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Today is a great day!

Do you want to know why? Our women’s team is officially NATIONAL CHAMPIONS for the THIRD year in a row! The men’s team also did awesome, fighting fierce competition to finish 3^rd place overall for the SECOND top three finish in a row! That’s right, in case you missed it, this past weekend, April 6th-7th, we went to the NIRCA Track and Field National Championships in Richmond, Virginia, where we fought hard, and came out incredibly victorious! Without further ado, let’s dive right into these monumental nationals!

As usual, let’s start things off with the women’s 100m dash. Ari Afolabi, in an incredible display of speed, ran a 12.61 in the prelims, and then smashed that time to run a 12.49 in the finals, claiming a 2^nd place finish! Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu was close behind, actually beating Ari in the prelims with her time of 12.46, but Ari edged her out during the finals, with Melissa’s incredible time of 12.61 earning her a 4^th place finish. Ninawa Odicho may have barely missed the qualifications for finals, but she still ran an awesome time of 12.89 to earn a 10th-place finish. Next up was Bella Brunke, who went out and ran a speedy 13.53, just barely holding off her fellow teammate Christina Jordan, who came in just a few milliseconds behind with a 13.69. Sumin Cho started her Saturday with a great performance, running a 14.45. Leah Wilson came out and had a similarly great day, running a speedy time of 15.29. Closing us out was Christina Li, who ran a great time of 15.29. 

You’ll never guess who won on the men’s side. It was, of course, Mr All-American himself Tyler Klein, who sailed through the prelims with a winning time of 10.89, and then left the competition in the dust with his time of 10.53 in the finals, setting a NEW NIRCA RECORD in the process! Nic Soto wasn’t about to let Tyler steal all of the glory, his time of 11.20 earned him a direct trip into the finals, where he improved to run an 11.12 to claim 5^th place and a new PR! Our next thee Illini ran in a super pack, all within .1 seconds of each other. John Green led the pack with his superb 11.44, Michael VanHootegem was close behind with his time of 11.48, and Adam Adil closed out this speed trio with his time of 11.53. Ethan Hung took a break from his awesome Insta Takeover to go out and run an even awesome 11.76. Ryan Fredericks improved on his time from last week by 0.2 seconds to run a 12.02. Sean Vibhatasilpin had a similarly great day, running a time of 12.15. The next two athletes came in just milliseconds apart, with Sanyu Kumaran running a 12.44 to just barely come ahead of Tanav Palisetti with his time of 12.52. Brandon Perruquet closes us out with a speedy time of 13.46, a great way to end an event full of great times!

For the 100m hurdles, we had 3 women compete, and they dominated the competition, all finishing in the top 4! Ari Afolabi once again led the group, running an incredible time of 15.43 to claim 1^st place, finishing over 0.5 seconds in front of the second-place runner. That second-place competitor was closely followed by Christina Jordan, who came in with an amazing time of 16.24 for a 3rd-place finish. Brooke Bouwens rounded out this speed trio with her own awesome time of 17.12 to claim 4^th place!

The men’s 110m hurdles shared a similar story of domination. Ben Cooper led for the Illini, with his incredible time of 15.64, only missing 1^st place by 0.1 seconds while running in a slow heat and placing him in 2^nd place overall with a new PR. Michael VanHootegem was just milliseconds behind, with his amazing time of 15.74  earning himself 3^rd place overall and a new PR. Matas Carmichael wasn’t far behind, running an awesome time of 17.48 to close out this awesome event group!

Moving on to the 200m, Ninawa Odicho had a great day in this event, running 26.70 in the prelims, and beating that time with a time of 26.64 in the finals to claim 6^th place! Ari Afolabi continued her winning streak in this event as well, with her time of 26.88 to earn a 10^th place finish, finishing just milliseconds ahead of her teammate Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, who finished in a time of 27.14. Lucca Bibbey also had an awesome day, running a 28.09. Closing us out was Sumin Cho with a great time of 31.04, coming in just barely ahead of her teammate Christina Li, who finished in a speedy 31.56. 

For the men, it was once again the Tyler Klein show, who ran an incredible 21.73 in the prelims to speed right into the finals, running 21.73 to claim another 1^st place finish! Tyler Vizgirda was close behind, twinning his heat with a speedy time of 22.89 to claim 10^th place. Nic Soto followed close behind, winning his heat as well with an awesome time of 23.04. Matas Carmichael kept up the trend of winning heats with his time of 23.92, just narrowly beating out his teammate Adam Adil with his time of 24.06. Our next two athletes finished just 0.009 seconds apart from each other, with Ben Cooper ultimately coming out on top over Ryan Fredericks, both running a 24.13. Keeping up with the trend, our next two athletes also finished just 0.01 seconds apart, with Sean Vibhatasilpin ending up victorious over Ethan Hung with times of 24.18 and 24.19, respectively. Koen Brown came in close behind, with a great time of 24.43. Yet again, the next two athletes finished within 0.01 seconds of each other, with Sanyu Kumaran running a 25.44 leading over Jacky Lin who ran a time of 25.45. Tanav Palisetti was up next, coming in with a speedy time of 26.09. Brandon Perruquet wraps us up with a speedy time of 27.47. 

The women continued their victory streak in the 400m, where Brooke Bouwens led the women with her amazing time of 1:01.35 to claim a 2^nd place finish. Lucca Bibbey was close behind, running an awesome time of 1:02.32 to claim 6^th place overall and a new PR. Ninawa Odicho finished out the group of top 10 performances with a time of 1:02.92 to earn a 9th-place finish. Brooke Silbernagel fought hard and came out successful with a great time of 1:04.07. Anna Jablonski stuck with her teammate and came out right behind Brooke, running a speedy 1:04.71. Rachel Sakwa wasn’t far behind, running an awesome time of 1:07.45. Reiss Christensen closes out this group of stellar performances with her own speedy time of 1:14.26.

Tyler Klein displayed his speed once again in the 400m, running a stellar 48.90 to claim yet another 1st-place finish! Continuing the domination of the Tylers, Tyler Vizgirda ran an awesome time of 52.54, and on the scoreboard, was able to just edge out the next competitor by 0.001 seconds to claim 10^th place. Ryan Fredericks was up next, running a speedy time of 53.62. Koen Brown followed closely behind Tyler V throughout their heat, finishing just seconds behind with a time of 54.69. Luke Nelson had a great day, running an awesome time of 55.71. Brandon Perruquet also came out and had a great run, running a speedy 1:08.12.

Even with the added challenge of hurdles in the 400m hurdles, our women continued to thrive, with our 2 athletes both finishing in the top 3. Brooke Bouwens led for this event, coming in with an incredible time of 1:07.89, almost 3 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, to claim 1^st place! Rachel Schaff continued the domination with her time of 1:10.98, running all alone in a slow heat to still claim a 3^rd place overall finish!

Our men fared just as great, with Matas Carmichael running an amazing time of 1:02.14 to claim a 7th-place finish. Michael VanHootegem was just seconds behind, finishing with an awesome 1:08.33.

Speed was definitely on the track for the women’s 800m, where Bridget Brokaw had an incredible time of 2:26.00 to claim 3^rd place overall! Anna Jablonski was close behind, winning her heat and coming in 5^th place overall with her time of 2:27.27. Brooke Silbernagel was close behind her teammates, running an awesome time of 2:29.95. Our last two athletes finished just a second apart, with Reiss Christensen coming out ahead with her time of 2:58.57 over Christina Li’s speedy time of 2:59.50.

The men faced stiff competition, yet still put out great times. James Stanley led the team, sliding under the 2-minute mark with an impressive time of 1:59.43 for a new PR. Henry Hornbrook fought throughout the race, “the beard didn’t quit”, pushing through to run an awesome time of 2:00.24. Easton Rosen went out and crushed the competition, running a 2:01.38, and finishing just 0.5 seconds ahead of Percy Moser, who came in at 2:01.67. Dakota Amar wasn’t far behind, running his own awesome time of 2:04.20 for a PR. Trevor Glancy had a similarly great race, running a speedy time of 2:08.98. Luke Nelson went out and also had a great day, running a superb time of 2:15.18. Jose Ocegueda Zuniga stuck close behind his teammates and finished with a great time of 2:21.05. Gabe Benson closed it out for us, with a speedy 2:42.68.

Only 1 woman was brave enough to tackle the 1500m, Bridget Brokaw was all alone on the track, yet still put out an awesome time of 5:17.74.

For the men, it was an exciting installment of the east coast battles. Last week James came out on top, but this week it was Percy Moser who came out in front with his time of 4:03.63 to earn 6^th place overall. James Stanley was close behind with his time of 4:04.93 to earn 7^th place. Not to be left out of the fun, Easton Rosen was close behind the duo with a time of 4:06.46 to claim a 9th-place finish. Aidan Markiewicz went out and had an epic day, running a great time of 4:31.12. Gabe Benson wraps it up with an awesome time of 5:21.74.

In the 3000m Steeplechase, Suhani Permanu may have been all alone, but she still had a blast, running an awesome time of 12:54.49. 

Moving up the distance, in the 5000m, Claire Casiello led for the Illini, sliding right under the 19-minute mark with an amazing time of 18:59.55. Suhani Peramanu was close behind, finishing with an awesome time of 19:35.44. Alyson Ficca closed it out with a great time of 21:19.02.

For the men, it was all up to Aidan Markiewicz, and he didn’t disappoint, running an awesome time of 17:08.10.

It’s relay time! In the women’s 4x100m, our team composed of Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, Brooke Bouwens, Ninawa Odicho and Ari Afolabi put up an awesome fight, and in the end, came in 2^nd place with a time of 50.38. The second team, composed of Chloe Trotter, Sumin Cho, Christina Jordan, and Leah Wilson had a similarly great showing, coming in with a time of 56.81.

On the men’s side, the team composed of Nic Soto, Kevin Saju, John Green, and Tyler Klein rose up from the slow heat they raced in to have an incredible time, running a time of 43.59 and coming in 1^st place overall! The next team, made up of Sean Vibhatasilpin, Matas Carmichael, Jacky Lin, and Koen Brown smashed the competition with a time of 46.50 and finished 10^th overall. The third team was less than a second behind, made up of Sanyu Kumaran, Tanav Palisetti, Adam Adil, and Ryan Fredericks, who won their heat with a speedy 47.17 for an 11th-place finish.

