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What’s up IXC Fans! It’s Championship season, Nationals is this week, but before we talk about that, we need to talk about Regionals! We were fortunate enough to host it at our home course, the legendary Arboretum, hill and all. Before we talk about our runners, we need to shout out our Home Meet Coordinator, Mikey Smart, who worked harder than anyone else to put this race together and sort out the last-minute problems and challenges with running a totally new course. The 6k ended up being short, and the 8k ended up being long, but between the two the correct distance was run. Overall, both the Men and the Women’s teams took second place and qualified for Nationals, see you in Shelbyville! 

First up for the women was freshman Joy Dudley, running for second place overall with a 22:27. Senior star Diane Makovic came in right behind Joy with a 22:38 for third overall! Third for our own women was Suhani Peramanu, who felt good and enjoyed the race running 23:48.  Carlin Hass battled her opponents in the last few meters to run 23:55! Emma Bergmann made her IXC season debut, smiling her way to 23:58! Claire Caisello came through in 24:05 with more in the tank, watch out for her at Nationals! Bridget Brokaw finished strong with 24:36! Noel Brindise, wise beyond her years, ran 24:53! Anna Jablonski ran 25:13 on a hilly course, but her pace was consistent with what she had been running on flat courses! Sophia Stierwalt and Annika Luthe ran 25:46 and 26:12 respectively, sticking together as a freshman duo throughout the tough middle miles. Lia Tondeva was close behind in 26:25! Alyson Ficca ran her first race of the season after coming off an injury, she felt no pain and ran 26:29! Erin Minor kicked hard at the end to pass a competitor, running 27:23! Moira McKee ran 28:09 and was smiling throughout! Reiss Christensen came through the finish grinning, running 29:24 and running a 60+ second PR (even adjusted for the short course)! Jennifer Ruiz ran strong with a 30:24! Kathleen Keough ran a solid 31:15 and looked strong on the hills! Anna Winnicki got through the line in 32:23! And last but certainly not least were sisters Elizabeth and Allison Kokal, who competed with each other to the line, running 33:09 and 33:20!

And now onto the men’s race! The course was a bit long (about 0.3 miles long, in fact), so take the times with a grain of salt. Ethan Forsell was first up with 27:37! Percy Moser. Charismatic as always, was second with 27:54. Our wonderful coach John Wiser came in at 28:09, he didn’t let the long course phase him. Adam Gorcyca came up with a 28:10, a proud win for pizzaheads all around. Easton Rosen was up next, running 28:13 and smiling for the camera whenever he passed by! Kavin Prashaad earned the “most photogenic runner” award, he managed to look smooth in every photo taken of him finishing in 28:19. Spencer Nelson showed that he’s not ready to retire just yet, running 28:22! James Stanley was up next, running 28:42 after a few days off due to illness. Freshman Alex Herrera was behind James, with a 28:51. 15hunna, (also known by his government name Nolan Enright), got across the line in 28:58. Track webmaster Adam Lupatkin was up next in 29:35, a strong run for an already strong season! 800m specialist Thomas Harmon came through at 29:40! Braden Cardamone felt great running a 30:34, opening with the smoothest 5:40 of his life. Aidan Markiewicz worked well with Braden, running 30:34.01. Future Clubhaus member Brendan Graven ran a 30:42, PRing through 5 miles! Andres Lopez ran a 31:12 having the goal of breaking 30:00 in the 8k, that definitely happened through 5 miles! Miles Maloney was close behind with a 31:15. Spencer Kinsey had a great race running 31:32 on a long course, his workouts have been better and better so keep an eye out for him at Nationals! Kyle Kenmotsu came out to show out, running 31:38! Lukas Tichota had a great run, running 32:02 for his last race this season, and looking forward to track! We’ll miss you at Nationals! President Cadyn Grafton wanted to run about 6:0X pace, and he accomplished that with a 32:15! Treasurer Quinn Born was right behind Cadyn running 32:16, a strong showing for the D-CHI duo. Aidan Farrel ran a 34:43, a strong season PR through 8k! Henry Hornbrook rocked a Burger King crown and came through in 35:25! Andrew Stevenson, smiling for the camera, ran 35:32! Jose Oceguenda-Zuniga looked great running a 35:49! Gabe Benson had a great season best, running 36:12 and going under 35 through 8k! And last but not least was mid distance recruit Denver Soekawan with a 40:12!

