ITFC! We’re here now at Wabash College, where the weather is warm and the track is ready for some fast times and far jumps! Finally, as we get some nice conditions, get ready to see the times that people have been waiting to run all season! It’s nice to show out in the cold, but we’re ready for some hot times AND warm weather! Let’s take a dip (hopefully not) into the water pit and check out the first event of the day in the steeplechase!
The weather was warm, the wind was blowing, and our athletes were ready to roll! Starting off the meet once again was the 3000m steeplechase. Stepping, and leaping, out of his comfort zone was the 800m/Miler Norb Nieves, taking on one of the most unique track races for the first time. In his steeplechase debut, Norb finished in the middle of the pack with a time of 10:41.15, and all without falling! I’d say that’s a win in its own right! Not bad for the first time!
Let’s replace the barriers and water jumps with regular hurdles. Freshman star Ben Cooper and Jumpman Derrick Stokes got some quick work done in the 110mH! Ben ran smoothly over the hurdles to a 4th place finish in 16.40, and Derrick got his long day started by rounding out the top 10 finishers of the meet in 19.36! Those boys glided over those hurdles swiftly and smoothly! But don’t count our powerful duo of 100mH women! Ari Afolabi and hurdle master Maria Becerra set some fast marks of their own, with Ari getting fourth as well, dipping under 16 seconds in 15.94! Maria got her day started in 19.19 with smooth sailing over the hurdles as she prepared for more quick sprints later in the day! Always an inspiring and exciting start to the day with some hurdles!
Derrick and Maria also did their classic hurdles double, clocking in a hot new PR of 64.62 for Derrick, and a blazing run of 72.38 for Maria! That hurdles strength never ceases to impress!
The flat 100m is sure to show the fast feet of our sprints, as Sanyu Kumaran and Sandin Cuturic also started their days with the straightaway sprint. Both competed hard together in the same heat, with Sanyu coming out on top in 12.15, and Sandin coming in hot with a 13.15 finish! We’ll see these guys in some of the later sprints of the day, but a fast start to a long day of racing! Over to the women’s 100m, Maria shot out of the blocks like a cannon, running an impressive 13.59, with Rachel Sakwa right behind her in a fast 13.61 of her own! Gotta love it when the day starts off this strong!
We’ll give distance some love now, as the 1500m started strong with John Wiser and James Stanley in the fast heat. The duo went 2-3 overall in the meet, with Wiser setting a nice PR in 4:06.66! Some strong running from Wiser, especially as he did the dirty work of setting the pace from start to finish! James used his deadly finishing kick to close the gap, dipping under 4:10 to cross the line in 4:09.16! James gets quicker with every meet! A nice trio in the following heat of Adam Lupatkin, Trevor Glancy, and Antony Rizk worked well together over the course of the race! Trading leads, Adam came out on top in 4:30.90, Trevor kicking hard in 4:32.76, and Antony closing in for a 4:35.81 finish. All three set PR’s as well! Teamwork makes the dream work as always! Gabe Benson and Ryan McClowry ran strong as well, as, once again, our guys set some big PR’s. Gabe improved his time to 5:10.25, while Ryan demolished his EIU time in 5:13.93! Suhani Peramanu was our lone woman representing ITFC in the 1500m, representing the “I” well in a time of 5:45.95! What a run for Suhani! What a day for the 1500m crew! PR’s all around!
Let’s move to the 800m. While everyone’s got their favorite event, I think this was one of the fastest events of the day. Starting off VERY strong, freshman phenom Thomas Harmon took third place in a fast meet with a blazing time of 1:55.03! The kid’s got speed! And who else to follow but John Burns, who set a big lifetime PR of 1:56.82 to get 4th place overall! In the next heat over, we have to give it up for Mid D Monster Henry Hornbrook, who broke the 2-min barrier for the first time in his life, running wire to wire in an amazing performance of 1:58.81 to win his heat and take 5th overall as well! That 4x800m team for Nats is going to be something huge for these boys! James Stanley doubled back from his 1500m, getting faster in the two lap event to finish in 2:02.07! James is knocking on the door of sub-2 soon! The long sprinter, Gerardo Porras, showed his 800m strength once again, running smooth for a nice outdoor best of 2:08.71! That closing speed is something to beware of! Jose Ocegueda Zuniga ran tough in his heat as well, showing his strong footspeed to complete his race in 2:13.89! Jose is showing some nice improvement! And finally, Gabe Benson closed it out with a 2:42.57 following his great 1500m performance. Rough double but tough runners!