For the 4x400m relay, the women’s team composed of Brooke Bouwens, Bridget Brokaw, Rachel Schaaf, and Ninawa Odicho yet again put up a strong fight, and came in for an awesome 2^nd place overall finish with a time of 4:06.87. The second team, made up of Rachel Sakwa, Brooke Silbernagel, Lucca Bibbey, and Anna Jablonski also dominated in that heat and came out with a great time of 4:18.68 and a 5^th place overall finish.

For the men, the first team again absolutely crushed the competition, made up of Tyler Vizgirda, Ryan Fredericks, Nic Soto, and Tyler Klein they came out on top with a time of 3:23.21, 2 seconds ahead of the next competitor to claim a beautiful 1^st place finish. The second team, made up of Koen Brown, Luke Nelson, James Stanley, and Henry Hornbrook crushed the competition as well, winning their heat with a time of 3:33.82. The third team, composed of Matas Carmichael, Sean Vibhatasilpin, Dakota Amar, and Trevor Glancey had an awesome race, running a time of 3:40.46. Closing us out, the fourth team of Jose Ocegueda Zuniga, David Pak, Sanyu Kumaran, and Tanav Palisetti had a great race, coming out and running a speedy time of 4:02.04.

In the last running event of the meet, the 4x800m relay, the women’s team of Anna Jablonski, Brooke Silbernagel, Rachel Sakwa and Bridget Brokaw had an awesome day, running a time of 10:08.85 to claim a 4^th place finish.

With the men, the team made up of James Stanley, Henry Hornbrook, Dakota Amar, and Easton Rosen fought through a tough heat and came out with a stellar 4th-place overall finish with a time of 8:05.31. 

Enough with the track events, let’s get into the field events! Let’s start with the High Jump, it was a huge day for the women’s high jumpers! Christina Jordan led off with an incredible performance, jumping 1.57m (5’ 1.75”) to not only come 1^st place in the event but to also set a NEW CLUB RECORD! Close behind her was Bella Brunke, whose jump of 1.47m (4’ 9.75”) earned her an awesome 5th-place finish. Gwen Bottom rounds us off with a great jump of 1.37m (4’ 6”)

On the men’s side, both of our jumpers had top-10 performances! Jack Tolentino led with his awesome jump of 1.75m (5’ 9”), giving in a 7th-place finish. John Green also jumped 1.75m (5’ 9”), but due to the scoring method used, he was awarded a still awesome 9^th place overall!

In the long jump, it was another record-breaking performance. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu came off her strong running performances to jump 17’ 11.5”, a leap big enough to score a 3^rd place finish, in addition to setting a NEW CLUB RECORD! Rachel Schaff was close behind, with an awesome jump of 1’ 7.5” to earn herself 4^th place overall and a PR! Bella Brunke closed out these impressive performances with an awesome jump of 14’ 8”.

For the men, it was all John Green, whose incredible jump of 21’ 11” not only earned him 2^nd place overall but also set a NEW CLUB RECORD! Tyler Klein was close behind with an awesome jump of his own, jumping 21’ 2.25” to earn a 6^th place finish. Ben Cooper had a great day of his own, jumping 19’ 7”. Matas Carmichael wraps up these stellar performances with his super jump of 17’ 6.5”.

In the triple jump, it was again Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, whose jump of 39’ 4” set yet another NEW CLUB RECORD, on top of earning another 2^nd place finish! Rachel Schaaf was yet again right by her side, and her jump of 38’ 0” breezed past the competition to earn herself a 3^rd place finish and new PR. Meredith Benzar had a similarly awesome day, jumping 27’ 4.5”.

It was only Tyler Klein in the men’s triple, but he didn’t disappoint, jumping 43’ 3.5” for an amazing 3^rd place finish!

Moving onto the throws, we had another selection of awesome performances! Mia Howard led for the Illini, with her incredible throw of 32’ 5” earning her a 6^th place overall finish! Tiana Foreman was close behind, throwing an awesome 29’ 4” to snag a 10^th place finish. Ivy Del Real wraps up this awesome day with a great throw of her own, throwing 25’ 4”.

On the men’s side, Dan Coxworth threw the shot put an amazing 37’ 6” to claim himself an 8^th place finish. His teammate Jeffrey Lefkowitz was close behind, with an awesome throw of 31’ 6”.

Now we get to end with a special treat, discus! An even more special treat was the awesome performances of our athletes in the discus! Mia Howard had a superb throw of 111’ 5”, earning her a 2^nd place overall finish! Tiana Foreman had a similarly stellar throw, she threw 101’ 4” to earn herself a 5^th place finish! Ivy Del Real wasn’t about to be left behind, and had an awesome throw of her own, throwing 74’ 2”.

For the men, it was yet another record-breaking event. Dan Coxworth threw the discus 144’, claiming a 2^nd place overall finish in addition to a NEW CLUB RECORD! Jeffrey Lefkowitz closes us out with an awesome throw of 102’ 4”.

Whew!

As you can see, there were a ton of incredible performances this past weekend! Once again, all these times and victories added up, with the women’s team winning the national championship, and the men finishing in a competitive third place! As we conclude, I also want to give a huge shoutout to Travel Coordinator Bella Brunke! None of this would be possible without all the work she put into getting the team a 12+ hour drive to Virginia and back with no issues, so huge kudos to all the work she put in!

This may have been our national championship, but we are nowhere close to being done with the track season. Next Saturday, April 13th, we’re heading to Greenville University for the Greenville Select, we’ll see you there!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Results: http://live.crossroadstiming.com/meets/582865/events 

Happy April!

Welcome back to our second meet of the outdoor season. This also marks a very special occasion, we’re only 1 week out until NIRCA Nationals in Virginia! Before we get to that, however, let’s celebrate all the great performances that occurred at the Big Blue Classic at Eastern Illinois University on Saturday, March 29th. Let’s get into it!

As always, we’ll start things off with the women’s 100m dash. Ari Afolabi led off the day with a speedy time of 12.76, earning her an incredible 8th-place finish overall. Brooke Bouwens was close behind her teammate, coming in with a great time of 13.04. Christina Jordan and Lucca Bibbey had a great day and came in right after one another, running 13.84 and 14.24 respectively. Sumin Cho closed out the event with an awesome performance of 14.46.

On the men’s side, Michael VanHootegem led the pack, running a great time of 11.51 to come in 10^th place overall. Our other 3 athletes had similarly awesome performances, and all ended up finishing within 0.4 seconds of each other. Adam Adil led the group with his fast time of 11.85, Ryan Fredericks was close behind with a quick 12.20, and Anthony Stewart closed it out with a speedy time of 12.26

Adding some hurdles to the mix, in the 100m hurdles, it was again a story of Ari Afolabi’s total domination, with her amazing time of 15.10 claiming a 6^th place overall finish. Her teammates were right behind her the whole race, with Christina Jordan running a 17.05 for 10^th place, and Brooke Bouwens just milliseconds behind, running a 17.10 for 11^th place!

The men had an extra 10m to deal with in their race, but that didn’t stop them from destroying the competition. Michael VanHootegem barely beat out his teammate Ben Cooper by 1 millisecond, running a 15.92 to claim 7^th place, beating out Ben’s 15.93, earning him 8^th place.

For the 400, we had only two competitors, but they stuck together and provided fierce competition. Lucca Bibbey and Rachel Sakwa finished just milliseconds apart, with Lucca’s time of 1:03.84 earning her 7^th place, and Rachel’s time of 1:03.98 earning her 8^th place overall.

In the men’s 400m, it was time for the mid-distance runners to shine, led by Thomas Harmon, whose incredible time of 50.28 earned him an 8th-place finish. Tyler Vizgirda was close behind, with his time of 51.30. Ryan Fredericks used his Mid-Distance expertise to narrowly beat out John Burns, running a 52.64 to edge out John’s 52.99. Luke Nelson wasn’t far behind with his speedy time of 53.96, and Issa Fouani wrapped us up with his great time of 1:12.39. 

As a bonus of outdoor track, we get to enjoy a second hurdles event in the 400m hurdles! Today it was all Matas Carmichael, whose awesome time of 1:05.68 earned him a 10th-place finish!

We may have had only 2 women brave enough to compete in the 800m, but that didn’t stop them from having stellar races. Bridget Brokaw led from the start, running a speedy 2:22.34 to claim 3^rd place overall. Brooke Silbernagel was close behind, coming in just seconds behind for a time of 2:27.42 to claim 6^th place!

It was a similar story on the men’s side, where our 2 athletes also went out and crushed the competition. Freshman sensation Dakota Amar ran a speedy 2:04.16 to claim a 6th-place finish, just barely beating out Henry Hornbrook, who ran an awesome 2:06.26 to claim 7^th place.

In the 1500m, Bridget Brokaw was the lone wolf, going out and running an awesome race with a time of 5:11.14.

In another installment of the East Coast showdown, James Stanley once again came out on top, with his incredible time of 4:03.01 to earn 7^th place overall. Percy Moser didn’t let James get too far ahead, coming in close behind with his time of 4:03.72 for 10^th place overall. Issa Fouani had a similarly great run, running a 5:19.77.

Outdoor finally marks the return of the spectator’s favorite event, the 3000m steeple chase. 2 women took on the challenge and crushed the competition. Suhani Peramanu led and had a great day, running a 13:21.46 to claim 6^th place. Lia Tondeva followed close behind her teammate, coming in at 14:39.20 for a 7th-place finish.

Sadly no steeplechase for the men, but we still get to enjoy our distance dominance in the form of the 5000m. Today was all about future distance coach Ethan Forsell, whose time of 15:20.40 earned him a well-fought 10^th place. Adam Gorcyca didn’t let Ethan out of his sight, coming in close behind with a time of 15:31.88. Gabe Inojosa was able to sprint at the end to narrowly squeeze under the 17-minute barrier, running a 16:57.38.

Closing it out for us was our awesome 4x400m relay team, who fought against the fierce competition to run a 4:02.75 for a 4^th place finish overall.

That about sums it all up!