Despite the dubious course lengths, folks were still pleased at their efforts, and spirits were high as this was our home course. Nationals is just around the corner, the course is fast, and the hay is in the barn, so stay tuned for some speedy results this weekend!

Photos Link!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P1BRjYCkkQUcYW9B8

Results Link!

https://clubrunning.org/races/race_results.php?race=1124

Back-to-back writeups?!? I suppose I owe it to everyone after taking so long to do them! Let’s talk about Augustana!

Augustana is one of the classics in the IXC racing lineup: it is a flat, perfectly groomed golf course, with great footing, great weather, great competition (our only NCAA meet this season!), and fast times. Colloquially known as the “Detweiller – equivalent” course in our season, this race gives you everything you need to PR. Unfortunately, it was hot. Really hot. 92 degrees and sunny for crying out loud! On the last day of September! And while normally the fact that the course is a golf course means we run fast today it meant there was no shade. In summary, all I’m saying is that if you ran slower than you were hoping, or you’re confusedly looking at the times knowing what they’ve been in the past, just know this was definitely more of a race where how we competed mattered more than times. AND COMPETE WE DID! Let’s get into it!

Augustana runs the men’s race first, so let’s start with them! The men did a tremendous job in adverse conditions, taking second overall to North Central College, the powerhouse DIII school. First up was our resident marathoner Will Gravelle, who typically runs this meet to sharpen his legs up for the Chicago Marathon the following week. Just because he’s a marathoner doesn’t mean he can’t compete in an 8k though, as he took third overall running 26:51.5! Next was Ethan Forsell, running away from the competition and taking sixth overall with 27:11.7. Our third man today was Percy Moser, who fought his way up to Ethan and was with him at mile 4 and ended up taking eighth place with a 27:16. Coming in fourth for our team was Nolan Enright, running a gritty race after seeing his teammate step off and finishing in 28:12.8! Rounding out our scorers this meet was Easton Rosen, happy to have a stress-free race and finishing in 28:30. What some would consider the most important person in a race, our sixth man today was Simon Hildy running a time of 28:57, stepping up when his teammates were hurting! And to finish off our top 7 was Adam Lupatkin, who ran a 29:26.2, a great time on a day when many people were hurting and putting himself in our top 7 for the first time! Next up was Adam Gorcyca, who fought through (I did the math) 97.5% of the race after rolling his ankle in the first 200 meters, he soldiered through in 29:35.3. Next up was freshman Declen Ahern, making his IXC debut running a very respectable time of 30:02.8. Following closely behind Declen was Leyang Zhang (better known as Hawk!) and Sam Lambert running 30:07.8 and 30:15.7 respectively. The next people through the finish were Aidan Markiewicz and Thomas Harmon, who crossed the line in 30:19.3 and 20:21.6. Both may not have run the times they wanted, but it was a great showing of sophomore teamwork to get through together! In a similar boat was James Stanley, getting through in 31:30.6 after stopping multiple times to relieve some stomach pressure. Next in line to get a respite from the heat at the line was Liam Hoeferlin, running 32:00.4 on a tough day. Following him were Quinn Born and Brendan Graven, who have made a habit now of thugging it out together in the middle miles, finishing within a couple of seconds of one another running 32:24.8 and 32:26.9. Following behind was Lukas Tichota, crossing the line in 33:17.8. Wrapping it up for the men’s side was Gabe Benson, who took the hard road of finishing the race in 40:57.0, even after watching people drop out for the previous 30 minutes!

