ITFC! IT IS TIME FOR THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR!!! Our Club Relays has finally come and gone, and in spectacular fashion just as we expected. Each year, the competition gets more fierce, but we come back even stronger than last year! We saw more records break, higher jumps, faster starts, stronger kicks, and farther throws than you can imagine! So what are we waiting for? Let’s get into it!
You all know the drill by now. The 60mH always takes us out to a hot start, and Ari Afolabi and Maria Becerra were our dominant duo that shot out of the blocks like rockets! Ari stormed to a crazy fast 9.01, winning the meet overall, with Maria completing our scoring with a fast 10.91 of her own to get second in the event! Never a dull race with these two on the track!
The men followed close, fired up by the hot start of the women. Ben Cooper and Jumpman Derrick Stokes got it going quick, with Ben getting 3rd overall with a 9.23 for a great new PR of his own for the season, and Derrick dropping some monster time in 10.22! Big moves for the boys in the hurdles! Matas Carmichael and Piotr Biel were welcomed back to the track, and what better way to return back to racing at our very own home meet! Matas opened up his season with a 10.81 finish, and Piotr finished close behind in 11.17. Welcome back to the track, gentlemen!
After hurdle crew did their thing, we moved on to the flat 60m, where a super exciting race between Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, Ari Afolabi, Ninawa Odicho, and Da’Miyah Morgan all went head-to-head which left some burnt rubber on the track! Melissa, with a new meet record, took the top time with a blazing 7.84! Ari, Ninawa, and Da’Miyah all were neck-and-neck right behind, taking the 3rd-5th in 8.02, 8.08, and 8.17 respectively – all three marks new season bests! The day has barely begun, and there was no shortage of speed on the track! Isabella Brunke ran next in a fast heat with a great mark of 8.62, keeping up with a tight finish in her heat. Yelim Na was next up, getting under the 9 second barrier and running 8.97! Finishing up our crazy fast squad of 60m women was Arianna Kopecky stormed across the line in 9.05! There’s no words that can describe that event, but we sure try. What a day, and it’s only the second event!
The men followed up with our scoring duo of TK and Nic Soto, both of which had some heavy days ahead of them. Tyler won the meet overall with a tough 6.94, the only sub-7 of the meet, and Nic sped down the straightaway to a 7.24 to land a top 8 finish overall, scoring the Illini 10 points. Adam Adil got going quick close behind, and I mean QUICK. Adam’s 7.28 was a big SR on the day, putting together all that training right at the perfect moment! Emmanuel Lokango and Ethan Mullen were next up for the men, with Emmanuel winning his heat in 7.46, and Ethan winning his in 7.53! Freshman Marcus Scott stormed down the track to a 7.59 finish not far behind. Sanyu Kumaran got his day started with a 7.71 to begin his full day of racing as well! David Welte-Hart made quick work of the 60m with his 7.82. Leo Cumbie got back on the track in 7.88 as well for a nice return after a short break from racing. Neck-and-neck were Sandin Cuturic and Joe Lian, running 8.10 and 8.11 respectively! Quite a photo finish! Srinjoy Das returned to the track as well, bringing it home in 8.17 for the long jumpers return to ITFC! Matas, with short rest from the hurdles, doubled back in 8.43, and Brandon Perruquet rounded out our star sprinters in 8.66! What a day for the short sprints to show out in front of the home crowd!
We’ll return to plenty of sprinting later, but for now, we’ll shift to the first big relay of the meet: the 4x800m! The women’s heat was a fast one, but our underclassmen A team of Evelyn Rowan, Anna Jablonski, Bridget Brokaw, and Alyson Ficca, all of which had big days ahead of them, ran strong for a 4th place finish in 10:06.44 in a very fast heat! Way to run, ladies! The 4x800m squad has a bright future ahead of them with the fully underclassmen team and the strength they displayed!
Moving to the men, the A team, composed of Thomas Harmon, John Wiser, John Burns, and Eldon Warner, ran away with the title in a near record-breaking performance in 7:56.25! Those boys have some wheels! They won the event by a full 10+ seconds, which is no joke at all! The B team, with Ryan Fredericks, Simon Hildy, Gerardo Porras, and Braden Cardamone, ran a very impressive time of their own, coming away in 8:26.05 to land in the top 8! The C team of Norb Nieves, James Stanley, Trevor Glancy and Linus Ringstad, also ran impressively in the same heat, rounding out the top 10 teams in 8:30.70! The D team managed to put together some great legs to dip under 9 minutes, as the group of Jose Ocegueda-Zuñiga, John Bledsoe, Yuki Mizuno, and Patrick Tallon, ran a strong team race for 8:59.87! Antony Rizk, Gabriel Inojosa, Charley Hoppis, and Joseph Symanski brought our E team through the line in 9:10.30, and our final team of the fantastic F team of Vijay Shah, Ryan McClowry, James Meadows, and Aidan Markiewicz, brought it home with a 9:57.13 team run. Lots of relays, lots of big runs for everyone!
