While indoor is over, and our beloved Club Relays must wait another year for it to resurface on the main stage, the outdoor season is back! Our first meet at Eastern Illinois in Charleston, IL, proved to be a tough one for all of our athletes! That doesn’t mean we didn’t give it our all and set the track on fire! With the new season comes the return of some of our favorite events only found on the outdoor circuit! Without further ado, let’s get into the outdoor season!
The meet kicked off with part 1 of a weather-wise difficult meet. Nevertheless, the Illini are always up to the challenge. Underneath Friday night stadium lights, our fierce 5k group took on the 3.1 mile distance on the track in rainy weather. That didn’t stop Lake Spradling, who felt at home in the wet environment, running a fast 15:14.62 in tough conditions! Right on his tail was Adam Gorcyca, with a crazy 15:18.80, running well with Lake throughout the race! Gabe Inojosa also rose to the challenge, running a strong race for a big PR of 17:21.75 in the same race! Never count out ITFC, regardless of conditions!
Our women didn’t shy away from a little bit of rain either, with Diane Makovic running a smashing time of 18:16.40, earning a 5th place finish! Maddy Feehan followed pursuit, running 19:57.00, very impressive for the downpour! They might as well do the steeplechase for the water they had to run through! These distance runners dominated the race in such unfavorable conditions, which begs the question of just how fast they’ll end up later in the year? What an exciting race!
The next morning, the weather was not much more favorable, yet ITFC still showed up to do what they do best! Starting off on the track, newly appointed steeplechase coach Isaac Schifferer toughed out the 3000m distance in the chilly wind, running a fast PR of his own in 11:10.02! Can’t complain when you cut off 30 seconds off your old PR in tough weather! Coach is starting off hot!
Getting to the sprints next, the men now upgrade from the 60m to the 100m as we begin our outdoor debut! Tyler Klein ran against a stacked meet, running a blazing 10.83 out of the gate to land in the top 8! Matching up against many of the other teams that we will face later in the season, Tyler put his name out there as a warning for others! Look out!
Tyler continued this dominance as he increased the distance in the 200m, running an ITFC no. 2 best mark in 21.77 to win the event! TK takes the 2 as always! With a bit of cross-event group competition, Marcus Scott, Ryan Fredericks, Henry Hornbrook, and Sandin Cuturic battled head to head to head to head (wow) in a tight finish for the 200m! Marcus came out on top with a nice PR in 24.98, with Ryan so close behind in 25.01! Henry was on the hunt as well, running 25.34, and Sandin close behind in 27.14! Big representation of the Illinois singlet in this heat, what a sight to see!
Doubling up to the 400m, Ryan and Marcus took to the one-lap race as well! Ryan has shown that his speed is returning, as he finishes the race in 54.49! Marcus also shows how his strength has increased, with a 56.04 finish to his name! Those are some fine sprints from the boys! Kat Vande Pol took to the blocks for her 400m, her prime event, running 60.79 for a top 8 finish, which is a heck of a run so early in the season! At this point, I would also like to acknowledge Kat for her four years of incredible racing and services to ITFC, as this was her last meet with the Illini. Kat, we will miss you and your breathtaking times in the middle distance events, and best of luck to your new adventures! Keep blowing away your competitors on the NC track circuit!
As the outdoor tour begins, the mile is no more, but the 1500m has come to stay. Many of our freshmen took their first leap into the new yet familiar distance, and boy did they not disappoint! Percy Moser, James Stanley and Braden Cardamone all took the 1500m by storm, with Percy leading the charge to finish in 4:12.07. James was close behind, using his strong kick to come home in 4:14.62! Braden ran hard as he stepped up the distance, showing he’s still got some mile strength in the tank, finishing in 4:24.64! Cade Baker got his outdoor debut started with the 1500m, with a fast closing kick, to take second in his heat in 4:25.92! Ryan McClowry ran 5:23.55 to begin his outdoor season with ITFC, a nice showing for the distance men! Way to run!
The 800m followed soon after, with our young distance guns taking the track to the outdoor two-lap race. With all of the freshmen testing their strength, Henry Hornbrook showed his senior strength, taking the lead for the Illini in 2:03.04. That doesn’t mean the freshman let it happen easily, as James Stanley fought hard in the final kick, battling with Henry to finish in 2:03.07! Braden Cardamone and Percy Moser also fought well throughout the race, with Braden’s 400m strength and speed carrying him through the home stretch to finish in 2:04.14, with Percy’s endurance taking him through closely in 2:04.68! Very nice work, boys! Simon Hildy held his own, taking the race out quickly as well in his own heat to finish with a respectable 2:07.62 after a quick 1500m as well! Cade Baker showed his presidential strength, doing his favorite mile/800m double to finish with 2:10.08! A nice double for some speed and strength work for many of our 800m men! While that seems to be a common double, Isaac made his case for quite an even more difficult double, as he completed his 800m after his stellar steeplechase in 2:16.28! What a pair of runs from Isaac! Taking it home for us was another 1500m/800m double runner in Ryan McClowry, steadily improving in tough weather with a 2:38.46 run! Gotta love that 800m+ double!
Our two women, Evelyn Rowan and Mikeelie Jensen, took the 800m like champs as well despite increasing winds and cold. Evelyn ran a well-paced 2:37.07 for her race, shaking off the outdoor rust, with Mikeelie returning to the outdoor track to finish in 2:57.68, another well-paced race! The 800m in wind and cold is a rough experience indeed, but these women still made light work of it. Awesome job!
With outdoor comes one of the toughest events out there, the 400m hurdles. As tough as this event is, our runners are even tougher. Derrick Stokes and Kat Vande Pol were our standout hurdlers, shaking the rust off of the long hurdle event. Derrick was up and going with a quick lap around the track in 67.96 despite wind and chills, and Kat showed her spikes were still hot after the flat 400m with a 71.10 lap with hurdles! Beastly runs for such a difficult event!
Dropping to a shorter distance, in the 110mH, Derrick held down the fort in a strong effort of 19.78 after adjusting to the change from 60m to 110m. The rust is busted, and the times are going to drop on a dime soon!
Before we go, Beau’s Throws Squad got it done in the discus ring this time instead of the shot put! Zachary Marisco, in his ITFC debut, threw for 31.54m, while Quinn Rivara threw 22.37m in his outdoor debut! Good starting marks to get some distance out there, boys!
Finally, the women’s 4x400m ended the day for our squad well! A strong showing by Evelyn, Rachel Sakwa, Maria and Kat landed ITFC in third place with a fast 4:24.85 team effort to end a cold day filled with some hot times!
The conditions of the meet provided an extra challenge to overcome, yet they prevailed as always. Tough conditions forge tougher athletes, and we will show our strength down the line on the national stage! Great job to everyone that competed and those who came out to support! Through wind and rain, cold and heat, ITFC perseveres! Till next time! I-L-L!
Norb 🙂