Next up were the women, who after seeing the men’s race were a little nervous but determined to put their best out there! They ended up taking fourth overall and had many great instances of teamwork in adverse conditions. Maybe they didn’t get their time goals, but they got through it and are stronger because of it. Leading the way was Diane Makovic, running 23:42.9 to secure second place overall! Behind Diane was Claire Casiello with a 25:27.9, competing until the very end and bagging eighth place! Suhani Peramanu was up next, she ran a strong 26:37.2 and got sixteenth place! Following closely behind was Carlin Hass, running 26:42.3 to also secure a top 20 finish. Our social coordinator Bridget Brokaw came across the line in 27:32.4 after dropping the competition over the closing mile! Anna Zlatic was our sixth woman today, running 28:49.9! Freshman Sophia Stierwalt rounded out our top 7 today, running 28:53.8. Behind Sophia was Masumi Nehru, completing the 6-kilometer distance in 29:38.0. Lia Tondeva and Annika Luthe were up next, they ran as a pair to get 30:47.8 and 30:56.7 respectively! Moira McKee got through in 31:24.1! London Maxwell was just behind Moria, completing her first 6k with a 31:58.7! Jennifer Ruiz, 33:12.3! Elizabeth Kokal ran a 33:33.8, a PR by a minute!  Reiss Christensen ran her first race this year in 36:16.5! And last but not least was Sophia Bach, who got across the line of her first race in 42:42.4!

Folks let’s face it: the conditions were not ideal. But don’t be discouraged! Temps have dropped and we’ve still got our two most exciting races ahead of us. Catch us at the Arb in two weeks’ time for Regionals!

Results Link!

https://onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=24857

Welcome back IXC fans! Let’s get back to our meet coverage, a lot has happened since the last one! For this writeup, we’ll be covering IXC’s second meet this season, the Wisconsin Border Battle! This was a great meet for many reasons: less hilly than Purdue, it was an overnight meet with teammates, and lots of quick times! Let’s start off with the women!

The women finished third overall in a battle with Wisconsin and Michigan. Fearlessly leading the way was Claire Caisello with a 40-second PR and a time of 24:08.6, also snagging 5th overall. Secondly was Suhani Peramanu with a time of 25:09.9, two minutes faster than the previous meet and already beating her season goal! Coming in third was freshman Carlin Hass, finishing a well-paced race in 25:24.4. Fourth was Anna Jablonski with a time of 26:00.9, using the downhills to her advantage. Rounding out our Top 5 was Anna Zlatic, running a time of 26:20.8 for her first race of the season and also setting a 20-second 6K PR! Our sixth runner was Bridget Brokaw, finishing in the top 20 with a great team race and a time of 26:36.3! Wrapping up our top 7 this time was freshman Masumi Nehru, running a time of 26:54.9 with a strong finish! Coming in eighth for our women was another freshman, Annika Luthe running a new PR of 27:06.8 and enjoying the course much more than her first race! Folks, I just want to take an aside here and point out that we had six of the top 20 spots and 8 of the top 23 spots! Impressive stuff! Next up for the women was freshman Lia Tondeva, running 27:57.8 for her first 6K! After Lia, we had London Maxwell with her second appearance with IXC, and she ran a time of 31:26.1. Following London we had Nora Winters and Elissa Eaton, who had great fun running together, getting times of 32:30.7 and 32:10.5 respectively. Following up was Anna Winnicki, making her season debut in a time of 33:36.8! And last but certainly not least was Allison Kokal, running two minutes faster than last week with a time of 34:31.3!

Next up were the men, who were in a similar position to the women, running a battle for a third-place finish. First up was Ethan Forsell, running a time of 26:23.5 and placing 9th overall! Coming in behind him were Percy Moser, Adam Gorcyca, and John Wiser, all finishing within about ten seconds of one another and running times of 26:35.3, 26:42.4, and 26:46.0. Rounding out our top 5 was Thomas Harmon, coming in at 27:07.8. After Thomas came another trio consisting of Simon Hidly, Kavin Prashaad and Nolan Enright, coming through the finish all within ten seconds of one another with times of 27:21.5, 27:23.2, and 27:29.9. Great pack running! After that was some representation from Illinois School District 204 alumni, with John Burns and freshman Alex Herrera running 28:14.2 and 28:16.7! Liam Hoeferlin stormed through the finish next, running 28:31.6! Our last sub-30 finisher was Aidan Markiewicz, who’s been having a breakthrough season, he ran his second sub-30 performance so far running 29:43.9! And coming in together after a strong race was another group of three, consisting of Quinn Born, Brendan Graven, and Ram Ganesan running 30:49.3, 30:58.3, and 31:03.5! And last but certainly not least was Gabe Benson, making his season debut in 38:18.5!