Taking a step back down to the sprints, our women’s 4x200m won the event in…1:47.48?! A huge new club and meet record set by Melissa, Ari, Ninawa, and Maria made the Illinois crowd erupt in shock and awe. None of these women were fresh, but you’d have never guessed it by how they tore up the track on this relay! When any of them step on the start line, you know it’s gonna be electric!
Following suit, the men’s team of Adam, Nic, Tyler and Ben won in 1:32.74, taking the win by almost 2 whole seconds! Once again, all of these runners had run at least once already, showing you the toughness of both Illinois men and women. The B team of Joe, Marcus, Ryan Fredericks, and Matas, came through in 1:40.43 to get some extra speedy times on the track of their own! Our final team in the 4×2 of Sandin, Isaac, Brandon and Leo, ran away with a 1:49.29 finish for those again on non-fresh legs, and Isaac gearing up for the mile later that night. Absolutely killer 200m runs all around for everyone!
Once again, our team went the extra mile (or rather extra .86 miles) in the 3k, which is always a loaded event. Diane Makovic and Brisa McGrath took our team to the top, scoring 10 points with Diane’s second place finish in 10:35.05 and Brisa’s 10:50.43 for 4th place! The fast times didn’t stop there however, as Claire Casiello was close behind with an 8th place finish of 11:09.55, and Maddy Feehan always right on her tail in 11:19.87! Alyson Ficca again showed out with her range across the distance events, finishing up her own 3k in 11:27.25! Anna Zlatic ran well, finishing the distance in 12:33.24, showing heart and toughness throughout the race! Our group of resilient women brought home some big points and big runs in the longest event of the night!
The men’s 3k was loaded, but that still didn’t stop our guys from running hard. The young gun Adam Gorcyca, in his first track race, took the second heat in a super time of 8:55.36! Adam didn’t work on his own though, as Will Gravelle and him traded leads, both running very well together, with Will finishing in 8:58.35! Even with sore and tired legs, Lake Spradling still gave it his all and pushed hard, running the 3000m in 9:17.13! Leyang Zhang, finally getting into his groove, pushed to a nice big PR of 9:39.13! Mikey Smart, one of the Oswego Trio, ran well despite some soreness with a big 9:46.10 finish! Finally, our new XC treasurer Quinn Born balled out with a 10:12.62 finish in his first track race of the season. That’s a lot of running for both the men and women, so like always, kudos to your guts and strength in running a brutal race!
Alright, the track can’t have all of the fun. Let’s hop on over to the field events, starting off with the long jump! Tyler, in no surprise, showed off his versatility again, winning the meet individually with a 6.58m jump, with Ben following up with a 5.69m jump of his own to take top points in the event! Can’t beat those results from the sprinter/jumper duo! Nana and Derrick made a strong duo themselves, with Nana leaping to a far 5.23 jump, and Derrick, being a workhorse on the jumps like TK, getting in a nice 4.98m jump! These boys are animals in the pit! On the women’s side, with a crazy 2-3 finish, Rachel Schaaf and Melissa easily got the 10 points with a close 5.36m and 5.31m jump respectively, being the only group to have both jumpers over 5m! Talk about dominance! The jumps don’t stop there, as Isabella and Khalia respectively were very close to each other, jumping 4.51m and 4.47m! That’s what great teamwork looks like! Yelim and Neha were our final duo of the long jump, as Yelim jumped for 4.07m, and Neha not far behind with 3.98m! What a start from the long jump!
Taking a few more steps forward, triple jump is coming up now! Nick Hartmann and Derrick gave it their all after multiple jumps and sprints around the day, with the duo going 10.82m and 10.68m together to score 6 big points for the Illini! Those legs were heavy as lead, yet they still got up there! Props for the hops! When it came to the women, Rachel and Melissa just cannot be stopped! Taking 1-2 in this event, they were the only athletes over 11m, with 11.15m and 11.08m leaps! Again, just pure dominance. Khalia took fifth individually in the event with some strong jumps of her own to land her a 9.99m distance! Neha rounded out our women in the TJ, coming in with 9.63 in her three jumps on the runway! The jumps squad is dangerous all around!
