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