All in all, we had a much better time this week than the previous race. We saw much faster times, fewer hills, and more teamwork out there! Cross country is absolutely a team sport, and sticking with teammates when it hurts leads to much better performances and better camaraderie overall.

Results Link!

https://my.raceresult.com/260767/?fbclid=IwAR3HiLkrKMWsjc88SFGTF89YEhZCBomBmt719fl_PgnidM4J2PnHA-mq_YU

School is back in session, it’s September, so you know what that means: It’s time for Cross Country! And after months of anticipation from everyone around the world, the Illinois Cross Country Club season has begun with faces new and old. Our itinerary this fall started at the Purdue Boiler Up Invite, hosted by the Boilermakers at their home course. The team fought through some sneaky hills and long bathroom lines to complete their season openers. No matter if it was a rust buster or a PR, everyone deserves recognition for their hard work, which we’ll do here now!

Let’s start off with the women, who fought through tough competition for a third place finish. Leading the way was freshman phenom Joy Dudley who took third overall with a time of 24:03.8! Coming in behind her was Claire Caisello, running a time of 25:15.5 to bag eighth overall and a start to what could be some “shock the world” performances in her future! Following Claire was another “C” name but this time another freshman, Carlin Hass! Carlin was shooting to run between 26 and 27 minutes, but smashed through that goal running a 25:46.7! Next up was Suhani Peramanu who fought through the hills for a PR of 26:27.3! Following Suhani was our stupendous Social Coordinator, Bridget Brokaw! Bridget ran a hard race, but had fun getting to know everyone better! Coming closely behind was Sophia Stierwalt, rocking the swaggy sunglasses and running her 6k debut in 28:26.6! Annika Luthe was across the line next, running a 29:32.8! Following was Erin Minor, dropping a sub-30 performance of 29:50.8! Behind Erin was Moria McKee, running a 30:31.4 for her first 6k! After that was Jennifer Ruiz, who got through her first 6k in 32:51.4! Wrapping it up for the women’s team was Kathleen Keough, running a time of 34:05.7! The team is looking good, and will be fun to watch progress as the season goes on.

