What do you think of when you hear the phrase peak meet? Do you think of a warm sun gradually warming up the rubber of the track for perfect running conditions? Or maybe you think of races full of people of all talent ranges, causing everybody to run their fastest, most competitive heats. The Illinois Track and Field Club hoped for these conditions in Jacksonville as they competed in the Illinois College True Blue Open, but good ol’ Illinois weather came to knock those hopes out of the air, sending an overcast, slightly blustery, 50 degree day to make imperfect running conditions. On top of that, the field was reduced from years past, so our runners had to use more intelligence and experience in order to race their best times. These were tough conditions, indeed, but when doesn’t ITC step up to fight the good fight?
Women Highlights
Of the 12 competitions the ITC women were listed in, they scored in all 12, including 3 first place finishes (Junior Lauren Jonen’s 60.26s 400m dash and THE relay team in the 4×100 and the 4×400). There were 2 new club records, as Abby Ralph surpassed her old 100m hurdle time, finishing with a 16.68s, and THE 4×400 team (Murphy, Szostak, Ayers, and Jonen if you couldn”t guess) almost surpassed the 4 minute barrier for the first time, but will have to settle for the club”s fastest time of 4:00.01. Speaking of .01 off, Sophomore Jess Ayers ran a 12.75 100m dash, a hundredth of a second away from her club record, and Sophomore Selena Wallace clocked in her 800m at 2:30.00, an open 800m PR, but a very frustrating time. All these close timing calls makes me wonder WHO”s RUNNING THESE CLOCKS? Altogether, the women scored 75 points in those 12 events, good for 5th in the meet.
Men Highlights
The Men were not as efficient as the women, never winning an event, but they did have 3 second place finishes and 5 third place finishes. Senior Jayme Roberts came in 3rd in the 200m dash with his time of 22.74 (.04 away from 10th on the ITC all-time list). Senior Steven Decker cruised in his 400m in 50.97 (3rd), and anchored the 3rd all-time fastest 4x400m team consisting of Roberts, Freshmen Tyler Splitt, George Gunter, and Decker (3:26.33). Tied for third in the triple jump all-time list is Junior Sebastian Alvis with his flight of 12.45 meters, a PR by over a foot. As of now, Alvis would be my most improved athlete this year, as he has improved by 1.36 meters in the triple jump and was ITC”s second finisher in the 200m dash with his 23.38, an improvement of 1.84 seconds from the beginning of the year.
I”d be remiss if I didn”t mention Senior Jon Hootman”s fast start to the steeplechase, followed by a stumble out of the water pit, which led to a somersault and his toes breaking free from his duct-taped spikes. Sophomore Ryan Somerfield, Junior Ryan Kelch, and Freshman Quinn Todzo finished that race in 2nd (10:25), 3rd (10:33), and 5th (10:52), respectively, but Hootman would drop out and compete in the 5k. He PR’ed by 5 seconds (16:45, 5th) with the help of Kelch’s spikes, finishing behind Sophomore David Choi (16:17, 2nd) and Michael Schaible (16:26, 4th).
Up Next:
ITC travels to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue University Rankin Invitational.
