Members of the Illinois Track and field Club traveled over 8 hours from Champaign to St Cloud Minnesota to compete in the Husky Indoor Club Invitational, hosted by St Cloud State University. This was our club’s first official meet since both our men’s and women’s team claimed their 12th victories respectively at the 2020 Club Relays.
Field Events:
Jumps for this meet were open throughout the day and our elite jumps group used this time to bring their A-game to the pit.
Kicking things off in the men’s long jump was our senior leader and men’s sprints coach Andy Marszewski, taking it down to his last jump of 20 feet 4 inches to claim victory in the event. In his first track meet ever freshman phenom, Nicholas Hartmann, claimed third in the long jump with a jump of 18 feet 7.5 inches. Nicholas was far from finished. In his first meet ever, he jumped 6 feet 3 inches in the high jump which was not only good enough for gold but also a new club record! James Lu also started his freshman campaign with a bang, jumping 5 foot 2 inches in the high jump and 16 feet even in the long, both top 10 finishes on the day!
The women’s long jump saw some new faces for the event as well, as the Murray twins, Sam and Leah, left their mark on the event. Sam jumped 15 feet 8 inches to take home gold and Leah was right behind her jumping 15 feet .5 inches to take home bronze. Maria Koneva also went the distance in the event going 13 feet 1.25 inches.
Track Events:
From the first gun, you could tell that our athletes were ready to compete, our first event of the day was the 60-meter dash. In the women’s 60 Katherine Vande Pol kicked things off for us running an 8.62, making it look easy. Right by her was freshman Rachel Sakwa, who kicked off her ITFC career by running an 8.73 and taking home a third-place medal. Bringing home yet another top 5 finish was Maria Koneva running a 9.07. Rounding out a great start to the meet for the Illini women was Maria Becerra, who kicked off her second year with the team in high gear, running a 9.24.
The men’s 60 got off to a little quicker start than anticipated, but our guys still came through to get some great times. Coming in second overall for the event was Jalen Frazier running a 7.22, neck and neck with Adam Adil who ran 7.27 to claim bronze in the event. The men did not stop there and added two more top 5 finishes thanks to Andre Ellis Jr running a 7.53 and Anthony Stewart right behind him running a 7.56. Freshman James Lu rounded out the event, bringing home a top 10 finish and a 7.88.
In the 4×200 we saw some familiar faces from both the men’s long jump and the men’s 60 make their way back on the track to run a blazing time of 1:36.56. The team consisted of Jalen Frazier, Andy Marszewski, Adam Adil, and James Hoffman. They came together to beat the only other men’s team by almost 7 seconds.
The sprints squad was pretty much all gas and no breaks during the first part of the meet as following the 4×200 came the 400-meter dash. The men’s team was up first and saw some new members of the club getting their first shot at running in an ITFC uniform. Hector Ramos Jr ran away with this one taking home a first-place medal and cut it close, but broke 53 by running a 52.99. Behind Hector was senior Andre Ellis Jr running an impressive time of 56.32. Right behind him was Anthony Stewart coming in at 57 seconds flat. The trio of Ramos Jr, Ellis Jr, and Stewart brought home a 1-2-3 finish and a sweep of the medal stand.
The women’s Illini 400 runners were up next, and they came into the event ready to run up the points, taking home 4 of the top 5 finishers in the event. Bringing in another, first-place finish was Katherine Vande Pol clocking in an impressive 1:02.17. Following right behind Kat was freshman Leah Murray who ran a 1:05.55 taking home a third-place medal and picking up some crucial points for the team. Taking home 4th in the event was Annie Brunton clocking in a very impressive time of 1:08.73. Finishing off the event for the Illini was our fearless leader and president Ciara Ward, who ran a blazing time of 1:09.37!