After the women’s race came the men, who faced a dominant Purdue team with home course advantage and taking 9 of the top 10 positions. Despite this, our men were able to rally to a decisive second place team finish. Leading the way for our men was yet another freshman phenom, Chinmay Naveen, running a time of 27:31.4 and finishing juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust outside of the Top 10 with an eleventh place finish. Coming in just behind Chinmay was the handsome transfer student Easton Rosen, running a strong 27:34.3 for his season opener. After that, we had John Wiser, Ethan Forsell, Thomas Harmon, Simon Hildy and James Stanley coming in as a squad, running a great team race. Coach John Wiser ran 27:42.8 and is hoping for a quicker time next week at Madison to secure him a Top 7 spot on a rapidly improving team. Ethan Forsell, charismatic as ever, ran a 27:47.8 on a hurting hip whilst chit-chatting the whole way. Thomas Harmon makes his first racing debut after being hospitalized due to his kidneys being haters back in May, running the 8 kilometer distance in 27:50.9. Simon Hildy, reportedly being lured in by Ethan Forsell’s charm, ran a 27:51.7! James Stanley ran the same 27:51.7 as Simon but is listed as a place below him on the results sheet, which is sure to make him fume but he can’t fume too much because his previous PR was in the 31:XX range! Following this group was former IXC Coach Spencer (aka Sponk) Nelson, who let a couple guys slip by but still ran a 27:57.7! Next across the line was Nolan Enright, running a 28:09.4 and who will surely get sub 28 next time around. Following behind Nolan was Adam Lupatkin and Jacob Duzan, two quiet but fierce competitors who ran together to get 28:33.9 and 28:47.3 respectively. Behind them was Gaberiel Inojosa, having a breakout performance and smashing the 30 minute barrier and almost the 29 minute barrier running a 29:11.1! Next up was Newman Hall legend Liam Hoeferlin running a time of 29:17.3! Wrapping up our sub 30 performances was John Burns who ran 29:46.7, not his goal but he’ll rally back and is sure to run faster in the future! Just outside of 30 minutes was Braden Cardamone, who after saying all summer how he will never run a cross race was tricked into making his IXC grass debut running a 30:07.1! Maybe if he had worn the nice crocs he would’ve gotten those last 8 seconds. Behind Braden was Antony Rizk, historically a Mid-D specialist but after getting a taste of GLR decided that he wanted to do cross, and he ran his first 8k in 30:34.5! Next up was Cadyn Grafton, our beloved President running a time of 30:51.9! Following behind him was our terrific Treasurer Quinn Born, who has one more semester before heading down unda’; he ran a time of 31:43.5. Trailing Quinn was the big John, John Bledsoe fighting over the hills for a time of 32:38.7. Following behind John was your wondrous Webmaster Nathaniel Lenning who had a tough race to finish in 34:11.4. Dipping under 35:00 and getting his goal of sub-7 pace was Aidan Farrel, who ran a time of 34:43.9! Behind Aidan was Andrew Stevenson, who ran a “gutsy” finish to get 35:38.4! Coming up next were Denver Soekawan and Ryan Sponzilli, who ran times of 36:24.9 and 36:49.5 respectively. And wrapping it up for the men was Akshay Belapurkar, running his first race in the US and first race EVER in a time of 38:01.3!

While we might’ve been hoping for more, this team is still rapidly improving and great performances were had despite it being a rust buster and a sneakily difficult course. Folks, we’re just getting started, and there will be some fireworks ahead, so stay tuned in because IXC is heating up!

Results Link!

https://clubrunning.org/races/race_results.php?race=1111

Photos Link!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/83vXeg9zv2EqvSHC8

ITFC, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the Nationals writeup! The two-day festival of track and field from the best NIRCA has to offer has finally come and gone, and boy did we have ourselves a weekend! The farthest jumps, longest throws, and fastest times were put down over the course of two days and a number of events! There’s so much to revisit, and I hope you all enjoy the journey of revisiting the great successes of your teammates! Let’s jump right into the action! 

Saturday:

Kicking things off, we have the 100m dash prelims. The women took to the blocks first, setting the tone for what would become a blazing fast weekend. Unsurprisingly, we made up four of the top eight finals spots. Unreal. Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, Da’miyah Morgan, Ari Afolabi and Ninawa Odicho  all secured spots in the next day’s finals by going 1-3-4-7! That’s not all, as we had stellar performances by Ibu Ajifolokun and Isabella Brunke, very close to each other in 13.79 and 13.81 respectively! Arianna Kopecky and Yelim Na also raced very well as a duo within their heat, running times of 14.35 and 14.43! Jazmin Jones-Jackson rounded out our women in 15.24, a great run for all of our women who lit up the track! Soon to follow, the men took to the start line. Tyler Klein and Chris Raymond-Bertrand made the finals, going 2-4 overall to earn a spot in Sunday’s final race! Marcus Scott set the track on fire, dripping under 12 to run 11.93 in his first race of the weekend! Sanyu Kumaran and David Welte-Hart also posted some big times in their dashes with 12.32 and 12.41 finishes! Srinjoy Das got his day started with some sprints before his jumps, with a 12.63 finish! Sandin Cuturic also got his wheels turning for the weekend, starting his nats journey with a 13.21 finish. Finally, Brandon Perruquet dashed across the line to a smooth 13.94 finish! Way to get the weekend started!

