Despite poor weather throughout the weekend, multiple members of the Eastern Michigan University track and field programs turned in Mid-American Conference (MAC)-leading performances to spearhead a successful weekend at the Jesse Owens Classic, hosted by Ohio State University, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, in Columbus, May 2-3, and the Duke Twilight Meet, hosted by Duke University, at Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium, in Durham, N.C., Sunday, May 4.
 
Senior Brendan Hill (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) and freshman Lucky Fiaku (Nimo, Nigeria/Busy International Secondary) set the top high jump mark in the MAC with jumps of 2.12m (06-11.50) while competing at the Jesse Owens Classic, and Gabe Singh (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Northview) bettered his conference-best time in the 400-meter hurdles, placing first in 50.62.
 
At the Duke Twilight Meet, junior Kian Wiles (Hull, England/St. Mary’s College) improved his MAC-leading time in the 1500m run by nearly three seconds, finishing 12th in 3:40.73.
 
Due to poor weather in Columbus, multiple events were not completed, including the 110m hurdles, 200m dash, 400m dash, discus throw, triple jump, and 4x100m relay.
 
How it Happened – Men at Jesse Owens Classic
Both Hill and Fiaku set PRs and the top jump in the MAC for high jump with marks of 2.12m (06-11.50). Their marks rank eighth in program history and are the first edit to the event’s top-10 list since former Eagle Xavier Clais posted a 2.14m (07-01.25 – Program No. 4) jump in the 2009 season.
 
The Eagles had a dominant performance in the 400m hurdles as Singh earned his first first-place finish in the event this season with a MAC-leading and EMU No. 3 time of 50.62. His time ranks second in the Great Lakes Region, 15th on the East Qualifying List, and 34th in the nation. Michael Hawkins (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical/Michigan State) took third with a personal-best 52.61, a time that slots third in the conference.
 
Samuel Jeffery (Fonthill, Ontario/E.L. Crossley Secondary) placed first out of 16 in the long jump with a season-best 6.98m (22-11) leap.
 
Jake McEachern (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Comprehensive) also earned a season-best mark as he finished second in the hammer throw with a 61.57m (202-00) toss, one that slots third in the conference.

How it Happened – Men at Duke Twilight Meet

Wiles improved his MAC-leading time in the 1500m run by nearly three seconds, finishing in 3:40.73, while also jumping the junior to No. 4 in EMU laurels. Lachlan Cornelius (Queensland, Brisbane, Australia/Anglican Church Grammar School) finished sixth in the 800m run with a 1:49.62.

How it Happened – Women at Duke Twilight Meet

Senior Chloie Musta (Mesick, Mich./Cadillac) had a strong showing in the 800m run, finishing 12th out of 38 runners in a career-best 2:08.08, placing her third in the MAC this season and sixth in EMU history.

 

Marta Moreno (Wassenaar, Netherlands/American School of The Hague) saw action in the 5000m, placing 27th in 16:51.44.

How it Happened – Women at Jesse Owens Classic

Freshman Ashtan Winfrey (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric Early College) put on a show in the long jump in front of a hometown crowd, leaping 5.83m (19-01.50) for the best mark of the meet, a personal-best, and the No. 8 jump in the MAC this season. Also finishing in the top 10 for the long jump was Nene Garner (Powell, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who jumped 5.48m (17-11.75), as well as Shamoya Clemetson (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier), who finished with a 5.30m (17-04.75) mark.

 

The Eagles also placed three competitors in the top 10 of the triple jump as Alimot Alowonle (Lagos, Nigeria/Tindip College/New Orleans) placed fourth with a jump of 11.76m (38-07.00), Kyra Buffen (Columbus, Ga./Buford/Benedict) finished sixth with a mark of 11.49m (37-08.50), and Mariia Yelanska‘s (Dnipro, Ukraine) jump of 11.32m (37-01.75) was good for ninth.

 

Senior Isabella Brent (Dearborn Heights, Mich./Divine Child) tossed a personal-best 55.10m (180-09) in the hammer throw, bettering her program No. 7 mark and placing herself inside the conference top-10 at No. 7. Aleah Johnson (Botkins, Ohio/Botkins) also grabbed a PR and program top-10 mark in the event, placing 14th with a 51.48m (168-10) throw, a toss that stands eighth in program history.