Make sure to tune in next weekend for the most exciting meet in outdoor track and field, the NIRCA Spring Track and Field National Championship at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia on April 6th-7th. We’re expecting a tough fight, but are hoping to continue the winning streak for the women’s team and steal a surprise victory on the men’s side. For up-to-date information, follow along on our Instagram!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Results: https://il.milesplit.com/meets/610325-eastern-illinois-big-blue-classic-2024/teams/51982

Happy March!

Welcome back to the amazing world of club track and field! We kicked off this outdoor season with a small but mighty group of athletes heading to Indiana Wesleyan University for the Polar Bear Invitational on Saturday, 3/23. Let’s dive right in!

Let’s start with the women’s 100m dash, where sprinter extraordinaire Ari Afolabi wowed the competition with an impressive 12.83 to claim 8^th place overall. Christina Jordan was close behind, coming in with a speedy 13.88

For the women’s 100m hurdles, it was again Ari Afolabi leading the Illini, with an awesome performance of 17.04. Christina Jordan was again right on her tail, coming in just milliseconds behind with a time of 17.87. Brooke Bouwens closed out an impressive group with a time of 18.90.

On the men’s 400m dash, it was Koen Brown all alone, yet that didn’t stop him from running a great time of 56.89.

Brooke Bouwens dominated in the women’s 400m hurdles, coming in 6^th place overall with a rapid time of 1:10.73.

Moving on to the distance, Anika Luthe was the sole representative for the women’s distance team, starting the day out with an awesome 3:03.26 time in the 800m dash.

With the men, Easton Rosen led the pack, with an impressive time of 2:02.17, fast enough to earn him a 10^th place finish overall by 5 milliseconds. James Stanley didn’t let Easton out of his sight, coming in just barely behind in with a time of 2:02.86. Aidan Markiewicz had a similarly strong start to the outdoor season with a speedy time of 2:12.40. Gabe Benson rounds it out for us with a superb time of 2:38.77.

For the 1500, it was again Anika Luthe running solo for the women, but she still crushed it and ran a quick time of 6:03.80.

On the men’s side, it was again Easton Rosen out in front, running a speedy time of 4:07.83 to start his outdoor season. James Stanley stuck with Easton and finished just a few seconds behind, running an awesome time of 4:14.78.

In the field event, we may have only had one competitor, but it was still an incredible performance. Christina Jordan was our sole field events person, and she didn’t disappoint, jumping 1.6m (5’ 3”) to claim 3^rd place overall in the high jump!

That about wraps it up for us!

We kept it short and sweet this week, but we’ll be back later this week for the 2-day Big Blue Classic at Eastern Illinois University from Friday, March 29 to Saturday, March 30!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Results: https://in.milesplit.com/meets/586601-iwu-polar-bear-invitational-2024/results

It finally happened!

After months of anticipation and excitement, this past Saturday was the Illinois Club Relays, hosted right here in beautiful Champaign, Illinois. The true highlight of the Indoor Track Season, Club Relays brings in 800+ club athletes to come and compete, making it the largest indoor NIRCA meet! We had over 100 athletes competing in this meet, so make sure to grab your popcorn, and find a comfy place to sit down, this is going to be a long one.

This club relay was truly one for the record books. This marked the 15th year in a row of holding the event, and in conjunction, marked the 15^th year in a row where the University of Illinois was the champion of the meet! In addition, there were many astounding performances, records were broken, PRs smashed, and so much more, let’s get right into it!

Let’s get started with the energizing women’s 60m dash! Today, it was all about Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu. Melissa showed up a bit late to the heat, and even with a little warmup, she went out and ran a 7.91, coming in 1^st place and setting a NEW CLUB RECORD! Ari Afolabi also didn’t have the greatest start to the day, slipping before the event started, but that didn’t stop her from having an amazing race, running with Melissa for the whole race, and just barely being edged out in the end to run a PR of 7.93 for a 2^nd place finish. Yelim Na may have been a bit rusty when it came to the block start, but the fierce competition led her to a strong PR of 8.87. Sumin Cho didn’t have the greatest start, but she still had a great race, and came in with a 8.92 to PR by 0.01 seconds. Christina Li had a great race as well, tying Sumin with her own time of 8.92, also a PR. Leah Wilson ran a great time of 9.05 to PR, and can’t wait for the rest of the season ahead. Chloe Trotter wraps us up with an awesome time of 9.48, a solid PR.

On the men’s side, it was just as exciting! The man, the myth, the legend Tyler Klein went out and ran a 6.82, casually setting a PR, NEW CLUB RECORD, and NEW MEET RECORD! John Green was up next, and he surprised himself with an awesome time of 7.27 for a great PR. Kevin Saju may have had a bad start but made up for it quickly, setting a season-best with his time of 7.30. Nic Soto was close behind, setting his season best with a time of 7.33. Sean Vibhatasilpin had a good race, with a speedy time of 7.49. Ben Cooper had a lot of fun out on the track, setting a new PR of 7.57. Alexzander Chu didn’t have the best day, sustaining a mild hand injury before the race, yet still running an impressive 7.80. Tanav Palisetti had a great race, running a 7.88 to set a new PR. Sanyu Kumaran may prefer the longer sprints, but he still had a great showing of 7.92. Brandon Perruquet, even without his spikes, was able to run a great time of 8.64, almost tying his previous PR.

Hurdle time, or should I say Ari Afolabi time? Ari had an awesome hurdles run of 8.94, not only setting a PR, but setting a NEW CLUB RECORD, and a NEW MEET RECORD, breaking her previous meet record by 0.07 seconds! Christina Jordan had a similarly awesome day, running a 9.78 to set a new PR for a 7th-place finish. Brooke Bouwens closed it out with a speedy time of 10.00 for an 8th-place overall finish!

Ben Cooper led the men’s side, with an impressive time of 8.91 to claim 2^nd place overall, but he’s still looking to go even faster next time. Matas Carmichael also had a great day, running a 9.32 for an 8th-place finish and a new PR

In true club relay fashion, we skip every other running event and jump straight to the mile! It was a jampacked mile, with 9 heats on the women’s side and 17 heats on the men’s side! Bridget Brokaw led the mile on the women’s side, running a great time of 5:27.20 for 5^th place overall and a new PR. Anna Jablonski was close behind, running a 5:36.14 for a new season PR. Claire Casiello came in right behind Anna with a time of 5:36.60 to set her PR. Evelyn Rowan had an awesome day as well, running a speedy 5:40.26. Shuani Peramanu may not have felt the best, but she still had a great race, running a speedy 5:49.87 to set a new PR and come 2^nd in her heat. Our last three athletes ran together in the heat, coming in within 4 seconds of each other, and each of them ran a PR! They were Courtney Hall with a 6:13.57, Lia Tondeva with a 6:16.27, and Annika Luthe with a 6:17.04.

For the men, it was Distance Coach John Wiser showing off his expertise with a beautiful time of 4:22.95 to claim a 3^rd place overall finish, all while running a new PR! Duo Easton Rosen and James William Stanley were side by side and came in just seconds apart from each other, with Easton running a 4:25.85 for 5^th place and James running a 4:26.08 for 6^th place. Percy William (The Bull) Moser had an awesome race, winning the second heat with a time of 4:26.43, fast enough to boost him to 7^th place overall, just behind James! Thomas Harmon, not to be outdone, ran a speedy PR of 4:28.21 to come third in his heat. Former Distance Coach Spencer Nelson showed off that he still has the distance power coursing through his veins, running a speedy 4:49.29. Henry Hornbrook had an awesome day today, winning his heat with a new season-best time of 4:52.00. Kyle Kenmotsu was close behind his teammate, running a great time of 4:57.45. Brendan Graven, racing on the armory for the first time since high school, had a great race, coming in at 5:00.21, definitely prepared to shatter the 5-minute mark next time he runs! Spencer Kinsey had an awesome day for his first club relays, running a 5:19.94. Gabriel Inojosa didn’t have the best day, but still ran a good time of 5:26.90. Saif Kazmi had a great race today, running a 5:28.58. Nathaniel Lenning, the mastermind behind today’s meet, took a break from running Club Relays to have a run of his own, running an awesome 5:28.61. Gabe Benson had a great sendoff to his final club relays, running a season-best time of 5:44.26. Issa Fouani wraps us up with an awesome time of 5:51.27.

Jumping up in the distance, it’s time for the 3000m! Starting it off is Diane Makovic, whose warmup of listening to Stirfry by Migos 7 times paid off, she ran a 10:42.65 to claim 2^nd place overall in her season debut 3k race. Claire Casiello had an awesome day as well, running a 10:51.73 to come in 6^th place overall, an 8-second PR! Suhani Peramanu had a good day as well, she was 5 seconds off her goal, yet still ran an impressive time of 11:20.77. Emma Bergmann made her 3k debut today, deciding to run this race after being “inspired by the women before me”, running a speedy time of 11:25.62. Alyson Ficca had a great race as well, running an 11:30.64 to set a new PR. Anna Zlatic had a fun race today, keeping it in control to run a 12:18.28. Sophia Stierwalt also made her 3k debut today, running an impressive time of 12:52.38.

On the men’s side, it was Ethan Forsell’s time to shine, fighting through an aggressive heat to run an awesome PR of 8:43.64 for a 2^nd place finish. Lawyer Extraordinaire Will Gravelle ran a fierce race today as well, coming in at 8:51.32 to claim 7^th place overall and a PR. Nolan Enright led his heat from the start, coming in at a speedy time of 9:06.85. Everyone’s favorite teammate Adam Gorcyca didn’t have the best race, but still ran an impressive time of 9:16.25. Trevor Giampa had a great race, running a 9:22.30 for a new PR. Aidan Markiewicz took a break from being an amazing photographer to run an awesome time of 9:58.38, a new PR. Gabe Inojosa wrapped it up for us, with an impressive time of 10:08.37. 

