For the first meet of 2025 we found ourselves in Springfield, Illinois at Illinois College for the Snow Bird Invite on Saturday, 01/25.
The first event on the track was the Men’s 60m Dash which Tyler Klein won in valiant fashion with the only sub 7 second times in both prelims and finals. Winning the finals with a spectacular time of 6.92. Next up was Darryl Boston with a speedy time of 7.55. Tyler West followed close behind with a time of 8.27 and Sean Hudson at 8.43.
The Women’s 60m Dash did not disappoint! Our Hurdles Coach, Ari Afolabi, finished in the top ten with a time of 8.20. Madame President Ninawa Odicho came out strong with an 8.32.
We had a very strong showing from the Women in the 60m Hurdles today. Ari Afolabi took the dub with a very impressive 9.26 in prelims and 9.32 in finals. Making her ITFC debut and qualifying for the finals was Lauren Broome who made a statement by running 10.00 in prelims. Rounding out the squad was High Jump Coach Christina Jordan who ran a 12.11.
Once again, Tyler Klein won a sprinting event (big surprise). With an impressive time of 22.42 he won the 200m Dash! Following suit was yet another Tyler, Tyler Vizgirda with a strong start to his season with a performance of 24.51. Our Head Coach Ryan Fredericks finished next in a time of 25.53. Henry Hornbrook (AKA Hank the Tank) decided to give sprinting a try today and ran the 200 in a 25.94. Rounding out the men’s 200s came Tyler West and Sean Hudson with strong performances who ran 28.39 and 28.53 respectively.
With an impressive 7th place finish, Ninawa Odicho ran the 200 in a time of 27.09. Good friends, Lauren Broome and Nishta Murugan both ran strong 200s and almost went sub 28 with times of 28.12 and 28.37 respectively. In her ITFC debut, Araxi Boghossian ran a good race finishing with a time of 29.02.
Rounding out his sprint double, Henry Hornbrook was our only finisher in the 400m Dash with a time of 55.85.
As expected Ninawa Odicho started her 400m season with a strong 3rd place finish running a time of 1:02.01. Making her ITFC debut in a tough race was Shannon Moser who ran an impressive race finishing in a time of 1:09.76.
Our top finisher in the Men’s 800m Run was Sprints Coach Koen Brown with a time of 2:13.92. He was followed closely behind by Max Boughner who started his season off strong with a time of 2:16.55. Next up was Darryl Boston and Jason Yang who logged times of 2:22.75 and 2:23.15 respectively.
With a 6th place finish in the Women’s 800m Run our Mid-Distance Coach, Ella Chambers, ran the 800m in a time of 2:29.58. Right behind her in 10th was Brooke Silbernagel with a 2:37.10 performance.
Placing 5th in the Men’s Mile was James Stanley who ran a quick race with a time of 4:27.49. Finishing next was Max Maloney who ran the mile in 4:41.92. Close behind him was Zach Coren who finished in 4:43.78. Next up was our Mid-Distance Coach Antony Rizk with a time of 4:48.75. Walter Chang recorded an impressive time of 4:56.48. Alex Demas ran yet another good time finishing in 5:00.22. Rounding out that distance squad was Nathaniel Lenning who finished in a time of 5:31.04.
With a very impressive performance in an awesome race was our very own Travel Coordinator Bridget Brokaw who placed 3rd in the Women’s Mile with a PR of 5:23.73!
Finishing 4th in the Men’s 3000m run was Easton Rosen with a very speedy time of 9:00.39. Behind him was Albert Szewczyk who finished in 9:18.25. Powering through the tough indoor 3000m, Morgan Frederick and Quinn Born finished with good times of 9:39.42 and 9:44.28 respectively. Finishing it up for us was Alex Demas who recorded a time of 10:14.95.
With a dominant win in the Women’s 3000m, Claire Casiello led the entire race and finished with a very quick time of 10:59.79! Running with her was Anna Zlatic who ran a strong race in 11:54.80.
With two teams in the Men’s DMR ITFC had a strong showing with the Braden Cardamone, Easton Rosen, Ethan Forsell, and Simon Hildy team coming in second with a time of 10:55.28. In 4th was the Walter Cheng, Albert Szewczyk, Morgan Frederick, and Max Boughner team who finished in 11:19.53.
Men’s Shot Put saw some very strong performances. Leading our group was Quinn Rivara with a throw of 9.14m. Closely behind him was Sean Hudson with a toss of 8.70m. Rounding out the group was Hayden Lewis with a heave of 8.31m.
Women’s Shot Put was led off with an impressive performance by Mia Howard with a big throw of 9.91m. She was followed by Throws Coach Ivy Del Real who had a strong showing with a throw of 7.56m. Making her ITFC debut, Patricia Richards had a very respectable toss of 7.04m.
Women’s High Jump did not disappoint with two top ten performances. In 6th place was Gwen Bottom with a jump of 1.45m. And in 9th was our Long Jump Coach Bella Brunke with an impressive jump of 1.40m.
With a 5th place finish in the Men’s 4x400m Relay, Simon Hildy, James Stanley, Antony Rizk, and Max Maloney recorded a strong time of 3:39.36. Right behind them was a strong squad of Ryan Fredericks, Tyler Vizgirda, Zach Coren, and Koen Brown who ran a time of 3:48.09.
With two top 5 finishes our Women’s 4x400m Relays were dominant. In 3rd, Ninawa Odicho, Araxi Boghossian, Nishta Murugan, and Shannon Moser ran a fast 4:26.84. And in 5th, Bridget Brokaw, Anna Zlatic, Claire Casiello, and Brooke Silbernagel logged a speedy 4:27.58.
All of our athletes started off the year strong at this meet whether they set a new PR or shook off all that rust from a cold winter break. We’re ready for our next meet in two weeks!