best time of 15:19 in the 5000-meter run to finish seventh out of 34 runners.