Happy April!
Welcome back to our second meet of the outdoor season. This also marks a very special occasion, we’re only 1 week out until NIRCA Nationals in Virginia! Before we get to that, however, let’s celebrate all the great performances that occurred at the Big Blue Classic at Eastern Illinois University on Saturday, March 29th. Let’s get into it!
As always, we’ll start things off with the women’s 100m dash. Ari Afolabi led off the day with a speedy time of 12.76, earning her an incredible 8th-place finish overall. Brooke Bouwens was close behind her teammate, coming in with a great time of 13.04. Christina Jordan and Lucca Bibbey had a great day and came in right after one another, running 13.84 and 14.24 respectively. Sumin Cho closed out the event with an awesome performance of 14.46.
On the men’s side, Michael VanHootegem led the pack, running a great time of 11.51 to come in 10th place overall. Our other 3 athletes had similarly awesome performances, and all ended up finishing within 0.4 seconds of each other. Adam Adil led the group with his fast time of 11.85, Ryan Fredericks was close behind with a quick 12.20, and Anthony Stewart closed it out with a speedy time of 12.26
Adding some hurdles to the mix, in the 100m hurdles, it was again a story of Ari Afolabi’s total domination, with her amazing time of 15.10 claiming a 6th place overall finish. Her teammates were right behind her the whole race, with Christina Jordan running a 17.05 for 10th place, and Brooke Bouwens just milliseconds behind, running a 17.10 for 11th place!
The men had an extra 10m to deal with in their race, but that didn’t stop them from destroying the competition. Michael VanHootegem barely beat out his teammate Ben Cooper by 1 millisecond, running a 15.92 to claim 7th place, beating out Ben’s 15.93, earning him 8th place.
For the 400, we had only two competitors, but they stuck together and provided fierce competition. Lucca Bibbey and Rachel Sakwa finished just milliseconds apart, with Lucca’s time of 1:03.84 earning her 7th place, and Rachel’s time of 1:03.98 earning her 8th place overall.
In the men’s 400m, it was time for the mid-distance runners to shine, led by Thomas Harmon, whose incredible time of 50.28 earned him an 8th-place finish. Tyler Vizgirda was close behind, with his time of 51.30. Ryan Fredericks used his Mid-Distance expertise to narrowly beat out John Burns, running a 52.64 to edge out John’s 52.99. Luke Nelson wasn’t far behind with his speedy time of 53.96, and Issa Fouani wrapped us up with his great time of 1:12.39.
As a bonus of outdoor track, we get to enjoy a second hurdles event in the 400m hurdles! Today it was all Matas Carmichael, whose awesome time of 1:05.68 earned him a 10th-place finish!
We may have had only 2 women brave enough to compete in the 800m, but that didn’t stop them from having stellar races. Bridget Brokaw led from the start, running a speedy 2:22.34 to claim 3rd place overall. Brooke Silbernagel was close behind, coming in just seconds behind for a time of 2:27.42 to claim 6th place!
It was a similar story on the men’s side, where our 2 athletes also went out and crushed the competition. Freshman sensation Dakota Amar ran a speedy 2:04.16 to claim a 6th-place finish, just barely beating out Henry Hornbrook, who ran an awesome 2:06.26 to claim 7th place.
In the 1500m, Bridget Brokaw was the lone wolf, going out and running an awesome race with a time of 5:11.14.
In another installment of the East Coast showdown, James Stanley once again came out on top, with his incredible time of 4:03.01 to earn 7th place overall. Percy Moser didn’t let James get too far ahead, coming in close behind with his time of 4:03.72 for 10th place overall. Issa Fouani had a similarly great run, running a 5:19.77.
Outdoor finally marks the return of the spectator’s favorite event, the 3000m steeple chase. 2 women took on the challenge and crushed the competition. Suhani Peramanu led and had a great day, running a 13:21.46 to claim 6th place. Lia Tondeva followed close behind her teammate, coming in at 14:39.20 for a 7th-place finish.
Sadly no steeplechase for the men, but we still get to enjoy our distance dominance in the form of the 5000m. Today was all about future distance coach Ethan Forsell, whose time of 15:20.40 earned him a well-fought 10th place. Adam Gorcyca didn’t let Ethan out of his sight, coming in close behind with a time of 15:31.88. Gabe Inojosa was able to sprint at the end to narrowly squeeze under the 17-minute barrier, running a 16:57.38.
Closing it out for us was our awesome 4x400m relay team, who fought against the fierce competition to run a 4:02.75 for a 4th place finish overall.
That about sums it all up!
Make sure to tune in next weekend for the most exciting meet in outdoor track and field, the NIRCA Spring Track and Field National Championship at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia on April 6th-7th. We’re expecting a tough fight, but are hoping to continue the winning streak for the women’s team and steal a surprise victory on the men’s side. For up-to-date information, follow along on our Instagram!
Until next time,
I-L-L
Meet Results: https://il.milesplit.com/meets/610325-eastern-illinois-big-blue-classic-2024/teams/51982