Now, it wouldn’t be club relays without the relays, so let’s dive right in! Let’s start with the SMR, where the women’s team of Ari Afolabi, Lucca Bibbey, Ninawa Odicho, and Annalyssa Crain showed up and dominated the event with an impressive time of 4:33.33 to claim 3^rd place. The other SMR team, made up of Zainab Ibrahim, Sumin Cho, Rachel Sakwa, and Carlin Hass was close behind, with a great time of 4:40.57 for a 4th-place finish

On the men’s side, it was an exciting day, as the relay team made up of Kevin Saju, John Green, John Burns, and Easton Rosen crushed the competition, running an incredible 3:39.32 to claim 1^st place overall! The next team had a similarly impressive time of 3:48.32, this team was made up of Tyler Vizgirda, Matas Carmichael, Ryan Fredericks, and Michael Rizk, coming in for a 7th-place finish. Next up was the team of Koen Brown, Sanyu Kumaran, Tanav Palisetti, and John Bledose, running a speedy 3:59.13 for a 9th-place finish. The next team was David Welte-Hart, Ethan Hung, Braden Cardamone, and Jose Ocegueda Zuniga, who ran a great time of 4:04.41. Closing it out was the final team, comprised of Satyansh Yeluri, Abar Shawkat, Saif Kazmi, and Rayhan Khaja, coming in with a great time of 4:37.08.

In the 4x200m relay, the Illini dominated, as always. On the women’s side, the relay team made up of Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, Bella Brunke, Ninawa Odicho and Ari Afolabi recovered from a rough baton handoff to come back from 3^rd place in an exciting finish to claim 1^st place overall, with an incredible time of 1:49.87! The second team, comprised of Sumin Cho, Chloe Trotter, Leah Wilson, and Yelim Na had a great race as well, running a 2:05.57.

The domination continued on the men’s side, where the relay team of Tyler Klein, Nic Soto, Kevin Saju, and John Green, ran an incredibly fast 1:31.51 to come in 1^st place overall! The second team, made up of Michael VanHootegem, Matas Carmichael, Tyler Vizgirda, and Sean Vibhatasilpin also ran an impressive race, coming in at 1:35.80 to claim 5^th place overall. Next up was the speedy team made up of Jacky Lin, Alexzander Chu, Ethan Hung, and Luke Grotthuss, who ran a great 1:39.74. Only milliseconds off their teammates was the team made up of Koen Brown, Ryan Fredericks, Sanyu Kumaran, and Henry Martinez, coming in at 1:39.90. Wrapping it up was the team of David Welte-Hart, Derrick Stokes, Brandon Perruquet, and Tanav Palisetti, running an awesome 1:47.54

A quick reminder about the 4x400m relay at Club Relays. The first heat, or the competitive heat, functions like any other relay. For the remaining heats, it becomes a costume contest, as the teams not only compete to win but also dress up in the wackiest way. To get that started, our championship women’s team, composed of Lucca Bibbey, Brooke Silbernagel, Rachel Schaaf, and Carlin Hass, put on their rainbow tutus for this relay and ran an incredibly speedy time of 4:23.09 to come in 3^rd place overall. Close behind them was the second team, unfortunately, no costume, but they made up for it in speed, as the team made up of Ninawa Odicho, Bridget Brokaw, Anna Jablonski, and Rachel Sakwa ran an impressive 4:25.81 for a 4^th place finish. Next up was the team of fruits and veggies, made up of Reiss Christensen, Emma Bergmann, Lia Tondeva and Claire Casiello, who ran a speedy 5.11:30. Rounding it out the pitbull team, made up of Suhani Peramanu, Anna Zlatic, Alyson Ficca and Molly Braskich, who sped along the track in bald caps and button up shirts as “Hotel Room” blasted from the speakers, coming in at 5:17.65. 

On to the men’s side! For the men, it was the stellar team of Tyler Klein, Nic Soto, Thomas Harmon, and John Burns who sped past the competition with an amazing 3:25.01 to claim 1^st place overall! Close behind was the second team, made up of Ryan Fredericks, Henry Hornbrook, Trevor Glancy, and Antony Rizk, who ran an impressive 3:33.67 to take 4^th place overall. Next up, was the team of Tyler Vizgirda, Matas Carmichael, John Bledsoe, and Ethan Forsell, who dressed up as characters from the Hangover to spring to an epic 3:50.14. Next up was Koen Brown, Michael Rizk, Braden Cardamone, and Luke Nelson, who got together to run a super speedy 4:03.64. After them came the team of Henry Martinez, Alexzander Chu, Matthew Uthayopas, and Tanav Palisetti, coming in at a beautiful 4:13.45. Finally, rounding it out, was the team with a hurdle for a baton, made up of Saif Kazmi, Satyansh Yeluri, Gabe Inojosa, and Rayhan Khaja, who ran a great 4:21.19.

Ending our section on the relays is every distance kids’ favorite, the 4x800m. The women’s team crushed the competition, the team of Anna Jablonski, Bridget Brokaw, Carlin Hass, and Brooke Silbernagel, running an incredible 9:55.74 to claim 1^st place overall! The second team had an awesome race as well, running an 11:20.32 in the team made up of Courtney Hall, Reiss Christensen, Christina Li, and Emma Bergmann.

On the men’s side, it was a fierce competition, yet our team made up of Thomas Harmon, James Stanley, Grant Miller, and Michael Rizk fought strong, coming in a close 2^nd place finish with a time of 7:56.63. The next team up, made up of Braden Cardamone, Henry Hornbrook, Dakota Amar, and John Burns had a great day, running an 8:25.21 to get 8^th place overall. The final team to close us out, made up of Ryan Fredericks, John Bledsoe, Jose Ocegueda Zuniga, and Luke Nelson ran a great time of 9:02.57. 

Field event time! Christina Jordan had an awesome performance today, coming in 1^st place with a 1.60m (5’ 3”)! Bella Brunke had a similarly great day, jumping 1.45m (4’ 9”) for a 4th-place finish. Gwen Bottom closed it out also with a jump of 1.45m (4’ 9”), setting a new PR.

For the men, Jack Tolentino had a great jump of 1.70m (5’ 7”), coming in 6^th place overall and setting a new indoor PR. Derrick Stokes didn’t have a great day today, but still had an impressive jump of 1.50m (4’ 11”).

It’s story time! Grab some popcorn, and hear about Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu’s epic quest in the Long Jump. She finished 4^th in the prelims, but felt off her game, even saying “I’m not even going to win this event.” She stuck through and went into the finals, but her first 2 jumps weren’t that great. “I need to lock in”, is what she said, and she did exactly that, jumping an incredible 5.41m (17’ 9”) to set a PR, NEW CLUB RECORD, and NEW MEET RECORD. Rachel Schaaf also had an awesome day, jumping 5.04m (16” 6”), just 10 cm off her PR to come in 4^th place. Bella Brunke had an ok day, jumping a great 4.69m (15’ 4”), claiming 5^thplace overall. Yelim Na, originally left after prelims, not thinking she would make finals. She did make finals, so she had to run back after a relay to jump, and still had awesome jumps, jumping a 4.59m (15’ 1”) to set a new PR and claim 9^th place.

On the men’s side, it was Tyler Klein back on top of the action, jumping an impressive PR of 6.68m (21’ 11”) to snag 2^nd place overall. John Green was close behind, jumping 6.41m (21’ 1”)  to get a 3^rd place finish and come close to his PR. Ben Cooper had a great time, jumping a new PR of 5.94m (19’ 6”). Henry Martinez cut himself before his jump, but that didn’t stop him from having an impressive jump of 5.25m (17’ 2”). Jacky Lin closes us out with an awesome jump of 5.10m (16’ 9”)

Onto Triple Jump, Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu (once again) took the lead for the team with an impressive jump of 11.35m (37’ 3”) to claim a 2^nd place finish. Rachel Schaaf, even with little training, had an awesome day, jumping an impressive 10.98m (36’) to claim 3^rd place. Ciara Shreeves wrapped up this day of impressive jumps with a jump of 9.53m (31’ 3”), a new PR and earning her a 7^th place finish.

Tyler Klein just can’t stop winning. In his triple jump, he leaped an incredible 13.14m (43’ 1”), coming 1^st place overall, and setting a new PR. Henry Martinez was close behind, with an impressive jump of 11.25m (36’ 11”) for an 8th-place finish.

Let’s head on over to the throws ring for the shot put. Mia Howard led on the women’s side with an impressive throw of 10.03m (32’ 11”), setting a new PR and coming in 2^nd place overall. Tiana Foreman was close behind with an awesome throw of 9.15m (30’), a new PR, and also a 5th-place finish. Ivy Del Real closed out this impressive group with a throw of 8.58m (28’ 2”), also a PR, and claimed 6^th place!

On the men’s side, Daniel Coxworth may have started shaky due to a bit too much caffeine, but that didn’t stop him from having an awesome day, throwing a new PR of 11.77m (38’ 7”) to claim 3^rd palace overall. Jeffery Lefkowitz stayed strong throughout the day, almost matching his PR with an impressive throw of 10.82m (35’ 6”) to claim 4^th place overall. Quinn Rivara had some great throws today, setting a new PR with a throw of 9.89m (32’ 5”) to finish in 6^th place. Austin Simon joined the PR train with a great PR of 9.70m (31’ 10”) to claim 8^th place overall. Frank Chavez had a great day as well, coming out and throwing an impressive 8.22m (26’ 11”). Mid-distance superstar Antony Rizk switched it up to join the throwers today, throwing a great 7.76m (25’ 5”).

Well, that about wraps it all up from this write-up! This was a long one, so thanks for sticking around!

This was a day full of super exciting and awesome performances, and was all possible thanks to the hard work of Nathaniel Lenning, our Home Meet Coordinator! He worked tirelessly, working with both the entire executive board and the event coaching staff to ensure that this meet went smoothly and every athlete had a chance to compete and have fun! Thanks, Nathaniel!

We’re off this weekend, and then it’s spring break! We’ll be back for a few meets in the spring, including most importantly NIRCA NATIONALS, occurring on April 6^th – 7^th in Richmond, Virginia! The full outdoor schedule will be posted soon, so keep an eye out!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Results: https://results.shazamracing.com/meets/30575 

Meet Pictures 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-Pb_NeQxrh_fpv-i2i6sd1alHCjRRXBm?fbclid=IwAR2DOpyuRj—IZnwYW5_OofvE3hjOIyS6IT1qhi0s9sZ_jkFRE_i9p37vM

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM0tnNYV0aVcIYUG0PwmQS4L6D-DCyWvdJWZPmW7EYpLk9Zu5LIdahHEBK_G3E91w?pli=1&key=cGdSVHM5eFhlX3ItaXBXSTJiYUpNb3ZXU3kxWEVn

Happy Tuesday!