The 400mH came next, and Maria Becerra came to throw down in her signature event! Maria posted a lightning-quick 71.01 time to place fifth overall, earning some valuable points for the Illini! Coach shows ‘em how it’s done! Not only did Maria kill it, but so did Bridget Brokaw, jumping into a new event to start off her already busy weekend! Bridget cruised into a top 10 time of 76.33, which is very impressive for this being her first 400mH of the season! The boys came to play too, as Matas Carmichael and Derrick Stokes threw down some hot times of 62.29 and 63.47 respectively! Piotr Biel made his way around the track in a 71.87 finish to round out our 400mH sprinters. You all rocked this event, which in my opinion, is one of the hardest of them all!

Four strong women braved the 5000m, starting with Suhani Peramanu, who ran well in her heat to end in a time of 22:08.18 in her first outdoor 5k! In the next heat, Maddy Feehan ran tough and executed her race well, finishing in a time of 21:21.65! Next up was our sophomore star Claire Casiello, running a huge 19:40.78 to take 6th overall and score some big points for the women! Last, but certainly not least, Diane Makovic ran a beautifully paced race to take 2nd overall with a blazing 18:29.70! That’s 11 points in the 5k alone! What a run from our women’s 5k group! 

The 200m came up next, and our squad from the 100m came back hungry for more. Da’Miyah, Ari, and Ninawa placed once again all in the top 8, earning a spot in the finals the next day, taking up three of the top five spots! Isabella and Lucca ran hard in their races as well, as they finished in fast times of 28.23 and 28.64! Maria, already having herself a day in the 400mH, came back to a quick 28.89 finish in her race! Arianna rounded out our women’s 200m runners to finish in 29.36! The depth of our squad seems to have no limits! 

The men came next, and Tyler had no issues qualifying for the final, as per usual. But big man Nic Soto had himself a big run and PB of 22.97! Speed is on the track today! Adam Adil got out the blocks with some strength, finishing fast to a 23.37 finish! Let’s take time to welcome back Kevin Saju to the track! Kevin got it going in an impressive 23.62 after being out for quite some time. Welcome back, my guy! Ben, Ryan Fredericks, and Matas already raced today, but that didn’t stop them from running quick 200m’s as well, as the three finished in 24.36, 24.43 and 24.49! David also came back from the 1 to the 2, and had himself a nice sprint around the track in 24.70. Nana Osei-Tutu stepped up next, with a solid 25.19 performance. Srinjoy Das and Jon Wallk finished very close together, finishing in 25.84 and 26.05! And our final two for the 2, Sandin and Brandon, cruised home to quick finishes in 27.09 and 26.69! 

It sounds to me like it’s time for a relay! The 4x800m proved to be a tough challenge with some stacked teams, but our 800m teams showed out and ran well! Our women’s team, composed of Bridget Brokaw, Evelyn Rowan, Rachel Sakwa, and Kaleigh Barnett, ran a great race together to score some big points for the women, taking 7th place in a time of 10:51.85! Shoutouts are in order to Rachel and Kaleigh, who stepped up bigtime to run a great race in an unfamiliar event this season! We couldn’t have done it without you! In the men’s race, the lead traded back and forth, with crazy runs from Thomas Harmon, Henry Hornbrook, John Wiser and John Burns, with the boys fighting hard for a second place finish AND new club record in 7:50.26! Wow, what a race! Our B team held their own as well, with Norb Nieves, Ryan Fredericks, Trevor Glancy, and Michael Rizk rounding out the top 8 in 8:34.27! Our C team of Adam Lupatkin, John Bledsoe, Jose Ocegueda Zuniga, and Salvador Madera, had a great run together to cross the line in 9:39.32! Great relays and amazing effort from everyone!

