Three members of the Wayne State College women's and men's outdoor track & field program made their way to the CSUP Thunderbowl May 22 - 24.
According to a release from Wayne State Athletics, senior Reilly Young and sophomore Torrance Tso were both represented in the women's discus event while freshman Emmanuel Badejo competed in the men's 400-meter dash.
Young earned All-American honors on May 23 with a fourth-place finish in the discus.
It's the sixth time a Wildcat thrower has earned All-American honors in the discus, joining Michaela Dendinger Sweeney (2015-3rd/2017-6th), Sara Wells Bents (2013-5th/2015-3rd) and Katie Wilson (2008-4th).
The native from Scotia (Central Valley HS), Young had three solid marks in prelims and was third entering finals after posting marks of 157' 8", 169' 11" and 163' 1". After scratching in her first two attempts in finals, Young recorded a season-best mark of 171' 9" to finish fourth in the event. It was Young's second time competing at nationals after also qualifying in 2023.
Badejo capped a stellar freshman season for the Wildcats by setting another new school record in the 400-meter dash finals on May 24 placing sixth with a time of 46.05 seconds.
He becomes the first WSC outdoor All-American in track and field since Ross Bunchek (hammer throw) in 2012 and is the first track (running) All-American in outdoor since Matt Schneider placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during the 2009 season.
A native of Ijebu Ode, Nigeria, Badejo posted a time of 46.05 seconds to finish sixth place and earn All-American honors in the 400-meter dash. It's the fourth time this season that Badejo has set a new school record in the event, eclipsing the 46.25 second mark he set in prelims on May 22.
Badejo is also just the second-ever WSC runner to earn All-American honors in the 400-meter dash, joining Fred Kjer who was sixth in the NAIA Nationals in 1959 with a time of 48.5 seconds.
Wayne State College also had one other athlete also compete in the discus on May 23 as Torrance Tso (Norfolk HS) had a top throw of 138' and finished in 22nd place overall competing at nationals for the first time as a Wildcat.