We’re only 4 days away from the biggest event in winter sporting history, the Illinois Club Relays, of course! Before we got to that, we had a small, but mighty group of runners head to our neighbors in the north for the University of Chicago Margaret Bradley Invite on February 17th. We had a lot of great performances, let’s get into them!

As always, let’s start it off with the women’s 60m dash. Today was all about Ari Afolabi, running an 8.08 to come first in the prelims, and then improving to run an 8.06 to claim 1st place overall in the finals, congratulations! Next up was Sumin Cho, having a great day and running an 8.91 to come 5th in her preliminary heat. Close behind her was teammate Christina Li, coming in at a 9.06. Leah Wilson closed it out for the Illini with a speedy 9.25.

For the men, it was Michael VanHootegem all alone, but that didn’t stop him from having a great time of 7.40 to claim 10th place in the prelims.

In the 60m hurdles, it was again the Ari Afolabi show, running a 9.15 to come second in the prelims, and then a 9.29 to come in 2nd place in the finals, wow! Christina Jordan had a great day in the hurdles as well, running a 10.07 to come sixth in the prelims, then following that up with a great 10.25 to come 6th overall in the finals!

On the men’s side, Michael VanHootegem had an awesome race, running a 9.02 to come fourth in the prelims, and then running a 9.27 to come in 7th in the finals. Michael had some company for this event, Ben Cooper, who ran a great time of 9.31, coming in 9th in the prelims.

It’s 200m time. You thought she was done, but Ari Afolabi still has more to show off, running a speedy 27.47 to come in 6th place overall, she’s unstoppable! Lucca Bibbey ran under Zainab Ibrahim, running an awesome time of 29.13 with a 3rd-place finish in her heat. Sumin Cho wasn’t far behind, running a great time of 31.06.

Michael VanHootegem was all alone again for the 200m but still showed up with an impressive time of 24.02.

In the 400m, Lucca Bibbey was all alone for the Illini and still crushed the competition, running a 1:03.68 to win her heat and come in 8th place overall.

I know you’ve been eagerly waiting for him, so let’s dive right in. Tyler Klein, in his usual fashion, ran an incredible 49.48 for a 1st place overall finish, beating out his second-place opponent by almost 2 seconds, crazy! Luke Nelson had a similarly impressive day, coming second in his heat with a time of 54.40 for a 10th-place overall finish. Dante Ragozzino continued the trend and came second in his heat with a great time of 1:01.19.

Time for the 800m! Carlin Hass led for the women, with an impressive time of 2:33.27 to claim 8th place overall. Christina Li had an awesome race, running a speedy 3:02.44.

On the men’s side, it was Michael Rizk leading the pack, winning his heat and coming 3rd overall with his time of 2:00.50. Henry Hornbrook was close behind, with a speedy time of 2:03.19. IXC Legend Spencer Nelson stayed right on Henry’s tail throughout the race, coming in close behind at 2:06.64. Jose Ocegueda Zuniga rounded it out for the Illini with an awesome time of 2:21.58.

We may have had no women run the mile, but our men definitely made up for that with some awesome times! Treasurer Extraordinaire James Stanley smoked the competition with a time of 4:25.16 coming in 3rd place overall! Everyone’s favorite Air Force Cadet Percy Moser was close behind James with his incredible time of 4:29.63 to come in 7th place. Anthony Rizk and Aidan Markiewicz ran close together the entire race, and together came right in under the 5-minute mark, running 4:57.59 and 4:59.07 respectively. Chicago native Gabriel Inojosa was right behind, running a speedy 4:59.38. Nathaniel Lenning took a break from planning Club Relays to run an awesome time of 5:20.76, with Jose Ocegueda Zuniga right on his tail with a time of 5:24.30.

In the 3000m run, it was Annika Luthe representing the Illini with a great time of 12:55.96.

Skipping right to the jumps, let’s take a look at the men’s long jump. Henry Martinez led in this event with a great jump of 5.56m (18’ 3”). Ben Cooper was close behind with an awesome jump of 5.33m (17’ 6”), with both athletes coming first and third, respectively in their flight!

Let’s go straight to the women’s high jump. Both of our amazing athletes, Bella Brunke and Gwen Bottom tied for 7th place with an awesome jump of 1.42m (4’ 8”).

That’s gonna be all for this week! 

As I said before, our team this week was smaller, as many of our athletes took the week off to prepare for the awesome, amazing, the incredible Illinois Club Relays, happening next Saturday, February 27th right here in Champaign at the University of Illinois Armory. We’ll start live coverage when the meet starts at 11:00, so make sure to tune in for the centerpiece of winter track and field!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Results: https://chippedtiming.com/meets/

Meet Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-OkoVQ8T6Ci2qbtjihZOwcbLVDFXvUzf

Welcome, and Happy 2 weeks until Club Relays!

We are all excited and ramped up for Club Relays, but we’ll put that excitement aside for the moment as we channel it all to the amazing performances at the Titan Open at Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, February 10th. This has been the largest meet so far, with 67 Illini competing, so make sure to grab some popcorn! Let’s not waste any more time and dive right into the action!

As per usual, let’s start with the women’s 60m dash. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu started with a bang and set the standard for the rest of the events to follow, running an amazing 8.02 to claim 2nd place! Ninawa Odicho had a great race, coming in at 8.29 and a 6th-place finish. Close behind was Sumin Cho, who ran a speedy 9.01. Chloe Trotter rounded out the 60m, with an awesome time of 9.86.

It was a packed house on the men’s side, with a tie for first place on the team! John Green and Nic Soto both ran a time of 7.39, but John barely beat Nic by a few milliseconds to come out on top. Close behind the action was Michael VanHootegem, coming in at a 7.42. Right on Michael’s tail was Sean Vibhatasilpin, who ran a speedy 7.47. Our next three athletes came in all within 9 milliseconds of each other, Ben Cooper at 7.70, Alexzander Chu at 7.76, and Anthony Stewart at 7.79, impressive times! Jacky Lin came in right behind all three, with a quick time of 7.88. Not far behind was Sanyu Kumaran with a speedy time of 7.93. James Lu closed us out with a great time of 8.11.

For the women’s 60m Hurdles, it was all up to Christina Jordan, and she didn’t disappoint, running a 10.25 to come 4th in the prelims, and then coming in at a 10.18 to score 3rd in the finals!

On the men’s side, it was Michael VanHootegem, back and ready for more hurdles, coming in at an incredible 8.86 to claim 3rd place. Matas Carmichael wasn’t very far behind, coming in at a speedy 9.52 to claim 10th place. Derrick Stokes had an awesome race as well, coming in at an 11.02.

The distance may be longer in the women’s 200m dash, but that didn’t stop Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu from claiming her second 2nd place finish of the day with a 26.94. Ninawa Odicho made sure everyone knew that she meant business with her 27.22, a 4th-place finish. Brooke Bouwens ran a great race and earned a 9th-place finish with her 27.61. Lucca Bibbey ran under Bella Brunke, coming in for a great 29.57. Sumin Cho closed out these incredible performances with an awesome time of 31.53.

It was a historic day today in the men’s 200m dash. Tyler Klein, with a time of 21.94, not only won the meet with a 1st place finish but set a NEW CLUB RECORD in the process, breaking his previous club record of 22.01, huge congratulations! Next up was the battle of the Johns between John Green and John Bledsoe. John Green won this match, with a time of 23.95, with John Bledsoe not far behind with a 25.10. Keeping with the excitement, we have another tie! This time between Koen Brown and Matas Carmichael, both running a time of 25.19, with Koen ultimately coming out on top. Jacky Lin was close behind, with a speedy time of 25.33. Henry Martinez’s swift race brought him right behind Jacky, with a time of 25.41. Anthony Stewart had an awesome race, coming in at a fast 25.72. Alexzander Chu was right on Anthony’s tail with a quick 25.90. Not to be outdone, Sanyu Kumaran stuck right behind Alexzander to get a great time of 26.08. James Lu wrapped up an event full of awesome performances with a 28.00.

If you were in the 400m, it was a great day to be an Illini Women, with all three of our athletes with top 5 finishes! It was Head Coach Ninawa Odicho leading the women to victory, with her 1:01.32 to claim 1st place. Right, and I mean right on her tail was Brooke Bouwens, coming in at 1:01.58 to claim 2nd place. Not to be left behind, Lucca Bibbey ran an amazing 1:05.38 to claim 5th place, wow!

For the men, it was a surprise appearance from distance runner Braden Cardamone, who led the men with a 54.60. Michael VanHootegem wasn’t far behind, coming in with a speedy 55.12. Matas Carmichael finished off the delegation with a fast time of 56.12.

It was a one-woman show for the 800m, but that didn’t stop Rachel Sakwa from having a great race, running a 2:37.57.

It was the opposite of a one-woman show on the men’s side, with a very crowded heat! Thomas Harmon, the master of the 800m, had a strong start to his season debut, running a 1:58.54 to claim 4th place. James Stanley started strong as well, just mere milliseconds away from the sub-2-minute mark, running a 2:00.40 for 6th place. Team elder John Burns had a great race today, running a 2:02.88. Simon Hildy, the ginger running extraordinaire showed off his skills with an impressive 2:04.19. Next up was a battle between the New Yorkers, Dakota Amar and Percy Moser. Dakota came out on top this round, with his 2:04.47 edging out Percy’s 2:04.91. The legend himself Henry Hornbrook took a break from Orange Krush to come run a fantastic 2:05.16. Nic Soto’s 800m race sparked much intrigue, with a final time of 2:09.55. Issa Fouani went out and ran an awesome race, coming in at 2:40.31. Gabe Benson was right behind Issa for the whole race, coming in just behind at 2:41.57.

Do you know what time it is? It’s mile time! Bridget Brokaw led the mile from the start, and kept that lead to the end, running a 5:30.01 to claim 2nd place! Right behind her was Anna Jablonski, whose time of 5:44.28 earned her an easy 4th-place finish. Suhani Peramanu celebrated her successful Mia Za’s fundraiser with a great race, running a 5:50.98 to claim 6th place. The results may say Claire Casiello, but it was all Carlin Hass out there with an awesome 5:53.03 to snag 7th place. Lia Tondeva was having an awesome day, running a speedy 6:19.00. Next up was Annika Luthe’s time to shine, running a great 6:23.01. Courtney Hall wrapped up a day of great performances with a fast 6:29.46.

