Welcome, and Happy 2 weeks until Club Relays!
We are all excited and ramped up for Club Relays, but we’ll put that excitement aside for the moment as we channel it all to the amazing performances at the Titan Open at Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, February 10th. This has been the largest meet so far, with 67 Illini competing, so make sure to grab some popcorn! Let’s not waste any more time and dive right into the action!
As per usual, let’s start with the women’s 60m dash. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu started with a bang and set the standard for the rest of the events to follow, running an amazing 8.02 to claim 2nd place! Ninawa Odicho had a great race, coming in at 8.29 and a 6th-place finish. Close behind was Sumin Cho, who ran a speedy 9.01. Chloe Trotter rounded out the 60m, with an awesome time of 9.86.
It was a packed house on the men’s side, with a tie for first place on the team! John Green and Nic Soto both ran a time of 7.39, but John barely beat Nic by a few milliseconds to come out on top. Close behind the action was Michael VanHootegem, coming in at a 7.42. Right on Michael’s tail was Sean Vibhatasilpin, who ran a speedy 7.47. Our next three athletes came in all within 9 milliseconds of each other, Ben Cooper at 7.70, Alexzander Chu at 7.76, and Anthony Stewart at 7.79, impressive times! Jacky Lin came in right behind all three, with a quick time of 7.88. Not far behind was Sanyu Kumaran with a speedy time of 7.93. James Lu closed us out with a great time of 8.11.
For the women’s 60m Hurdles, it was all up to Christina Jordan, and she didn’t disappoint, running a 10.25 to come 4th in the prelims, and then coming in at a 10.18 to score 3rd in the finals!
On the men’s side, it was Michael VanHootegem, back and ready for more hurdles, coming in at an incredible 8.86 to claim 3rd place. Matas Carmichael wasn’t very far behind, coming in at a speedy 9.52 to claim 10th place. Derrick Stokes had an awesome race as well, coming in at an 11.02.
The distance may be longer in the women’s 200m dash, but that didn’t stop Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu from claiming her second 2nd place finish of the day with a 26.94. Ninawa Odicho made sure everyone knew that she meant business with her 27.22, a 4th-place finish. Brooke Bouwens ran a great race and earned a 9th-place finish with her 27.61. Lucca Bibbey ran under Bella Brunke, coming in for a great 29.57. Sumin Cho closed out these incredible performances with an awesome time of 31.53.
It was a historic day today in the men’s 200m dash. Tyler Klein, with a time of 21.94, not only won the meet with a 1st place finish but set a NEW CLUB RECORD in the process, breaking his previous club record of 22.01, huge congratulations! Next up was the battle of the Johns between John Green and John Bledsoe. John Green won this match, with a time of 23.95, with John Bledsoe not far behind with a 25.10. Keeping with the excitement, we have another tie! This time between Koen Brown and Matas Carmichael, both running a time of 25.19, with Koen ultimately coming out on top. Jacky Lin was close behind, with a speedy time of 25.33. Henry Martinez’s swift race brought him right behind Jacky, with a time of 25.41. Anthony Stewart had an awesome race, coming in at a fast 25.72. Alexzander Chu was right on Anthony’s tail with a quick 25.90. Not to be outdone, Sanyu Kumaran stuck right behind Alexzander to get a great time of 26.08. James Lu wrapped up an event full of awesome performances with a 28.00.
If you were in the 400m, it was a great day to be an Illini Women, with all three of our athletes with top 5 finishes! It was Head Coach Ninawa Odicho leading the women to victory, with her 1:01.32 to claim 1st place. Right, and I mean right on her tail was Brooke Bouwens, coming in at 1:01.58 to claim 2nd place. Not to be left behind, Lucca Bibbey ran an amazing 1:05.38 to claim 5th place, wow!
For the men, it was a surprise appearance from distance runner Braden Cardamone, who led the men with a 54.60. Michael VanHootegem wasn’t far behind, coming in with a speedy 55.12. Matas Carmichael finished off the delegation with a fast time of 56.12.
It was a one-woman show for the 800m, but that didn’t stop Rachel Sakwa from having a great race, running a 2:37.57.
It was the opposite of a one-woman show on the men’s side, with a very crowded heat! Thomas Harmon, the master of the 800m, had a strong start to his season debut, running a 1:58.54 to claim 4th place. James Stanley started strong as well, just mere milliseconds away from the sub-2-minute mark, running a 2:00.40 for 6th place. Team elder John Burns had a great race today, running a 2:02.88. Simon Hildy, the ginger running extraordinaire showed off his skills with an impressive 2:04.19. Next up was a battle between the New Yorkers, Dakota Amar and Percy Moser. Dakota came out on top this round, with his 2:04.47 edging out Percy’s 2:04.91. The legend himself Henry Hornbrook took a break from Orange Krush to come run a fantastic 2:05.16. Nic Soto’s 800m race sparked much intrigue, with a final time of 2:09.55. Issa Fouani went out and ran an awesome race, coming in at 2:40.31. Gabe Benson was right behind Issa for the whole race, coming in just behind at 2:41.57.
