On Friday, April the 23rd, the running Illini traveled once again to Millikin University for the Big Blue Open. This meet had a 3:00 start time, providing our team with the opportunity to run under the light!
Field Events:
In the throws, we had two lone competitors on both the men’s and women’s sides. For the men, Senior Shantanu Amin held it down in the shot-put throwing 6.51 meters, which earned him a top 20 finish. For the women, Jenna Homan made it look too easy again. In the discus, she threw 28.43 meters and in the shot she threw 8.25 meters, capping off a legendary season for her.
In the jumps we had a group of strong ITFC record-holders take to the sky. In the high jump, our indoor record-holder Nick Hartmann jumped a 1.83m which was good enough for yet another top-10 finish for him. Veteran Jad Karajeh, our indoor triple jump record holder, took on the event outdoors and also got himself a top-10 finish on the day. Jad’s best jump was 12.26m.
Track Events:
The men’s 4×100 meter relay squads were the first ones to take the track for IFTC. The “A” team consisting of Adam Adil, Jimmy Hoffman, Andy Marszewski, and Jalen Frazier started off the meet with a bang, finishing the race in a time of 43.58 and a top 3 finish. The “B” squad also brought their A-game to the track. The team consisting of Matthew Steele, Andre Elis, Mason Rosenberg, and Shantanu Amin claimed 5th in the event and dropped a time of 51.68.
Switching gears here we shift our focus to the 1500 meter run. The women were up first and they certainly did not disappoint. The first to cross the line for the Illini women was Maggie Abbs. Maggie crossed the tape in a blazing fast time of 5:09.59. In heat two Katherine Vande Pol also took care of business, Kat ran a time of 5:15.02 taking first in her heat. Following up behind her was Clare Oehler running a strong time of 5:23.21. In heat 3 we had yet another heat winner in Angela Wu who ran a time of 5:43.19. Lauren Bartels followed close behind running a time of 5:59.90, smashing the 6-minute barrier. Closing out the event the right way on the women’s side was Natalie Maguire, running a time of 6:25.68. The cohort of 9 men’s distance boys looked to have some success of their own in the event. In heat 1 Distance coach and ITFC legend, Josh Mollway had himself a day taking second overall in the event, crossing the tape in a time of 3:58.09 breaking the 4-minute barrier with room to spare. The next 3 finishers for the Illini battled it out with one another. The trio of Secretary Spencer Nelson, Home Meet Coordinator Cade Baker, and mid-d guru Norb Nieves finished 10-13 in the event keeping things close by running 4:21.45, 4:21.77, and 4:21.85 respectively. Jason Palafox finished up strong for the orange and blue in the heat running a time of 4:28.19. In heat 3 Anthony Rizk was our next finisher in the event running a time of 4:38.92, taking second in his heat. We had two more men in the event break the 5-minute barrier for the Illini. Isaac Schifferer was our next finisher in the event running a time of 4:56.10. Finishing right behind him was Jacob Rubin who ran a great time of 4:58.20. Rounding out a more than a successful day in the 1500 was Gabe Benson who ran a time of 5:21.46.
Our next event on the track was the 400-meter dash. President Ciara Ward led the way on the lady’s side of the event, running a time of 1:07.16, more than good enough for first in her heat. Finishing up behind her was yet another strong member of the sprints squad in Rachel Sakwa running a time of 1:08.84. Zoe Jacquat was our sole lady in heat 3 and she showed out running a time of 1:15.01. The men also had three entries in the field who came to play. Mason Rosenberg’s comeback tour continued as he was our first to the finish running a time of 53.65. Another ITFC legend Beau Barber finished not far behind, running a time of 57.38. Finishing out the event for the Illini was Ethan Light who ran a speedy time of 58.43.
Staying with the shorter distance events we had the 100m dash. On the lady’s side, the versatile Katherine Vande Pol who started the day in the 1500, was first for the Illini women running a time of 13.37. A leader within the sprints squad Maria Becerra was the next to cross the line, finishing in a speedy time of 14.41. On the men’s side of the event, we saw a more than close finish for the Illini. In heat one, the duo of Jalen Frazier and Adam Adil tied, as the two ran an identical time of 11.15. Sprints coach Andy Marszewkski rounded out the heat running a speedy time of 11.28. In the next heat Senior Andre Elis Jr took care of business as our lone runner in orange and blue in the heat running a time of 11.83. In the following heat, veteran Matthew Steele also took care of business on his own running a quick 12.79. In the last heat of the day, Sandin Cuturic took second in the heat running a time of 12.73. Veteran Shantanu Amin continued his busy day running a time of 16.07.