There’s no better way to start the mile than with a few sub-4:30 times. It was Percy Moser in the lead today, with a 4:28.84 to claim 4th place overall. Thomas Harmon came in right behind Percy, with a time of 4:29.48 to claim 5th place. Nolan Enright wasn’t about to let the sophomores beat him, coming in at a speedy 4:36.11 for 9th place. Proud Oswego PDT alum Braden Cardamone was up next, coming in at a fast 4:46.25. The tall man with curls, John Bledsoe came in shortly behind Braden with a great time of 4:56.21. The slightly shorter man with curls, Aidan Markiewicz came in at an awesome 5:07.80. Nathaniel Lenning took a break from Club Relays planning to casually tie his PR with a 5:22.46. Gabe Benson closes us out with a great time of 5:51.95.

If the mile is not long enough, then you’re in luck, 3000m time! Suhani Peramanu went double 6th place finished today, coming in with a speedy 11:38.51. Alyson Ficca stayed on her tail for the whole race, coming in just behind at 11:45.02 to claim 9th place.

From the moment the gun went off, to the moment they crossed the finish line, it was John Wiser and Easton Rosen leading the 3000m. Wiser came in at an amazing 8:55.87 for 1st place, and Easton at 8:56.75 for 2nd place! Kyle Kenmotsu had an awesome day as well, running a speedy 9:52.43. Issa Fouani ran an impressive 12:12.91, completing the dirty 800-3200 double.

You thought we were done with distance events, Surprise, bonus 5000m! NIRCA All-American Ethan Forsell showed off his distance skills, coming in at an impressive 15:37.54 for 9th place. Adam Gorcyca wasn’t far behind, with his awesome time of 15.59.96.

Relay time! The women’s 4x400m, made up of Ninawa Odicho, Rachel Sakwa, Lucca Bibbey, and Bridget Brokaw smashed last week’s time by 7 seconds to run a 4:20.59 for a 4th-place finish! 

On the men’s side, we had 4 fabulous 4x400m teams. The first team, made up of Tyler Klein, John Burns, Luke Nelson, and Thomas Harmon ran an incredible race, coming in at 3:30.64 to claim 4th place overall. The next team of James Stanley, Easton Rosen, Simon Hildy, and Dakota Amar had a speedy start to their Saturday, running a 3:39.34 for a 7th-place finish. Right on their tails was the third team of Henry Hornbrook, Koen Brown, Matas Carmichael, and Antony Rizk, coming in at 3:43.63 for a 10th-place finish. Last, but certainly not least was the team made up of Carter Bailitz, Nathaniel Lenning, John Bledsoe, and Aidan Markiewicz, coming in at a speedy 4:00.87.

In the women’s high jump, our athletes dominated, with all three coming in for the top 10 finished. Christina Jordan led the group today with an incredible jump of 1.56m (5’ 1”) for a 5th-place finish. Bella Brunke was up next, with an awesome jump of 1.46m (4’ 9”) for a 9th-place finish. Gwen Bottom cemented the dominance with a great jump of 1.41m (4’ 8”) for 10th place.

For the long jump, Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu found herself all alone, but still had an amazing jump of 5.18m (16’ 11”) for a 3rd place finish!

Ben Cooper led the long jump on the men’s side with an impressive jump of 5.73m (18’ 9”). Jacky Lin showed off his jumping abilities with a great jump of 5.11m (16’ 9”). Derrick Stokes rounded out the men’s long jump with an awesome jump of 4.76m (15’ 7”)

In the triple jump, Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu was yet again the only female jumper, and yet again had an incredible day, jumping 11.31m (37’ 1”) for 4th place!

On the men’s side, our two competitors were mere inches apart from each other. Carter Bailitz came out on top, with his impressive jump of 11.50m (37’ 9”). Henry Martinez was close behind, with an awesome jump of 11.27m (36’ 11”).

It’s finally thrower time! We may only have had a few throwers, but they were even stronger and mightier in their small numbers. Tiana Foreman had an impressive throw of 8.94m (29’ 4”). Ive Del Real had a similarly awesome throw of 7.84m (25’ 9”). Quinn Rivera beat his through from earlier this season with a 9.33m (30’ 7”)

That just about finishes it up from this meet. We’ll be back this Saturday at the ISU Open at Indiana State University on February 17th. Also make sure to mark your calendars for 2 weeks from now, February 24th for the biggest and best indoor club track meet around, the 15th Annual Illinois Club Relays, we’ll see you there!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-NfLVZEHaRZm_TL2dtOoXbGAPP0qeZq0 

Meet Results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/532344/results 

Welcome Back!

Just 2 weeks ago, we had an awesome time over in Jacksonville IL at Illinois College. In fact, we loved it so much that we went back again this weekend, competing in the 2024 Jim Green Invite. We went back and were better than ever, so without further ado, let’s get into the write-up!

Let’s start things off with our recently #1 ranked women, in the 60m dash. It was a great day for Ari Afolabi whose time of 8.12 earned her second place in the preliminaries and a spot in the finals, where she ran an 8.057, coming in 2nd place, just 0.04 seconds off the first place finisher! Right behind her was Ninawa Odicho,  who easily qualified for finals with an 8.281 in the prelims, and finished with an 8th place overall finish, with an 8.43. Brooke Bouwens wasn’t far behind her teammates, coming in at 8.34 for a 10th place finish in the prelims and a large pr! Next up was Sumin Cho, who went out and ran a speedy 8.90 in her club debut. Christina Li had a great day, running a 9.16, over 0.3 seconds faster than her last race at IC. Leah Wilson was close behind her teammate, coming in at a 9.28, a great way to start her club career.

On the men’s side, it was social coordinator Kevin Saju leading the pack, running a speedy 7.34. Current sprints coach Nic Soto ran a beautiful 7.433, just barely edging out teammate and former sprints coach Adam Adil, who ran a 7.46. Michael Baker did not disappoint in his first race with the club, running a quick 7.643. Henry Martinez’s debut time of 7.798 closely edged out his own competition, coming out ahead of 2 other competitors by 0.02 seconds! Koen Brown wasn’t far behind, coming in at a gorgeous 7.87. Taking a break from designing fire merch, David Welte-Hart ran a beautiful 7.897, coming out just a few milliseconds ahead of teammate Tanav Palisetti, who ran a 7.93.

It’s hurdle time, or I should say, it’s Ari Afolabi time! After her impressive 2nd place finish in the 60m, she came with a vengeance to the 60m hurdles, running a 9.61 in the prelims, and then an impressive 1st place finish of 9.45 in the finals, 0.3 seconds ahead of the competition, congrats! Not to be outdone, Christina Jordan had a similarly awesome hurdles day, running a 10.72 in the prelims, and a speedy 10.56 in the finals, a pr of almost 2 seconds, a great 4th place finish!

Increasing the distance, it’s time for the women’s 200m dash. Head Coach Ninawa Odicho was leading the pack, running a 27.33 to claim 2nd place overall, wow! Close behind her was Brooke Bouwens, who ran an impressive 27.47 to claim 4th place overall and her second PR of the day! Travel Coordinator Bella Brunke had an awesome race, running a 28.99 to round out the Illini women!

For the men, it was Nic Soto out in front, whose 27.746 cemented him a 7th place finish overall! Tyler Vizgirda had a great race, getting out and running a PR of 24.25. Next up was Henry Martinez, who came in at a quick 25.813. Michael Baker barely edged out his fellow teammate Henry Hornbrook, running 26.03 and 26.10, respectively. David Welte-Hart closed it out for the men, with a beautiful 26.29.

If one lap is not enough, try two laps! Ninawa Odicho claimed a very close 2nd place finish in the 400m, running a 1:01.76, just 0.03 seconds off the first place finisher! Unofficial team photographer Lucca Bibbey was up next, taking a break from taking photos to run a casual 1:06.18, claiming 7th place overall.

For the men, it was Mid-D coach Ryan Fredericks flexing his sprinting muscles, running a 54.17 to claim 8th place overall. Koen Brown came in next, running a super speedy 56.93.

If two laps still aren’t enough, try doubling it, it’s 800m time! Brooke Silbernagel led the women, running a 2:38.49 to claim 3rd place overall congrats! Christina Li had a huge PR from the last meet, running a 2:58.94, a 14-second improvement from the last meet!

John Wiser started his season off strong, with a beautifully even split 2:04.52, snagging a 6th place finish along the way. Dante Ragozzino didn’t let the reputation of the 800 scare him, running a speedy 2:27.86. In his season debut, Gabe Benson ran a  2:41.09, a great way to start off his final season with the club.

Today is a great day to be Bridget Brokaw, coming out and running a 5:27.35 to claim 1st place in the mile, kicking out her competitor in the final stretch! Carlin Hass was close behind, running a 5:52.41, claiming a 4th place overall finish! Lia Tondeva had a great race of her own, running a 6:35.55, a race that was almost perfectly evenly split!

For the men, it was everyone’s favorite highland resident Easton Rosen, starting his track season with a speedy 4:22.81, claiming a 2nd place finish, only 0.5 seconds off the leader! After his impressive 800m, John Wiser flexed his distance muscles, running a quick 4:25.01 to claim 4th place! Right behind him was money man James Stanley, narrowly missing Wiser, but running an impressive 4:26.95 to claim 6th place. Simon Hildy stayed right on James’ tail throughout the race, coming in at a great 4:32.37 to get 7th place! Freshman sensation Alex Herrera made his track club debut with a speedy 4:41.91, just barely edging out the other Freshman sensation Dakota Amar, who came in at 4:44.18. Close behind Dakota was Declan Ahern, who ran an impressive 4:45.18. Orange Krush staple Henry Hornbrook slid right under the 5-minute mark, coming in at 4:59.11. Close behind Henry was fellow tall person John Bledsoe, who came in at 5:00.24. Soon after came the other John B on the team, John Burns, coming in at 5:05.88. ECE Wizard Gabe Inojosa had a great race, coming in at 5:10.60. Rounding it out was Gabe Benson, coming in at 5:54.53.

