The UChicago Phoenix Invitational was another standout weekend for the Illinois Track Club, with the team finding plenty of success against a tough field. Austin Eckels led the charge with a huge performance in the 400m, taking 1st place in 51.22, and he backed that up with a strong 4th place finish in the 60m at 7.02. Andy Wu also had a busy day in the sprints, hitting 7.22 for 12th in the 60m and a fast 23.22 for 6th in the 200m, followed by Lance Moore who clocked 7.44 and 24.582 in the same events.
The women’s sprint and hurdle group was equally productive. Hailey Liu snagged 2nd place in the 60mH in 9.86, while Christina Jordan was right behind her in 3rd at 10.02. Lyla Repscher took 5th in the 60m (8.23) and 8th in the 200m (27.88), with Arainna Hammons finishing 10th (8.54) and 12th (28.83) across those two dashes. The 200m field also included Lucca Bibbey in 10th (28.64) and Annalie Giang in 28th (37.26), while the men’s side saw Morgan Frederick hit 28.34 and Tyler West cross in 30.22. Yelim Na rounded out the 60m crew with a 9.25.
In the longer sprints and middle-distance races, Lucca Bibbey took 3rd in the 400m with a 1:03.36, followed by Annalie Giang in 1:24.33, while Koen Brown took 9th for the men in 55.00 and Jose Ocequeda Zuniga finished in 1:03.19. The 800m was packed with ITC jerseys; Fatima Siddiqui led the women in 10th (2:25.43), followed by Laney Bullivant (2:41.24), Madeline Rakoci (2:50.13), Samantha Anderson (2:51.68), Annika Luthe (2:52.61), and Jennifer Ruiz (2:53.47). For the men, Simon Hildy grabbed 6th in a quick 1:58.67, with Max Boughner (2:05.96), Walter Chang (2:09.33), Esteban Medina (2:11.15), and John Bledsoe (2:11.54) all putting in solid work.
The distance crew turned in some impressive times as well. Lenny Sterritt finished 8th in the Mile (5:25.54), followed by a deep group including Fatima Siddiqui (5:45.24), Samantha Anderson (6:01.89), Annika Luthe (6:05.75), Jennifer Ruiz (6:16.343), and Lia Tondeva (6:29.20). The men’s Mile featured Walter Chang (4:40.80), Max Maloney (4:47.21), Keith Solberg (4:58.94), Gabriel Inciosa (4:59.14), Alan Gu (5:04.76), Morgan Frederick (5:06.04), Ryland O’Hanlon (5:07.50), and Robert Henkiel (6:23.33). In the 3000m, Percy Moser cruised to 4th place in 8:53.10, with Albert Szewczyk in 6th (9:02.36), Keith Solberg in 13th (9:36.38), and Lia Tondeva finishing in 12:43.28.
Field events provided even more highlights. Christina Jordan took 2nd in the High Jump with a 1.58m clearance, while Bella Brunke (1.43m) and Gwen Bottom (1.38m) followed. Nelson Heck cleared 1.77m for 5th in the High Jump and also took 7th in the Long Jump with a mark of 6.24m. Hailey Liu placed 7th in the Long Jump (4.86m) and put up a mark of 10.98m in the Triple Jump, while Bella Brunke (4.63m), Yelim Na (4.31m), Braiden Matthiesen (5.05m and 9.85m in the TJ), and Shailen Zimmermann (4.74m) all competed well in the jumps. In the Shot Put, Georgios Avdis took 7th (11.70m) and Aaron Murray 8th (11.73m), joined by Hayden Lewis (9.00m), Patricia Richards (9.12m), and Ivy Del Real (7.21m).
To end the day, the relays kept the energy high. The Women’s 4x400m A team finished 5th in 4:51.65, with Lenny Sterritt leading off in 1:05.377. The Men’s 4x400m A team of Simon Hildy (55.075), Koen Brown (55.91), Max Maloney (54.612), and Esteban Medina (1:02.85) took 6th in 3:48.45. Finally, the Men’s 4x400m B team took 7th in 3:59.01, featuring Robert Henkel (1:02.171), Morgan Frederick (1:02.996), John Bledsoe (57.406), and Max Boughner (56.438).