We’ll round the jumps out by going up high to the high jump! Nick showed why he’s a high jump specialist, winning overall in 1.88m! Derrick followed behind for 1.63m in his jump, making the duo second overall! Man, these guys got some tough legs! Rachel Schaaf finished her tour de jumps by nabbing second place by getting up there with a 1.42m jump! Round of applause for the strength and versatility of all the jumpers out there, scoring big points for the orange and blue!
Don’t forget the throws, though! For the shot put, the freshman dynamite duo of Quinn Rivara and Frank Chavez grabbed 5 points for the Illini throws squad, getting 8th and 9th with throws of 9.34m and 9.11m respectively! Austin Simon also got his throwing debut in, throwing the shot a full 7.95m! But why stop there? Dionne Edwards took a big bronze medal, getting third overall and leading the Illini to a second place team finish behind tough competition! Dionne threw a far 9.83m, showing the power and technique that’s been perfected all season! Esther Omole and Alicia Guerrero were right behind her, as both finished next to each other as well, throwing 8.75m and 8.59m respectively! Some killer throws from some deadly throwers! Make sure you keep an eye on this group as they get more and more experience throughout their careers, because it’s gonna be special!
Now we get to one of the most dynamic and rarest races in the track and field world: the Sprint Medley Relay! Composed of two 200m legs, a 400m leg, and anchoring with an 800m runner, this relay got our sprinters and mid distance group working together and showing out. Our women’s A team of our workhorses of Da’Miyah, Ninawa, Lucca and Bridget, took the win by over 7 seconds with a time of 4:35.22. Shoutout to the absolute strength of all of these women – there’s never a challenge they can’t take on across multiple races! Our B team of Arianna, Isabella, Jasmine Paulson, and Mikeelie worked well as a team and got the baton around with a 5:48.81 time, with Jasmine making her ITFC debut! We’re proud of our teams not only for running fast, but for working well with their teammates in an unusual event!
The men had some tough competition as well, but that didn’t stop them all from giving it their all. The A and B teams were nearly neck-and-neck all race, with the B team pulling ahead until the very last leg, where Henry Hornbrook of team A, after superb legs from Ethan, Gerardo, and Nic, took 5th place overall and the top time of our Illinois squad in 3:47.04. The B team of Sanyu, Ryan Fredericks, Braden, and Patrick Sarad, ran extremely well, finishing so close with a 3:48.47! That was definitely a race for the ages! It didn’t stop there, as our third team of Sandin, David, Marcus, and Michael Rizk ran very well together in a time of 4:00.22! It’s not easy to change speeds between legs and run with teammates that are unfamiliar, so shout out to the teamwork of all of our ITFC SMR runners!
With the most packed event of the night, the mile proved to be just as exciting as years prior. Quite a few of our women doubled in the 3k from earlier, yet that did not stop them from showing some guts on the tough double on the night, especially with the longer distance first! Within the top of the women’s heat, Diane Makovic, on tired legs from the 3k, led us off in a strong 5:27.53 for 6th overall in the meet! Evelyn Rowan, also on double duty for the day, came off her 4×8 leg with a solid 5:40.31 for 15th overall! Brisa McGrath also returned to the mile this season after her PR performance in the 3k as well, running a great time of 5:45.77. Claire Casiello and Maddy Feehan were running close together, with Claire leading in 5:50.80 and Maddy kicking home in 5:52.80. Alyson Ficca, after her 4×8 leg as well, followed behind in 5:56.49, and Anna Zlatic finishing up in 6:10.35. Give a special round of applause to this first group, as every one of them doubled, many of them having also done the 3k first. That is no easy task for any runner! Next was our duo from Grayslake, Suhani Peramanu and Lauren Brunk. Both have been running the mile together well, and both women ran very strong together, finishing neck-and-neck, with Suhani running 6:05.65, and Lauren right there in 6:05.97! What a close finish from old teammates! Our final two stellar women were Lauren Bartels, who capped off her indoor season with a 6:33.49 finish, and a great finishing kick by Allison Kokal which led her to a season’s best of 6:40.62! An amazing indoor mile season cap to lead to some fast 1500m times outdoors!