Time to put the distance in long distance with the 3000m, and it was Claire Casiello leading the women, whose impressive 10:58.96 was quick enough to grab a 3rd.place finish! Lia Tondeva was the only other woman brave enough to run the 3k, running a 13:10.47 to claim 8th place.

On the men’s side, it was the pride of Oswego Ethan Forsell, who casually took 2nd place with his incredible 8:50.84. Aidan Markiewicz was the only other Illini in the 3k, but that didn’t stop him from running a great 10:21.93.

It’s relay time! The women’s 4x200m team composed of Sumin Cho, Christina Li, Leah Wilson, and Ari Afolabi ran a great time of 2:01.19 to claim 3rd place! The men’s team matched the women and also came in 3rd place, that team was made up of Adam Adil, Kevin Saju, Tyler Vizgirda, and Ryan Fredericks, running a 1:37.17.

The story was similar for the 4x400m teams, who all had great days! The women’s team of Bridget Brokaw, Carlin Hass, Brooke Silbernagel, and Lucca Bibbey ran a speedy 4:27.44 to claim 2nd place overall. For the men, it was the B team that reigned victorious, the team of Nic Soto, Tyler Vizgirda, Ryan Fredericks, and John Burns coming in at 3:38.93 to claim 2nd place! Right on their tails was the A team, made up of Easton Rosen, Alex Herrera, Simon Hildy, and James Stanley, who snagged a 3rd place finish with a 3:40.39. Not far behind was the C team, made up of Dakota Amar, John Bledose, John Wiser, and Henry Hornbrook, grabbing a 5th place finish with a time of 3:46.65.

Enough running events, it’s jumping time! Starting things off in the women’s high jump was an incredible performance by Christina Jordan, jumping 1.50m (4’ 11”) to claim a 1st place finish! Right behind her was Bella Brunke, whose awesome jump of 1.45m (4’ 9”) earned her 3rd place.

Gwen Bottom wasn’t far from the action, jumping a great 1.35m (4’ 5”) to get 5th place.

Moving onto the women’s long jump, only Bella Brunke was in the mood to jump into the sand pit, with an impressive jump of 4.83m (15’ 11”) to claim 5th place.

We had 2 brave competitors on the men’s side, with Henry Martinez leading off with an impressive 5.63m (18’ 5.75”) to claim 9th place. Adam Adil was close behind, who leaped 5.26m (17’ 3.25”).

Ciara Shreeves was the only Illini brave enough to tackle the tricky triple jump, jumping an impressive 9.07m (29’ 9.25”) to claim 6th place.

Ivy Del Real was the only thrower to compete today, showing up and throwing a season PR in the shotput of 7.89m (25’ 11”)

That about wraps it up from this meet! We’ll be back this upcoming weekend at the Titan Open at Illinois Wesleyan University on February 10th, see you there!

Until next time,

I-L-L

Meet Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-KPt56T3netDNH59w5eh3Bp6vwTN01O5 

Meet Results: https://liveresults.trxctiming.com/meets/Jim_Green_Invite_2024 

Happy start to the second semester!

The Illinois Track and Field Club kicked off the second semester with a trip to Jacksonville Illinois to compete at the Illinois College Snow Bird Invite. This was the first chance for many athletes to compete this season, and proved a great way to start the season. After this first meet, it is clear that the club is here to compete! Let’s get into the event breakdown!

There’s no better place to start than the women’s 60m dash. Leading the women was Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, who ran an impressive 8.14 in the prelims, earning her a spot in the finals, where she ran a 8.15 to claim 7^th place overall! Right behind her was her teammate Ari Afolabi, who’s 8.16 earned her a spot in the finals, in which she ran a 8.20 to claim 8^th place! Close behind Ari was Head Coach Extraordinaire Ninawa Odicho, who came in at 8.29, just barely edged out of the finals by Ari. Rounding out the women, Christina Li came out and ran a great 9.47!

Moving on to the men’s 60m dash, where Tyler Klein smoked the competition, running a 7.10 in the prelims to come 2^nd overall, and then running an awesome 7.06 to claim the 1^st place overall, congrats! Next up for the Illini was President Nic Soto, using his presidential powers to run a 7.44. Michael VanHootegem was right on Nic’s tail, coming in at a 7.53, a great race for his club debut! Racing in the same prelim heat as TK, Jacky Lin made himself known on the track, running a great 7.95. James Lu, all recovered from an unfortunate injury, showed us he was back and meant business, going out and running an 8.24!

If running a 60m wasn’t hard enough, try it with hurdles! If that isn’t hard enough, try running a 60m Hurdles immediately after racing a 60m! The athletes had mere minutes between races, yet that didn’t stop them from running awesome times!

Leading the women, and the race, Ari Afolabi showed off her hurdles expertise, running a 9.36 to claim a 1^st place overall finish, congrats! Christina Jordan, in her first ever hurdles race, showed off her natural talent, running a 12.94 to claim the 8^th place finish!

For the men’s hurdles, it was all up to Michael VanHootegem, and he delivered, running a speedy 8.82, securing a 1^st place overall finish, nice job!

Next up, it’s the women’s 200m run. Ninawa Odicho started out strong for the Illini, running a 27.62, coming in 7^th place! Right on Ninawa’s tail was Ari Afolabi, coming in at 27.66, just 0.04 seconds behind her teammate for 8^th place. Not to be left behind, Brooke Bouwens went out and ran a similarly great race, coming in at 27.93, a 10^th place finish!

On the men’s side, it is yet again the tale of Tyler Klein, whose 22.38 took the 1^st overall place in the meet, his second first place finish of the day! Flexing his own sprinting expertise, Nic Soto came in at a speedy 23.70, snagging an 8^th place finish. Michael VanHootegem came in close behind, running a 24.89. The big hand man himself, Henry Hornbrook, took a break from his usual mid-distance to run a 200m, coming in at a palindromic 26.62. Rounding it out for the men was James Lu, coming in with a gorgeous 28.24!

As the springs got longer and into the 400m, our women just got faster and faster. Case and point, Ninawa Odicho, in her third event of the day, coming in at a beautiful 1:02.70, grabbing a 1^st place finish! Continuing the Illinois dominance was Brooke Bouwens, running a 1:03.43 to take the 2^nd place finish! Rachel Sakwa finished it off perfectly, running a 1:06.09, an 8^th place finish!

For the men, it was the sprints coach Nic Soto who came in at 52.82, claiming a 4^th place finish overall! The other two runners ran great times and finished just milliseconds apart, with Carter Bailitz running a 56.46 and Henry Hornbrook close behind with a 56.76!

Enough sprints, let’s get into the distance, starting with the women’s 800m. Anna Jablonski had a great race, running a 2:29.85 to claim a 2^nd place podium finish. Right on her tail, Bridget Brokaw came in at 2:31.48, snagging a 3^rd place overall finish. Close behind was Christina Li, running an awesome 3:12.63!

Only 1 man was brave enough to run the 800m today, but Jose Ocegueda Zuniga didn’t let that stop him, he went out and ran a nice 2:19.95!

In the women’s mile, both competitors went out and ran awesome races and both came in the top 10! Claire Casiello had a great race to start her season, coming in at 5:41.26, for a 5^th place finish and a pr! Our incredible fundraising coordinator, Suhani Peramanu, went out and ran a 6:06.81, claiming 8^th place.

Resident Club Relays Wizard Nathaniel Lenning had a great race, tying his pr in the mile with a speedy 5:23.32! In his 2024 season debut, Issa Fouani went out and ran a beautiful 6:28.28!

It’s time for some relay’s action! Our women’s 4x400m team of Ninawa Odicho, Anna Jablonski, Bridget Brokaw and Rachel Sakwa ran an impressive 4:32.16, securing a 3^rd place finish! 

The men’s side had 2 4x400m, with the A team, made up of Ryan Fredericks, Trevor Glancy, Antony Rizk and Dakota Amar came in at 3:48.06, a great way to start the season, grabbing a 6^th place finish. The B team brought the heat, the squad of Nathaniel Lenning, Carter Bailitz, Jose Ocegueda Zuniga and Henry Hornbrook, running a 4:05.52, securing 10^th place!

Having some more relay fun, the men’s DMR, composed of Dakota Amar, Trevor Glancy, Ryan Fredericks and Antony Rizk ran a beautiful 11:36.25, snagging a 2^nd place finish!

Time to take a leap into the jumps, starting out with the women’s high jump. Christina Jordan had a great day, jumping to a mark of 1.55m (5’ 1”) to claim the 2^nd place finish! Taking a break from reserving nats hotels, Bella Brunke came out and jumped a great pr of 1.45m (4’ 9”), taking the 5^th place finish. Close behind was Gwen Bottom, jumping a 1.40m (4’ 7”), finishing out the list with a great 8^th place finish!

No men were brave enough to high jump today, so let’s move on to the women’s long jump. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu showed off her jumping abilities with a jump of 5.21m (17’ 1.25”) to get the 2^nd place finish. Bella Brunke came in next with an awesome jump of 4.64m (15’ 2.75”) to get a 10^th place finish!

For the men, it was just Jacky Lin, but he didn’t let being alone stop him, jumping a beautiful 4.78m (15’ 8.25”), grabbing a nice 10^th place finish!

On throws, Ivy Del Real represented the Illini for the women’s shot put, throwing an impressive 7.50m (24’ 7.25”)! Quinn Rivara led the Illini men, throwing the shot put 9.24m (30’ 3.75”), wow! Not to be outdone by his teammate, Frank Chavez threw a great 8.32m (27’ 3.75”), rounding off an overall great day to be a thrower!

Well, that’s all folks! We’re off next week, taking the time to volunteer and work at the Illinois Varsity Track and Field Meet, but we’ll be back competing in 2 weeks at the Blue White Classic at Indiana State University on February 3rd, see you then!

Until next time, 

I-L-L

Meet Results: https://www.tfrrs.org/results/82557/Illinois_College_Snow_Bird_Invite

Hello Everyone, and welcome to the 2023-2024 Indoor Track Season!

I’m Adam Lupatkin, and I’ll be serving as webmaster this season, pumping out these write-ups and social media content all season long! Now, enough intro, let’s get into the write-up!