 

EMU Individual Results

 *Denotes Personal Best

^ Denotes Season Best

 Bold Denotes Program Top 10 Mark

 

Men’s Results – Duke Twilight

 

800m

6. Lachlan Cornelius – 1:49.62

 

1500m

12. Kian Wiles – 3:40.73* EMU #4

 

Men’s Results – Jesse Owens Track & Field Classic

 

400m Hurdles

1. Gabe Singh – 50.62* EMU # 3

5. Michael Hawkins – 52.61*

12. Matt McKnight – 55.63

 

800m

5. Drew Graves – 1:54.38

16. Nicholas Kline – 1:59.57

 

1500m

12. Donovan Johnson – 4:02.82*

18. Ty Dailey – 4:08.11

21. AJ Hawkins – 4:15.30

23. Isaac Garcia – 4:18.63*

 

3000m Steeplechase

12. Aaron Schwieterman – 9:58.63

 

5000m

25. Joey Furlong – 14:58.71

39. Carson Vanderschaaf – 16.01.86*

 

Hammer Throw

2. Jake McEachern – 61.57m (202-00)^ 

 

High Jump

1. Lucky Fiaku – 2.12m (06-11.50)* T-EMU #8

2. Brendan Hill – 2.12m (06-11.50)* T-EMU #8

 

Javelin Throw

5. Samuel Jeffery – 53.33m (175-0)*

6. Drew Knieper – 52.91m (173-07)^

 

Long Jump

1. Samuel Jeffery – 6.98m (22-11)^

 

Shot Put

21. Leland Godfrey – 14.60m (47-10.75)

 

Women’s Results – Duke Twilight

 

800m

12. Chloie Musta – 2:08.08* EMU #6

 

5000m

27. Marta Moreno – 16:51.44

 

Women’s Results – Jesse Owens Track & Field Classic

 

400m

4. Mia Biehl – 59.56

 

400m Hurdles

21. Tijana Japundzic – 1:05.06

28. Sophie Emin – 1:07.61

 

800m

20. Cora Henderson – 2:17.50

 

1500m

49. Cora Henderson – 4:45.45

 

3000m Steeplechase

6. Anita Zaro – 11:02.86

11. Liv Hatch – 11:19.77*

 

5000m

24. Lucy Jones – 17:33.44^

32. Cara Weber – 17:51.97

 

Discus Throw

29. Aleah Johnson – 32.32m (106-00)

 

Hammer Throw

8. Isabella Brent – 55.10m (180-09)* EMU #7

14. Aleah Johnson – 51.48m (168-10)* EMU #8

26. Faith Moore – 46.26m (151-09)

32. Lena Korte – 40.73m (133-07)

 

High Jump

8. Micah Martin – 1.70m (05-07.00)

9. Natalie Buratczuk – 1.65m (05-05.00)

 

Javelin Throw

5. Erica King – 40.70m (133-06)

10. Lena Korte – 33.66m (110-05)

 

Long Jump

1. Ashtan Winfrey – 5.83m (19-01.50)* MAC #8

6. Nene Garner – 5.48m (17-11.75)*

10. Shamoya Clemetson – 5.30m (17-04.75)

23. Nyla Joseph-Guevara – 4.93m (16-02.25)

 

Pole Vault

T-19. Megan Rybitski – 3.53m (11-07.00)

T-19. Samantha Smith – 3.53m (11-07.00)

 

Shot Put

6. Lena Korte – 13.36m (43-10.00)

 

Triple Jump

4. Alimot Alowonle – 11.76m (38-07.00)^

6. Kyra Buffen – 11.49m (37-08.50)

9. Mariia Yelanska – 11.32m (37-01.75)

14. Nyla Joseph-Guevara – 10.59m (34-09.00)

18. Kaydence Doxley – 9.61m (31-06.50)

Up Next

The Eagles return to action at the Hillsdale College Last Chance, hosted by Hillsdale College, at the Outdoor Track at Hayden Park, Wednesday, May 7, and again Friday, May 9, at the Len Paddock Open, hosted by the University of Michigan, at the U-M Track & Field Stadium.

 

Follow Us

For updates on all things EMU cross country/track & field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, X, and Facebook at @EMUXC_TF.