After 3 sprints like track events, we now transitioned toward the mid-d geared, 800-meter dash. The men were up first in this event and we saw some very familiar faces drop some very impressive times. Winning heat one and coming in a strong second overall, we saw the man, John Kellum drop a 2:04.96. Following up behind him was our Home Meet Coordinator Cade Baker running a 2:12.04, which put him in 8th among some really fierce competition.
On the women’s side, we also had two great runners take on the event. Mikeelie Jensen was our leader putting down a 2:40.37 and bringing home a 3rd place medal. Right behind her was Annie Brunton, who clocked in at 2:50.04, earning her second top 5 finish on the day.
After a much-needed break, the sprint boys and girls were ready to get back on the track for the 200-meter dash. The men had 7 entries in the 200 and each and every entry placed in the top 10. Coming in first for the team was-Webmaster Jalen Frazier clocking in a time of 23.35. Right behind him was Adam Adil who continued his career day on the track with a 23.47, more than good enough for second. Claiming the last spot on the medal stand was Andy Marszewski running a 23.61. Neck and neck with Andy was freshman James Hoffman running a 23.68. Our 400-meter champion Hector Ramos Jr made his way back onto the track to take home another top 5 finish running a 23.88 and capping off a 1-5 finish for the team. Andre Ellis Jr got up to speed in the event too, coming in at 24.88. In heat two Anthony Stewart, calm and collective, took care of business clocking in a 25.11 and took home 9th in the event.
The women also had an outstanding performance, putting up some unreal numbers. Out of the top 6 finishers for the event, 4 of them were runners in orange and blue. Leading the way for us was Freshman, Rachel Sakwa who paved the way running a 29.66, picking up a nice third-place medal to go along with it. Our leader on and off the track, Ciara Ward, ran a 30.04 claiming 4th. Another very vital role player on the sprints squad, Maria Becerra, followed right behind Ciara running a 30.55. Rounding out the event for us was Maria Koneva running a very strong 32.49.
Now going the distance, we move onto the 2-mile run! Due to some coordinating issues in the event, our ladies did not have the ideal day they thought they would’ve. Even given this adversity that did not stop our own Grace Gudwien from running a 12:27.9 and getting second overall, indoors by herself, by far one of the best showings for our club to date.
Onto the last track event of the day the 4×400 meter dash. Even given how tired everyone on the team was we still managed to take home some hardware in both divisions. On the women’s side of the event, the women’s A team left Minnesota leaving no doubt about who the true victors were. The team consisting of Leah Murray, Sam Murray, Rachel Sakwa, and Katherine Vande Pol ran a 4:24.89 beating a tough SCSU A squad by close to 24 seconds. The women’s B team of Grace Gudwien, Clare Oehler, Annie Brunton, and Mikeelie Jensen came in right behind SCSU running a 4:50.88 and picked 4 up more medals adding to the team’s never-ending total.
The men on the other hand also left St. Cloud state on a high note. The team of Jalen Frazier, Jimmy Hoffman, Hector Ramos, and Andy Marszekski ran a 3:40.14 and took home gold in the event.
Team Scores:
Men’s:
| 1. | University of Illinois Club | 46 |
| 2. | University of Minnesota Club | 18 |
| 3. | St. Cloud State Track Club | 12 |
| 4. | Iowa State University Club | 3 |
Women’s:
| 1. | St. Cloud State Track Club | 33 |
| 2. | University of Illinois Club | 28 |
| 3. | Iowa State University Club | 12 |
| 4. | University of Minnesota Club | 5 |
The men’s team brought home a 1st place trophy and the women’s team came home with a 2nd place title, both teams left Minnesota with a host of medals. Congratulations to everyone who competed, you made the ITFC family more than proud and we look forward to seeing all that you accomplish moving forward. It is safe to say we’re back.
The Illinois Track Club’s next meet will be at Milikin University on April 3rd, 2021 for the Big Blue Alumni Invitational. We look forward to getting more and athletes competing as we move to the outdoor season!
Official Results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/413690/results
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