We started the season with a bang at the Olivet Nazarene University Holiday Invite. This meet can be tricky for many athletes, as it falls at the beginning of track training, and right after the conclusion of training from cross country, but our athletes went out, competed hard, and showed the world that the Illinois Track Club is here to compete! Let’s get into the event-by-event breakdown!

Let’s start with the women’s 60M Dash. The only Illinois woman brave enough to conquer the 60M, Ebba Burrows went out and ran a great race with an 8.36!

Moving on to the men, we have to start with the man himself, Tyler Klein. Tyler ran a 7.04 in the prelims, winning his preliminary heat and coming 4th overall in the prelims. He qualified for the finals, where he ran a smoking hot 6.94, coming in 2nd place overall! Sean Vibhatasilpin made for a perfect debut for his club career, running a 7.37 and coming in second place for the team! Not to be outdone, Ethan Hung came by close behind for his club debut, running a 7.56. Up with the newcomers, Club Elder Adam Adil definitely still has a long career ahead of him, running a 7.66. Making his debut, Alexzander Chu ran a beautiful 7.78, a great start for his season. Two more runners making their club debuts, Tanav Palisetti barely edged out Jacky Lin, with them running a 7.90 and 7.91, respectively. Jack Tolentino, in his debut, came out only slightly ahead of resident Club Elder Sandin Cuturic, running an 8.04 over Sandin’s 8.05. Rounding it out for the Illini, Brandon Perruquet came in at 8.54, a great way to start his season!

After racing for only 60M, our athletes were craving more, and many of them moved on to race in the 200M. We start it off with our women, where Zainab Ibrahim ran an impressive 30.06, and Gwen Bottom came close behind with a 30.62, a great start to both of their seasons.

I feel like I’m repeating myself here, but of course, we have to start on the men’s side with our resident speedster Tyler Klein. After coming in second in the 60M, Tyler said “Let’s do it again”, and ran a speedy 22.14 to come in second place overall, well done! Following his previous second-place team finish, Sean Vibhatasilpin let everyone know that he means business, running a 24.09. Adam Adil made sure to show off his speed in the 200, running a quick 24.83. Koen Brown woke up today and decided to run under 25, and did just that, running a 24.99 for his club debut. Alexzander Chu raced along Koen in the same heat, coming in at a 25.15 debut. Jacky Lin came in close behind in a 26.01, and if I can forecast the future, it’s only going to get faster from here. Sandin Cuturic, deciding today was the day to do it all, ran a 26.60, but believe me, this isn’t the last time you are going to see his name. Tanav Palisetti was right behind Sandin, coming in at 26.73. Brandon Perruquet ran a beautiful 27.35, capping off the short springs.

For those sprinters wanting a bit of extra distance, it’s time for the 400M. Along with his great performance in the 200M, Koen Brown came out and crushed the competition in his heat, winning his heat with a fire 55.11. Next came our Swiss Army Runners, the men who can do anything, Adam Adil and Sandin Cuturic, running 58.73 and 1:04.02, respectively.

Enough with the sprints, let’s get to my area of expertise, the distance events. Most of the men from the distance team were still building up after an impressive cross-country season, so it was the women who carried the distance team today. Sprints Coach Rachel Sakwa came out to display her expertise in both sprints and middle distance, running a 2:42.13 to come third overall in the 800M. For the mile, GMC Bridget Brokaw and Anna Jablonski ran together and raced a great race, Bridget running a 5:45.19 for a third-place finish, and Anna close behind with a 5.47.96 to claim a fourth-place finish.

It’s time to put the Field in Track and Field, and there’s no better way to start it off than with the high jump! Christina Jordan easily soared all the way up, leaping 1.60m to claim the first-place finish overall! For reference, that’s 5’3”, or about 11.25 iPhone X’s, wow! Making sure her teammate doesn’t steal all the glory, Gwen Bottom jumped a casual 1.40m, a perfect way to start her season!

On the men’s side, it was all up to the sole male jumper Jack Tolentino, and he didn’t disappoint, jumping an impressive 1.67m, or about 12 iPhone X’s, well done!

For those who don’t want to jump super high, they can always jump super far in the long jump! Ebba Burrows came out on top for the Illini with an impressive 4.79m, with teammate Zainab Ibrahim close behind with a 4.39m, great job to both athletes!

On the men’s side, it was the renaissance man Adam Adil himself, jumping 5.00m to come out on top for the team, showing he truly can do it all. After impressive performances in the sprints, Jacky Lin showed the team that not only can run, but also jump, coming in with a 4.80m, with revered club legend Sandin Cuturic coming in close behind with a 4.72m!

Last, but certainly not least, it’s our throwers! Although only having 2 throwers from the team were present, that didn’t stop them from having a great day, with Ivy Del Real throwing the shot put 7.76m and Jeffery Lefkowitz throwing the heavy metal ball 10.90m. A great first performance from both throwers, we look forward to much more to come!

That’s all from me folks! I hope you enjoyed it, and we look forward to seeing you again at our next meet, the Greyhound Classic at the University of Indianapolis on 1/20. Until then, have a great winter break, happy holidays, and Go ILLINI!

Meet Results: https://results.shazamracing.com/meets/29025

Well well well… here we are. Cross Country Nationals has come and gone, and the people look onto the many many laps in the Armory in their future. But, even if it is a little late (a lot late), we need to reflect on just how awesome Nationals was! From the Raps, the bonding with teammates at Bucca di Beppo, the triumphs and failures of waffle making, to the cooldowns after the races, there was a lot to be happy about. So let’s talk about it!

Setting up the tone for the day was the women’s Junior/Senior/Grad race. We had three entries into this race, and first up wasour secretary Alyson Ficca running a 26:56! Next up was Anna Winnicki, running a 44:47 and looking as happy as ever. Elizabeth Kokal rounded out our top three with a 45:18!

On the men’s side, we had six entries, just enough for a full team! First up was Nolan Enright placing in the top ten running 27:00. Nolan has been on a tear this season and we can’t wait to see what he brings to the table in track! Another person who’s improved their time from the start of the season, Gabriel Inojosa ran 29:09! Our treasurer Quinn Born was up next with a 30:11, a nice season PR before he heads to Australia next semester!President Cadyn Grafton was up next, showing that our governing officials can still boogie, running 30:52! Big-Handed Man Henry Hornbrook came in behind Cadyn with a 32:45! Track may be his preferred discipline but his love for running as a whole continues to shine through! Rounding out the men was Gabe Benson, with a34:28!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand now for the Championship Races! The women took 7th overall, a strong finish amongst a very talented field! Leading the way were 

Diane Makovic and Joy Dudley, running 22:58 and 23:05 respectively! It is always good to see teammates working together, in crowded and long races it can be very helpful to have a teammate on your shoulder to motivate you! Claire Caisello was third for us today, running 24:07, wrapping up a great season! Suhani Peramanu was up next with a 24:43, she has continued to impress us all season in every race. Freshwoman Carlin Hass was up next with a 25:01, keep an eye out for her on the track! Up next was Anna Jablonski (TBJ) with a25:35! And rounding out our top 7 was Social Coordinator Bridget Brokaw with a 26:29! This group will be very exciting to watch in the spring, as it is a true mix of distance and mid-distance specialists!

And for the men, an 8th-place finish was bagged. Leading the way was Ethan Forsell, who got a very satisfying 25:56, he’s been looking for a sub-26 all season. Percy Moser was close behind at 26:15. Now folks, I haven’t told you yet, but this course was about 200m long, so as you’re looking through all these speedy times just remember that they’re faster than they say! So Percy was probably sub 26 through 8k as well! Easton Rosen came through at 26:37, a great time to round off his first season for the Illini! Adam Gorcyca (rumored to be the worst waffle maker in town!) also ran a26:37! Rounding out our top 5 was John Wiser, our fearless coach running himself a26:43. Another transfer, Kavin Prashaad ran 26:53 to wrap up a successful sophomore season. And last but not least, Spencer Nelson ran 27:39, showing that the “old dogs” still got it. This race was executed perfectly, with 5/7 getting PRs and everyone moving up many places throughout the race!

The last part of this lovely day was the Fresh/Soph races. These are always a blast to watch because it give a good look at what the future could look like for the club. While we had multiple Fresh/Soph runners competing in the varsity races, these still give us a chance to show off our depth. Leading the women was Annika Luthe, running26:42! Next up was Gender Minority Coordinator Anna Zlatic with a26:57, dipping under that 27:00 mark! Lia Tondeva came through the line next, running 27:32! Moira McKee was our fourth runner in this, running29:27! Allison Kokal rounded up our fresh/soph group at this meet, with an even 34:00! 

The final race of the day was the men’s Fresh/Soph race, and let me tell you, these boys cooked. Many, many PRs were set and much fun was had. First up was Alexa Herrera with a performance Paul Vandersteen would be proud of, running 27:03 over the long course. Simon Hildy was up next with27:32 coming off an injury. Adam Lupatkin had himself a massive PR with a 27:35. James Stanley put a bookend on his first XC season with a27:52! Thomas Harmon rallied back for one more race this year with a27:57! Aidan Markiewicz also had a massive PR to cap off a breakout season, running28:30. Miles Maloney had a PR to set before letting loose in the 800 this spring, he ran28:48! Brendan Graven, our favorite de-facto townie also had a breakout performance running28:49! Jacob Duzan came back after having COVID running a 28:58! Aidan Farrell set himself a nice season PR with a 32:58! Jose Ocegueda-Zuniga showed that speed was on the grass today with a 33:17! And last but certainly not least was Akshay Belapurkar, wrapping up his first cross country season EVER with a34:37, taking over FIVE MINUTES off his first time this season!

We cannot finish this write-up without talking about the most important person to this whole trip: Laine Hackmann, our travel coordinator, has been working and stressing all year about how to get everyone to our meets, and she has done a phenomenal job. If we were in person right now, I’d ask for a round of applause. Maybe we could get one for her at the final board meeting. Thank you, Laine!

And to the seniors who may have run their last cross-country race, thank you for continuing to contribute to the sport of running. Your legacy will be carried on in club tradition, but don’t think you’re done quite yet because we still have track to worry about!

Good luck on the grass next year everyone! Now we hand it over to Adam Lupatkin to continue our coverage for track.

This is Nathaniel Lenning, 2023 IXC Webmaster signing off!