Lengthening things up here we move onto the mid-d favorite 800m run. Our fastest finisher of the day on the women’s side was Wilma Rishko who took second overall in her heat running a 2:38.79. Our next two finishers came from heat one. Veteran Mikeelie Jensen finished in a swift time 2:39.17, good for yet another top 10 finish overall for the Illini. Our next finisher was MaryBeth Feeley who ran a time of 2:40.19. Grace McDonough was our next finisher out of heat two, the senior ran an impressive time of 2:49.80. Rounding out the event for the Illini was Emily Kamuth who closed out the event for the ladies running a 2:54.40. In heat one of the men’s 800, it was all orange and blue. Finishing second overall in the event was Jaden Thompson who ran an amazing time of 1:55.08, good for 2nd overall in the event. Jeffrey Hesselbein finished not too far off in a time of 2:02.51, finishing 5th overall in the event. Henry Hornbrook also had himself a day, finishing in a time of 2:08.24. In heat two Gabe Benson was our lone wolf in the heat, which seemed to be no problem at all as he finished in a time of 2:36.26.
Under the lights came the 400m hurdles. Derrick Stokes crushed it as our sole competitor in the event running a time of 1:05.50 for a top 15 finishes overall.
More sprinters made their way back onto the track for the 200m dash. On the lady’s side, MaryBeth Feeley continued a successful day as she ran a time of 29.28. Maria Becerra also had yet another good showing on the track as she finished up next in a time of 29.30. The men looked to put up numbers of their own in the event. Adam Adil led the way for the sprints boys running a 22.95 while taking 5th overall. In the heat prior, Jalen Frazier and Jimmy Hoffman duked it out running a 23.01 and 23.18 respectively. Finishing not far off in heat one was Andy Marszewski running another sub 24 time for the Illini, finishing in a time 23.43. Veteran Mason Rosenberg finished up next running a time of 24.02. Rounding out the event for the Illini was Andre Elis Jr. who ran a speedy time of 24.70.
Going the distance here we have the 5000m run. On the lady’s side, Grace Gudwein has been bringing it every single meet in this event and capped off the season by running a 19:18.92 and was the event champion in the event. On the men’s side Travel Coordinator Justin Ostrem was the first runner in orange and blue to reach the tape in a time of 16:19.86. Finishing next was Connor Farrell in a time of 16:31.26. The duo of Ostrem and Farrell both finished within the top 10 overall.
In the last track event of the day, we have the iconic 4x400m relay. The women were up in the event and each of our lady’s squads was in heat one. The “A” squad quartet of Katherine Vande Pol, Maggie Abbs, Rachel Sakwa, and Ciara Ward ran a time of 4:28.43 and placed 4th overall. The “B” squad consisting of Clare Oehler, Angela Wu, Wilma Rishko, and Grace Gudwein also had a strong finish to the day, placing 7th overall with a 5:01.22 finishing time. The “C” squad consisting of Natalie Maguire, Grace McDonough, Lauren Bartels, and Emily Karnuth also showed out for their last event of the day running a time of 5:21.96, more than good enough for 8th place. The men also had quite a few teams in the field. In heat one there was a heated battle between the “A” team consisting of sprinters: Jimmy Hoffman, Adam Adil, Andy Marszewski, and Jalen Frazier, and the “B” squad consisting of a mix of sprinters and distance runners: Josh Mollway, Henry Hornbrook, Jeffrey Hesselbein, and Derrick Stokes. The “A” squad came out on top this go-round running a time of 3:37.86. The “B” team finished up right behind them running a time of 3:38.55. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we had two more entries in the event as the “C” and “D” squads took on heat 2. The “C” squad of Cade Baker, Spencer Nelson, Beau Barber, and Cody Lund kept things quick by running a time of 3:49.04. The “D” squad of Norb Nieves, Ethan Light, Jason Palafox, and Jacob Rubin finished strong as they came together to run a speedy time of 3:57.21 and brought this meet and season to a close.
This meet brought to an end one of, if not the most unique seasons in program history. Thank you to the board and each of you for supporting and making this all possible. As we move into the new normal way of life, we want to be able to get as many of our student-athletes back running, jumping, and throwing.
Official Results: https://results.shazamracing.com/meets/8752
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