 

I’ve covered a lot of sporting events in my career, but there was something undeniably electric about the 2025 NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship this weekend in Gulf Shores. From the very first serve to the final point, it wasn’t just a tournament—it was a statement.

And what a statement TCU made.

The Horned Frogs claimed their first-ever national title in a dramatic 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount University (LMU). It wasn’t just a win—it was a seismic shift. For the first time in championship history, neither UCLA nor USC hoisted the trophy. Instead, a hungry, fearless TCU team stood victorious on the white sands of Alabama, redefining the power map of collegiate beach volleyball.

I was on the ground, and let me tell you, the energy was unreal. The athletes? Dialed in. The fans? Fired up. And the vibe? Pure magic.

What impressed me the most wasn’t just the level of play—it was the heart. The hustle. The belief. The grit. TCU didn’t just win points—they fought for them. Digs that looked impossible, blocks that rocked the court, and serves that sliced through the wind like laser beams.

This wasn’t just a win for TCU—it was a win for every program fighting to prove they belong. The whole event, set behind The Hangout in Gulf Shores, felt like a festival of athleticism. You had people dancing on tables during timeouts, cheering in the sun, and celebrating every rally like it was a Super Bowl play. And with over 450 matches across all divisions just days earlier at the AVCA Small College Championship, Alabama is officially the new heart of beach volleyball in May.

LMU had its share of shining moments, but this was TCU’s time. As the final point hit the sand, sealing both the match and a legacy, their players stormed the court in a rush of tears and screams–culminating in a celebratory dog pile that marked their historic win.

Adding to the excitement, two programs—Texas and Boise State—made their inaugural appearances at the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. Texas, seeded No. 7, earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over No. 10 California before falling to eventual champion TCU in the quarterfinals. Boise State, seeded No. 14, took on No. 3 Stanford in the opening round. Though they didn’t advance, their presence on the national stage marked a proud and promising milestone for the program.

I walked away from the finals with sand in my shoes, a camera full of unforgettable moments, and soaking wet from jumping into the Gulf to capture that iconic shot of the team hoisting the trophy in the water after their win. Totally worth it!!!

NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball isn’t just growing, it’s thriving. And if this weekend proved anything, it’s that the best is yet to come. Until next year—same beach, even more magic!

NASHVILLE – SIUE track and field wrapped up their regular season yesterday with Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge. The Cougars saw strong performances across the board. 
 
Konrad Sacha placed fourth in the men’s 400m at 47.44. This moves him from fifth to fourth in the programs all-time outdoor performances.
 
Drew Tucker claimed first in the men’s high jump at 2.00m (6-6 3/4).
 
Taylor Lehman placed second in the men’s 400m hurdles at 53.35.
 
Vashanti Reynolds placed second in the women’s 100m hurdles at 13.88.
 
Grant Milbrath placed fourth in the men’s hammer throw at 58.65m (192-5). He also placed third in the men’s shot put at 15.98m (52-5).
 
Maryiah Menicucci places second in the women’s hammer throw at 45.08m (147-11). She also competed in the women’s shot-put placing sixth at 12.28m (40-3)
 
THROWS
Gabby Yaccino placed eight in the women’s discus at 39.96m (131-1). Also competing was Allison Sanders (14th/37.04/121-6) and Abigail Irvin (18th/31.78/104-3).
 
Also competing in the men’s hammer throw was Joel Degracia placing 12th at 43.78m (143-8).
 
Sanders also competed in the women’s hammer throw where she placed sixth at 45.96m (150-9) and was followed by Gabby Yaccino in seventh at 44.36m (145-6).
 
Abigail Irvin competed in the women’s shot put placing 19th at 8.63m.
 
JUMPS
Sheena Cumberbatch placed 10th in the women’s long jump at 5.35m. She also competed in the women’s triple jump placing 10th at 11.32m (37-1).
 
Zaria Searcy tied for seventh in the women’s high jump at 1.62m (5-3). Also competing in the women’s high jump was Harper Smith who tied for ninth at 1.50m (4-11).
 
SPRINTS & HURDLES
Jazmin West placed fourth in the women’s 100m at 12.24. Also competing was Darrell Rice (18th/12.97).
 
In the women’s 100m hurdles Kaylee Allen placed 11th at 12.29
 
Also competing in the women’s 100m hurdles was Mia Jackson, she placed fifth at 14.33.
 
