As the 2026 Club Relays Champions this was a massive home-turf showcase for the Illinois Track Club, and the team certainly didn’t disappoint the fans. Austin Eckels continued his tear through the season, securing 2nd place in the 60m with a blazing 6.94 and adding a 3rd place finish in the 200m at 22.45. The men’s sprint depth was on full display as Josh Hunt took 7th in the 60m (7.14), followed closely by Andy Wu in 8th (7.15), Lance Moore in 21st (7.29), Tyler Vizgirda in 30th (7.44), Dante Restelli in 32nd (7.46), Mikhail Blinnik in 38th (7.61), and Andrew McLauchlan in 47th (7.78). On the women’s side, Lauren Broome led the charge with a 3rd place finish in the 60m (8.13), while Lyla Repscher took 5th (8.27), Arainna Hammons finished 12th (8.63), Lenny Sterritt took 20th (8.9), Yelim Na took 29th (9.03), and Claire-Michelle Sweet finished 30th (9.21).
The 200m was equally packed with orange and blue jerseys. For the women, Makayla Murrell snagged 8th place in 27.05, followed by Lauren Broome in 10th (27.18), Lyla Repscher in 16th (28.09), Arainna Hammons in 19th (28.48), Lucca Bibbey in 21st (28.53), Nishta Murugan in 24th (28.79), and Claire-Michelle Sweet in 34th (31.11). The men’s field saw Dante Restelli clock a 23.95, Mikhail Blinnik a 24.15, Tyler Vizgirda a 24.18, Andrew McLauchlan a 25.04, and Shailen Zimmerman a 25.46. In the 400m, Darryl Boston Jr. cracked the top ten with a 9th place finish in 53.30, while Koen Brown (54.26) and Dante Restelli (54.91) also put up strong times. Carly Coxworth led the women’s 400m in 1:03.58, followed by Lucca Bibbey (1:04.22), Nishta Murugan (1:05.42), and Shannon Moser (1:09.11).
The distance crew showed off their range in the 800m and Mile. Thomas Harmon took 14th in the 800m with a 1:59.07, followed by James Stanley (2:03.88), Jeremy Perez (2:04.14), Blake Salbilla (2:04.76), Braden Cardamone (2:06.33), Cole Payne (2:14.39), and Morgan Frederick (2:14.65). For the women, Lenny Sterritt finished 12th in 2:30.27, joined by Samantha Anderson (2:47.38), Jennifer Ruiz (2:48.51), and Madeline Rakoci (2:49.03). In the Mile, Simon Hildy put up a great 4:25.59 to take 10th, while Ethan Forsell (4:28.17), James Stanley (4:32.48), Jeremy Perez (4:33.45), Thomas Harmon (4:33.67), Jensen Bidmead (4:40.85), Keith Solberg (4:54.02), and Gabriel Inciosa (4:55.33) all battled through. Fatima Siddiqui took 12th in the women’s Mile with a 5:31.06, followed by Evelyn Rowan (5:34.50), Samantha Anderson (5:54.40), Jennifer Ruiz (6:08.76), and Lia Tondeva (6:26.54). Max Henige closed out the distance track events with a 15:37.38 in the 5000m to take 4th place.
The hurdles and jumps were a goldmine for the club. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu dominated the 60mH, taking 1st place in 9.01, while Hailey Liu took 6th (9.75), Christina Jordan 7th (9.93), and Taylor Watson 11th (10.51). For the men, Max Henige grabbed 5th in 8.92, with Matthew Uthayopas in 6th (8.93), Ethan Hung in 11th (9.34), and Ciaran Wall in 14th (10.02). In the High Jump, Christina Jordan cleared 1.52m for 2nd place, while Gwen Bottom (1.42m) and Anna Zlatic (1.32m) also scored. Nelson Heck and Rylan Mui both cleared 1.86m to take 1st and 3rd for the men, with Jack Tolentino (1.71m), Shailen Zimmerman (1.53m), and Braiden Matthiesen (1.44m) adding depth. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu won the Long Jump with a 5.17m leap, followed by Hailey Liu in 4th (4.78m), Bella Brunke in 5th (4.74m), Taylor Watson in 8th (4.60m), Yelim Na (4.32m), and Gwen Bottom (3.05m). The men’s Long Jump saw Rylan Mui take 2nd (6.35m), Nelson Heck 3rd (6.33m), Ciaran Wall 8th (5.91m), Andrew McLauchlan (5.56m), and Lance Moore (5.45m). Hailey Liu also claimed 1st place in the Triple Jump (11.02m), with Taylor Watson in 2nd (9.75m) and Shailen Zimmerman in 7th (11.63m) for the men.
Finally, the throwers showing out with Josh Hunt(12.68), Georgios Avdis (10.01), Aaron Murray (10.96m), Keith Solberg ( 9.28), Hayden Lewis (8.67m), and Evan Lin (8.24). Joined by Mia Howard (9.90), Patricia Richards (9.41m), Ivy Del Real (7.44), and Anoosheh Azeem (7.16).
Over in the relays, the Women’s 4x200m A team (Lauren Broome, Bella Brunke, Nishta Murugan, and Makayla Murrell) took 1st place in 1:50.06. The Men’s 4x200m A team (Andy Wu, Austin Eckels, Darryl Boston Jr, and Matthew Uthayopas) also secured 1st place in 1:33.15, while the B team (Tyler Vizgirda, Mikhail Blinnik, Carter Bailitz, and Andrew McLauchlan) took 3rd in 1:36.56. The meet ended with the 4x400m, where the women’s A team took 2nd (4:23.59) and the men’s A team (Austin Eckels, Darryl Boston Jr, Thomas Harmon, and Koen Brown) took 3rd in 3:32.40.