How about those 400m’s? Big man Nic Soto went to town on the one-lap race, throwing down a new PR of 51.55 and placing in the top 8! That’s our guy! But not far behind, Adam Adil showed he could still throw down in the long sprints, running a hot 52.82! Ryan Fredericks, who has been dominating the 2/4 combo recently, and Gerardo Porras, the 4/8 connoisseur, battled head-to-head, with Ryan setting a new season’s best in 53.29, and Gerardo close behind with a 53.43! Nice race, boys! Sanyu Kumaran continued his hot streak with a 54.88 run, very nice indeed! Secretary Jon Wallk hit a big PR in the open 400m, running 56.93! He’s still got it! Some speed work after the steeplechase, Norb doubled back, running a PR of 58.10 in the flat 4 as well! Close behind him were Ryan McClowry, showing his quickness off his feet in 61.01, and Sandin close behind with 63.91! Lucca Bibbey had a great showing with a strong 4th place finish overall in 63.41, a great showing of her 400m strength as we head into nationals! Quarter milers absolutely killed it!
Cutting it down a notch, the 200m’s also put out some blazing performances of their own! Once again, Nic led us off, with a speedy 22.78 finish to also place in top 8! The kid’s got speed! Ryan Fredericks doubled back in the 200m, with a new season’s best of 24.30! Sanyu and Jon battled in their heat, with Sanyu coming out on top in 24.30, and Jon finishing with a 26.28! Not bad for Jon’s first 200m! Sandin brought us home in 26.60, a great run for him! Ari took the women’s title like it was nothing, winning the women’s 200m in a time of 26.46! Lucca also took to the 200m to run a quick 28.46, and Rachel followed suit in a fast 28.94! Speed is definitely on the track here!
This meet also marks the appearance of the ITFC 4x100m! Nic, Adam, Sanyu, and Sandin, all with big days thus far, cruised home to a top 8 finish in 44.92! This sprints crew has got some strength! They can handle just about anything!
The longest race of the outdoor season, the 5000m, had some brilliant performances in some hot heat! Brisa McGrath placed top 8 in a great return to the outdoor track in 19:03.79, with Emma Bergmann also stepping back onto the track with a time of 19:47.18! Welcome back, Emma! Our last 5000m runner, Cade Baker, showed out. Cade was just going to do his best, with no expectation, and that seemed to give him the race he needed, as he landed a massive PR of 15:53.43! What a run for the president!
Nic also had quadruple duty today, ending with the 4x400m with a team of himself, John Burns, Henry, and Thomas Harmon. The boys powered home to a super fast 3:30.49 – all of which had ran at least another event in the day! Mighty impressive running!
Before we head out, we always gotta give some love to the field events. Starting with high jump, Derrick had a nice attempt and clear at 1.50m! For as much as he runs and jumps, I don’t think I could move like that if I were him! But wait, he’s STILL not done! Derrick, along with Ben and newcomer Owen Haas, went long in the long jump! Ben and Owen battled closely, with jumps of 5.91m and 5.88m respectively, and Derrick finally finished out his crazy busy day with a jump of 5.40m. Legs of steel, everyone, legs of steel. Owen also doubled in his strongest event, the triple jump, placing 4th overall with a jump of 12.69m! That boy can move!
And last but certainly not least, newcomer Daniel Coxworth flexed his muscles in the discus throw, where he also took 4th place overall with a massive throw of 45.25m! That thing FLEW! Massive throwing, Daniel!
The weather and results we’ve all been waiting for gave our athletes a big confidence boost going into the biggest meet of the year: NIRCA Nationals! How will we fare in the big meet? Tune in next time on the next exciting writeup of ITFC! Thanks for reading!
Norb 🙂