In the women’s 400m hurdles was Megan Derrick who places 16th at 1:06.77 and Kennedy Williams in 18th at 1:08.30.
 
Also competing in the men’s 400m hurdles was Simon McClaine. He placed fifth at 54.25. McClaine also competed in the men’s 110m hurdles placing sixth at 14.87.
 
Mia Jackson placed 17th in the women’s 200m, crossing the finish line at 24.54. Following her was Kaylee Allen (25th/25.14) and Jazmin West (31st/25.33).
 
In the men’s 200m Konrad Sacha placed 11th at 21.63. Also competing was Chase Burston who placed 30th at 22.45.
 
Also competing in the men’s 400m was Chase Burston in 19th at 50.49.
 
DISTANCE & MID-DISTANCE
For the women’s 3000m Kinze Shea placed sixth at 10:21.10.
 
In the women’s 3000m steeplechase Mia Loafman finished in 12th at 11.43.76. She was followed by Courtney Anthonies in 15th at 12:54.76.
 
Tanner Emerson competed in the men’s 3000m steeple chase placing seventh at 9:41.79.
 
Emilee Franklin ran the women’s 1500m placing 41st at 4:54.67. Following her was Ana Keller in 44th at 4:56.53.
 
In the men’s 1500m D’Andre Watson finished in 34th at 3:59.89. Following him was Logan Luttrell (38th/4:12.62), Jackson Edwards (39th/4:12.03) and Tyler Guthrie (41st/4:15.98).
 
Sophia Harrison ran the women’s 5000m placing 20th at 17:53.62. Erica Woodard followed in 33rd at 18:53.50.
 
Harrison also ran the women’s 800m placing 47th at 2:26.41.
 
RELAYS
For the men’s 4x100m Konnor Bouman, Jonah Grawer, Simon McClaine and Chase Burston placed third at 43.24m.
 
UP NEXT
The Cougars prepare for the Ohio Valley Outdoor Championships. This will be a three day event starting May 15th and wrapping up May 17th.
 
 

Comparison of baseline variables between the two groups

Detailed results are presented in Table 2. The participation of secondary school students in Digital Sports has resulted in two distinct groups: participants (n = 1007) and non-participants (n = 3918). Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed between the two groups in the following variables: gender, stage of secondary school, academic performance, self-assessed physical health, interest in ICT, perceived ICT competence, ICT Social Perception, mother’s education, father’s education, parents’ voluntary participation in sports, family wealth, ICT available at home, ICT available at school, Digital Teaching Training Level for Teachers, index proportion of all teachers with ISCED5A Master’s qualifications, and Weekly Number of Physical Education Days. No statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) were found for the following variables: BMI, body image, ICT autonomy, ISEI of mother, ISEI of father, parents’ emotional support, Home cultural possessions, home educational resources, whether School Digital Teaching Discussions with Staff, and school type.

Multilevel logistic regression results

16 variables with P < 0.05 from univariate analysis were included in the multilevel logistic regression model, with Table 3 presenting the results. The null model revealed significant between-school random variation in secondary school students’ likelihood of Digital Sports participation [σ_u² = 0.26 (0.05), P < 0.001]. The ICC value indicated that 7.4% of the variance in Digital Sports behavior probability was attributable to school-level factors, justifying the use of multilevel modeling. Model 1 demonstrated significant positive correlations of weekly physical education class days (P < 0.001) and school ICT resources (P < 0.001) with Digital Sports engagement, accounting for 24.98% of between-school variance. However, neither digital training for teachers (P = 0.275) nor the proportion of teachers with master’s degrees (P = 0.172) showed significant associations. Model 2 identified significant student- and family-level predictors after adjusting for school-level variables (weekly physical education class days and school ICT resources). Even after controlling for student and family variables, weekly physical education class days (AOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.16–1.46) and school ICT resources (AOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02–1.10) remained significantly positively correlated with Digital Sports participation. The final Model 3 highlighted household ICT resources (AOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04–1.13) and students’ ICT social perception (AOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.07–1.30) as significant positive correlates, whereas academic performance exhibited a significant negative correlation (AOR 0.995, 95% CI 0.994–0.996).

