The IC Hilltop Invitational was another showcase of high-caliber performances from the Illinois Track Club, particularly in the relay and distance events. The meet kicked off with a strong podium showing in the Distance Medley Relays, as the women’s squad featuring Samantha Anderson, Annika Luthe, Anna Zlatic, and Fatima Siddiqui secured 2nd place in 14:42.25. On the men’s side, the DMR team of Morgan Frederick, Aidan Markiewicz, Koen Brown, and Albert Szewczyk locked in 3rd place with a time of 11:35.76.
The sprint group kept the momentum going in the short dashes and hurdles. Austin Eckels continued his dominant season by taking 1st place in the 200m with a time of 22.49. In the 60m, Andy Wu led the way for the men in 17th (7.29), followed by Dante Restelli (7.409), Lance Moore (7.463), and Eah Becker (7.731). For the women, Lyla Repscher finished 14th in the 60m (8.46) and put up an impressive 7th place finish in the 200m (28.17). She was joined in the 200m by Lucca Bibbey (28.76) and Meghan Pierce (34.52). Over the hurdles, Hailey Liu took 6th in the 60mH (10.2) and Taylor Watson finished 9th (10.43).
The middle-distance and long-sprint events saw significant depth across the board. In the 400m, Carly Coxworth led the ITC women with a 1:02.97, followed by Lucca Bibbey (1:03.87), Shannon Moser (1:10.25), and Annalie Giang (1:24.24). The men’s 400m featured Koen Brown (57.237) and Steve Lin (1:00.8). The 800m runners also turned in gritty performances, including Jennifer Ruiz (2:49.46), Jocelyn Cielo-Grande (3:07.38), Braden Cardamone (2:04.87), Cole Payne (2:08.77), Alex Demas (2:14.07), and Morgan Frederick (2:15.002).
Distance fans were treated to several heats of the Mile, where Jeremy Perez led the club with a time of 4:35.66. The men’s field was deep with Jensen Bidmead (4:38.14), Walter Chang (4:40.53), Keith Solberg (4:51.36), Alex Demas (4:53.41), Alan Gu (5:10.77), Ryland O’Hanlon (5:13.57), and Aidan Markiewicz (5:35.58). For the women, Jennifer Ruiz clocked a 6:09.32 and Jocelyn Cielo-Grande finished in 6:24.45.
The meet concluded with high-energy performances in the 4x400m and the 4x200m relays. The Men’s 4x200m A team—composed of Andy Wu, Austin Eckels, Mikhail Blinnik, and Dante Restelli—stormed to a 2nd place finish in 1:33.89. The B team of Tyler Vizgirda, Koen Brown, Carter Bailitz, and Andrew McLaughlan also performed well, taking 4th place in 1:38.01. Finally, the Men’s 4x400m A team secured 6th place in 3:41.14, featuring splits from Tyler Vizgirda (56.94), Koen Brown (56.11), Braden Cardamone (53.96), and Austin Eckels (54.14).