ITFC! Hope you all had a restful and fun winter break! Just because it was cold doesn’t mean we didn’t have some blazing hot performances as well! We had the distance group come out of the gate swinging after a strong XC season, followed by the one and only TK, Tyler Klein, touching down at the University of Chicago with some wins of his own. Let’s take a look at what our athletes did over the break, taking some winter W’s along the ride!
Tracksmith Indoor
Starting off hot, the distance squad took over the Tracksmith Indoor Invitational meet in Chicago, bringing some fast 800’s, miles, and 3k’s to the track!
At the Gately Track and Field Center in Chicago, the distance and mid-d group got their chance to shine, and shine they did. Let me be the first to tell you that the 800m times this group put out was a thing of beauty. Leading the charge were the fast and furious freshmen of Thomas Harmon, Braden Cardamone and Ethan Forsell. Our top XC runners can burn rubber on the track as well. Thomas, with his first ITFC track race ever, put out a monstrous 1:56.86, besting the previous club indoor record in his first track race for us! Next up, the duo hailing from Oswego had a gutsy race against each other, with Ethan making some tough passes on the curve, but Braden battled back for a finish of 2:03.33 for him and 2:04.48 for Ethan. Nothing fuels the fire like racing your teammates and pushing each other to the limit!
On the women’s side, once again Dr. Kat Vande Pol said that class was in session, schooling the competition with a 2nd place finish and a LIFETIME PR of 2:17.96. That long sprints training is working wonders on this group, and Kat did not come to play. What a day for the 800m program here at ITFC!
Next, in the mile run, distance stars Diane Makovich and Evelyn Rowan set some high standards for the distance group. Both women raced with guts and put out some very strong starts! Diane ran a time of 5:29.33, an extremely strong start already dipping under that 5:30 mark. Watch out for her at Club Relays, as that endurance and speed combination Diane possesses will be a force to be reckoned with. Evelyn was next in 5:46.14, another hot start. This distance freshman class is surely one for the record books as Evelyn will also be a strong contender in the Club Relays mile. Awesome races, you two!
The men’s mile featured both Ethan and Braden doubling back, President Cade Baker himself, and finally, our own Home Meet Coordinator Nathaniel Lenning. Ethan capped off a strong double with a mile time of 4:40.05, followed by Mr. President himself in 4:41.91, a very fast and strong start for both of them, both with sound tactics and a great race strategy for Cade. Braden finished his double in 4:51.08. Braden’s ITFC debut was a standout performance as well, and more miles to come will make those times drop fast. Nathaniel Lenning rounded out our milers, running very sound and making some smart passes during a very even race, running a smooth 5:36.30 in his indoor season debut. ITFC put on a clinic in these tough miles, so great job to all of our milers!
Finally, our lone 3000m contender of the day was Chicago’s own Gabriel Inojosa. Gabe competed hard and finished in a time of 10:38.01 on home soil. A good start for Gabe, and one that will improve almost immediately as the season progresses. Thanks for holding down the fort in the 3k!
Distance (and Beau) Squad All Smiles at Tracksmith
Phoenix Invitational
Representing U of I at the U of Chi was sprints star Tyler Klein.
Tyler, unsurprisingly, won the 60m dash and 200m like the speed demon he is. His time for the 60m was a blistering 6.97, winning by just 0.01 seconds for a tight and exciting race. Tyler also crushed the competition in the 200m, running a 22.18, which is just 0.01 off of the indoor club record. This early in the season, Tyler is surely just warming up. Just another day at the office for TK, with a dominant performance as per usual. Awesome job Tyler!
Spectacular job to all of our distance and middle distance runners and showing out that middle distance speed, ready to rock and roll come Club Relays! Special thanks for IXC Webmaster Tristan Taylor and Head Coach Beau Barber as always for catching the action live and supporting their team!
Catch you on the track next time! -Norb 🙂