Do you know what time it is? It’s mile time! Bridget Brokaw led the mile from the start, and kept that lead to the end, running a 5:30.01 to claim 2nd place! Right behind her was Anna Jablonski, whose time of 5:44.28 earned her an easy 4th-place finish. Suhani Peramanu celebrated her successful Mia Za’s fundraiser with a great race, running a 5:50.98 to claim 6th place. The results may say Claire Casiello, but it was all Carlin Hass out there with an awesome 5:53.03 to snag 7th place. Lia Tondeva was having an awesome day, running a speedy 6:19.00. Next up was Annika Luthe’s time to shine, running a great 6:23.01. Courtney Hall wrapped up a day of great performances with a fast 6:29.46.
There’s no better way to start the mile than with a few sub-4:30 times. It was Percy Moser in the lead today, with a 4:28.84 to claim 4th place overall. Thomas Harmon came in right behind Percy, with a time of 4:29.48 to claim 5th place. Nolan Enright wasn’t about to let the sophomores beat him, coming in at a speedy 4:36.11 for 9th place. Proud Oswego PDT alum Braden Cardamone was up next, coming in at a fast 4:46.25. The tall man with curls, John Bledsoe came in shortly behind Braden with a great time of 4:56.21. The slightly shorter man with curls, Aidan Markiewicz came in at an awesome 5:07.80. Nathaniel Lenning took a break from Club Relays planning to casually tie his PR with a 5:22.46. Gabe Benson closes us out with a great time of 5:51.95.
If the mile is not long enough, then you’re in luck, 3000m time! Suhani Peramanu went double 6th place finished today, coming in with a speedy 11:38.51. Alyson Ficca stayed on her tail for the whole race, coming in just behind at 11:45.02 to claim 9th place.
From the moment the gun went off, to the moment they crossed the finish line, it was John Wiser and Easton Rosen leading the 3000m. Wiser came in at an amazing 8:55.87 for 1st place, and Easton at 8:56.75 for 2nd place! Kyle Kenmotsu had an awesome day as well, running a speedy 9:52.43. Issa Fouani ran an impressive 12:12.91, completing the dirty 800-3200 double.
You thought we were done with distance events, Surprise, bonus 5000m! NIRCA All-American Ethan Forsell showed off his distance skills, coming in at an impressive 15:37.54 for 9th place. Adam Gorcyca wasn’t far behind, with his awesome time of 15.59.96.
Relay time! The women’s 4x400m, made up of Ninawa Odicho, Rachel Sakwa, Lucca Bibbey, and Bridget Brokaw smashed last week’s time by 7 seconds to run a 4:20.59 for a 4th-place finish!
On the men’s side, we had 4 fabulous 4x400m teams. The first team, made up of Tyler Klein, John Burns, Luke Nelson, and Thomas Harmon ran an incredible race, coming in at 3:30.64 to claim 4th place overall. The next team of James Stanley, Easton Rosen, Simon Hildy, and Dakota Amar had a speedy start to their Saturday, running a 3:39.34 for a 7th-place finish. Right on their tails was the third team of Henry Hornbrook, Koen Brown, Matas Carmichael, and Antony Rizk, coming in at 3:43.63 for a 10th-place finish. Last, but certainly not least was the team made up of Carter Bailitz, Nathaniel Lenning, John Bledsoe, and Aidan Markiewicz, coming in at a speedy 4:00.87.
In the women’s high jump, our athletes dominated, with all three coming in for the top 10 finished. Christina Jordan led the group today with an incredible jump of 1.56m (5’ 1”) for a 5th-place finish. Bella Brunke was up next, with an awesome jump of 1.46m (4’ 9”) for a 9th-place finish. Gwen Bottom cemented the dominance with a great jump of 1.41m (4’ 8”) for 10th place.
For the long jump, Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu found herself all alone, but still had an amazing jump of 5.18m (16’ 11”) for a 3rd place finish!
Ben Cooper led the long jump on the men’s side with an impressive jump of 5.73m (18’ 9”). Jacky Lin showed off his jumping abilities with a great jump of 5.11m (16’ 9”). Derrick Stokes rounded out the men’s long jump with an awesome jump of 4.76m (15’ 7”)
In the triple jump, Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu was yet again the only female jumper, and yet again had an incredible day, jumping 11.31m (37’ 1”) for 4th place!
On the men’s side, our two competitors were mere inches apart from each other. Carter Bailitz came out on top, with his impressive jump of 11.50m (37’ 9”). Henry Martinez was close behind, with an awesome jump of 11.27m (36’ 11”).
It’s finally thrower time! We may only have had a few throwers, but they were even stronger and mightier in their small numbers. Tiana Foreman had an impressive throw of 8.94m (29’ 4”). Ive Del Real had a similarly awesome throw of 7.84m (25’ 9”). Quinn Rivera beat his through from earlier this season with a 9.33m (30’ 7”)
That just about finishes it up from this meet. We’ll be back this Saturday at the ISU Open at Indiana State University on February 17th. Also make sure to mark your calendars for 2 weeks from now, February 24th for the biggest and best indoor club track meet around, the 15th Annual Illinois Club Relays, we’ll see you there!
Until next time,
I-L-L
Meet Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-NfLVZEHaRZm_TL2dtOoXbGAPP0qeZq0
Meet Results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/532344/results