Model development and hyperparameter optimization

The five variables with P < 0.05 in the multilevel logistic regression were selected as input variables for model construction. After data standardization, the dataset was divided into training and test sets at a ratio of 85% (n = 4186) to 15% (n = 739). The grid search method exhaustively evaluates all possible combinations within specified parameter ranges to identify the globally optimal parameter configuration, thereby significantly enhancing the model’s generalization ability and computational efficiency. To optimize model performance, GridSearchCV combined with 5-fold cross-validation was employed for hyperparameter tuning of K-nearest neighbors (KNN), Gaussian naive Bayes (GNB), gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), and logistic regression (LR). The optimized key parameters for each model are presented in Table 4, while non-critical parameters were set to their default values.

Model performance comparison

As shown in Table 5, the AUC values of GNB, GBDT, KNN, and LR models on the test set were 0.700, 0.641, 0.707, and 0.717, respectively. In this study, the AUC values of GNB, KNN, and LR models all exceeded 0.7, indicating their good discriminative performance in predicting secondary school students’ digital sports participation. Figure 2 presents the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the four prediction models, where the x-axis represents the false positive rate (FPR) and the y-axis denotes the true positive rate (TPR). Points closer to the top-left corner indicate higher model accuracy. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) reflects the predictive performance of the models, with larger AUC values indicating higher prediction accuracy. Among the primary models, the LR model performed best; however, as logistic regression is a linear model, it may fail to capture the nonlinear relationships between variables and the outcome. Therefore, this study constructed an ensemble stacking model using the LR model as the meta-model and GNB and KNN models as base models to enhance the interpretability of the conclusions. As shown in Table 5, the stacking model achieved an AUC of 0.723, outperforming the LR model and demonstrating better performance in terms of the F1 score.

Working feature curve of the test set using a machine learning model.

Explainability analysis

After completing the model development, explainability analysis was conducted on the best-performing Stacking model using the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) method. This analysis included global explanation of variable impacts and individual variable dependency explanation.

Global explanation of variable impacts

Figure 3a ranks the relative importance of the five influencing factors from high to low based on their mean absolute SHAP values: academic performance, weekly physical education class days, household ICT resources, school ICT resources, and ICT social perception. Among these, the SHAP mean values of academic performance and weekly physical education class days are significantly higher than those of other factors, indicating their importance as key determinants.

Figure 3b presents the SHAP beeswarm plot, where each point represents a sample distributed along the y-axis, and the horizontal position reflects its impact on the prediction outcome. The color gradient (red for high values, blue for low values) reveals that lower academic performance, more weekly physical education class days, richer household ICT resources, more sufficient school ICT resources, and higher ICT social perception are all significantly associated with an increased probability of secondary school students’ digital sports participation.

Importance ranking of SHAP features with swarm map.

Single-variable dependency explanation

Figure 4 presents the feature dependence plots, illustrating the threshold effects and nonlinear relationships of five variables on secondary school students’ Digital Sports participation. When the number of weekly physical education class days (0 to 5 days) is 0 or 1, the SHAP values are near the zero line on the y-axis, indicating minimal or even negative effects on students’ Digital Sports participation. However, when the number of days reaches 2 or more, the model is more likely to predict participation, and the strength of this positive effect increases with the number of days. The impacts of school ICT resources and household ICT resources (0 to 10 points) on Digital Sports participation are similar: as these resources increase, the slope changes, suggesting that the effect strengthens with higher ICT resource availability. For values below 8 points, SHAP values remain below the zero line, indicating a model prediction of non-participation; only when values exceed 8 points does the model predict participation, highlighting the high ICT resource requirements for Digital Sports behavior. The lowess curve for ICT social perception reveals a largely linear positive relationship: when social perception exceeds the student population average, SHAP values rise above the zero line, and the model predicts participation. The slope changes in academic performance indicate that when scores range from 250 to 500, the model tends to predict participation, with a stronger negative effect as scores increase; beyond 500 points, the model tends to predict non-participation, and the negative effect gradually weakens with higher scores.

Butler graduate and Grove City College junior Isaac Busler was part of the school-record-setting 1600-meter relay (3:19.56) as the Wolverines earned their third consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference outdoor men’s track and field title on Thursday and Friday.

Seneca Valley grad and GCC freshman Brandon Kendrew placed third in the 110 high hurdles (15.9 seconds) at the meet, held at West Virginia University’s Mylan Park.