Coming next to the men, the first head had the long-awaited return of Eldon Warner, as well as the dynamite duo of John Wiser and John Burns. Eldon’s return to racing was a tough one, with a stacked field against him. Nevertheless, he ran strong and led the Illini in 4:21.78. John Wiser ran his usual strong and solid race, getting a PR in 4:27.56 after his 4x800m leg as well, with John Burns finishing up in 4:43.07 due to a sudden mid-race cramp. Don’t worry – he’s not done yet with the day. The men in the 2nd heat, inspired by their teammates, ran strong as well, with many dropping some big indoor PR’s. Percy Moser, Spencer Nelson, and Thomas Harmon were the top of their heat from wire to wire, with Spencer doing all the heavy lifting up front. Percy let out a strong kick 100m out, winning the heat in 4:27.35. Spencer followed right behind, nabbing a big PR in 4:28.71 for his first time under the 4:30 barrier. Thomas was just behind Spencer, running a crazy strong 4:29.93 – keep in mind that he split a 1:57 earlier in that day! President Cade Baker finished his indoor circuit with an impressive 4:43.96! Up next was Simon Hildy, who raced hard despite a fall mid-race. Simon got up quickly and showed toughness, finishing in 4:48.28 for a tough performance. James Stanley also went under his lifetime PR big time, closing hard and nearly catching the leader of his heat, storming home to a 4:37.70 time! What a close from James! Alex Kogen also ran strongly in this heat, showing his steady improvement as he finished in a time of 4:44.83! Arthur Mazzeo ran like a dog in the next heat, taking over late in the race to win with a blazing time of 4:43.54 to win by nearly 3 seconds! Henry Hornbrook, on tired legs from his SMR, ran a tough race with a good finishing time of 4:55.02. Who knows what awaits him in the 1500m outdoors with all that new and improved strength! Mid D Coach Norb Nieves set a lifetime full mile PR, dipping under the 4:50 barrier with a hard final 400m to run 4:49.23! Next up, Isaac Schifferer had a massive breakout race, with an earlier kick and smart pacing to shatter his PR in 4:53.71! It was always there, but Isaac finally turned it out for a great race. Adam Lupatkin is getting that groove back, breaking 5 minutes indoors to run 4:57.78! Antony Rizk also continues to make strides (and regular runs) towards improving the mile time, running a smart 5:05.21 with a great base to take to outdoors! Double T – Tristan Taylor – had a big race as well, running 5:12.17, with Andrew Stevenson getting down to business in 5:13.11! Thomas Tran, another great runner with the initials “TT” continued his mile streak with a consistent and strong 5:21.19! Taking a well-deserved break from the meet to run, Nathaniel Lenning took an early victory (8) lap(s) in 5:26.21! And finally, without further ado, our man Gabe Benson killed it around the track with a huge, HUGE PR in 5:29.16! Phew! Quite the amount of miles covered in that superb group, but it provided one of the best races of the night as per usual!
And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the 4x400m relay! The great conclusion to a great meet, the women showed no mercy as always, winning by over 10 seconds! Lucca, Ninawa, Bridget and Anna Jablonski each ran stellar legs, coming away with the victory in 4:16.27 to secure the win for the Illini in our home meet once again. While we couldn’t host as many teams as we have in past years, that didn’t stop the fun races and teams that showed up to run some great 4x4s. The next team of Maddy, Maria, Reiss, and Alyson landed in the top 8 as well, running a great 5:00.88 for a victory lap of their own! The Lauren’s and freshmen team of Lauren Brunk, Lauren Bartels, Allison and Suhani cruised down the track to a 5:19.18 finish – a great team and a great way to cap off their meet. We also had a mixed relay team that came out on top, composed of Ryan Fredericks, Joseph Symanski, Brisa McGrath, and Mikeelie Jensen, earning their crown in 4:31.37!
Finally, the men had tough competition and tough days overall. Our guys got out there and gave it everything they had, taking the silver medal in the event, but securing the team title for the men overall. Thomas Harmon, Nic Soto, John Burns, and Tyler Klein himself ran a blazing time of 3:25.67, ever so close to Wisconsin as they took the win, but props to them for a great race. Another loaded team of Braden, Henry, Gerardo and Patrick Sarad, despite multiple legs between all of them, ran a very impressive 3:36.02! The fun doesn’t stop there, as Trevor, Jose, John Bledsoe and Aiden Markiewicz got it done in 3:50.21 to close out their Club Relays experience. Finally, the team that got to finish the men’s 4×4’s out for the orange and blue were Jon, Thomas Tran, Tristan, and Isaac, as the seniors shared their ultimate 4×4 experience to finish strong in 4:11.90.
With an amazing amount of 93 points on the men’s side, and 96 points on the women’s side, Illinois Track and Field Club extends their win to 14 times in a row. Absolutely unbelievable. It’s not about the wins anymore, but about the commitment to teamwork, excellence, and support everyone on the club comes in with, day in and day out. It’s been a pleasure running indoors with all of you, and as we move to outdoors, it’ll only get even better (and colder). Amazing efforts to everyone, and as always, I-L-L!
-Norb