Heading back to the individual races, the first set of our men’s 5000m runners got ready to roll. Denmark native Anders Mortensen had himself a great race on a hot day, crossing the line at 17:59.90 for a great sub-18 performance! Anders, we will miss you! Leyang Zhang, better known as Hawk, put together a nice performance in the next heat, running a nice PR of 17:04.92! We got a few more boys that’ll race tomorrow in the fast heat, but great job to our first duo of 5k runners!

The 400m is sure to turn some heads, and before we break into the men and women, let’s first acknowledge that Tyler and Ninawa won the open 400m, so get the brooms out for the absolute sweep across the one-lap sprint! Ninawa ran a blistering 60.15 to win, and Tyler, from the slow heat, ran a 48.74 all on his own. Incredible. Also scoring some huge points for us was Lucca Bibbey, grabbing 7th place with a fast 63.41 finish! Arianna had herself a great run, with a finishing time of 68.23! Awesome run! Finally Reiss Christensen, back from injury, had a great run across the track to finish in 78.68. Glad you’re back, Reiss! Back to the men, not only did we get first, but also second, as Chris shot out of the blocks like a cannon to take second place in 49.90! Only three athletes broke the 50 second barrier, and two of those were Illini! Nic also improved from last meet to run 51.50, and with that strength and consistency, who knows what’s coming next! Gerardo Porras and Patrick Sarad had themselves a crazy close race, with Gerardo coming across in 52.95 to Patrick’s 52.96! What a race from the high school and college teammates! Trevor Glancy shows he is returning to form nicely when it counts, with a nice run of 53.93! Kevin and Sanyu took next up, with Kevin finishing in 54.92, and Sanyu in 55.53! Marcus came back for more after the 100m, and ran a very nice 57.02! Jon Wallk ran his lap in 58.0, a great run after a big 200m PR! Ryan McClowry and Nana ran great races of their own to break the 60 second barrier, with runs of 59.40 and 59.71 respectively! Sandin and Salvador showed their quick feet after earlier races, with the boys closing hard to finish in 64.67 and 65.62! Man, what a bevvy of fast 400m’s!

In the 4x100m, the Illini women strangely ran on their own in heat one with no competition. However, that may have been for the better for other teams to not get smoked by our first place relay, regardless of the heat they were in! Melissa, Ari, Rachel Sakwa, and Ninawa brought the baton around in 50.19, a superb time all on their own. Pure dominance per usual! The men’s A relay of Adam Adil, Nic, Kevin, and Tyler, all on heavy legs, still brought it home in 42.82 for a third place finish and some big points! Our B relay of Sandin, David, Marcus and Sanyu also turned some heads with a fast finish of 47.10! Big points and big runs for the 4×1 teams!

The final event of day 1 was packed – as per usual, it’s the 1500m run! Diane, after her monster 5k, ran hard to place ninth in the 1500m in a new PR of 5:03.86! Lauren Bartels and Allison Kokal ran together again, working side by side to finish in 6:15.40, and 6:22.59! Great job to our trio of tremendous women! Now for the encyclopedic list of our men in the 1500m! Starting off hot with our big boys Percy Moser and Coach Spencer Nelson running 4:05.09 and 4:05.57, both pushing hard with massive kicks for big PRs from the boys! James Stanley also continues his rampage of dropping times, running 4:07.75 in the same heat! Just wait for next year, James will be an absolute unit. Simon Hildy also dropped some nice time to run 4:15.49! Norb ran a good confidence booster of a race, getting down to 4:25.73! Isaac also set a monster PR of 4:26.83, using his newfound speed to drop that PR like crazy! Adam Lupatkin has been running very impressively as well with Isaac, as he finished in 4:30.15! Henry and Cade ran neck-and-neck, with a monster kick from Henry to close in 4:32.58 to Cade’s 4:32.83! Aidan Markiewicz ran a huge season’s best of 4:46.44, a great run for the kid! IXC Webmasters Nathaniel Lenning and Tristan Taylor went at it, with the new webmaster coming out on top in 4:51.75, and Tristan close behind in 4:51.99! Gerardo also took a stab at the 1500m, with a good starting point of 4:56.81! Just wait for that 800m tomorrow! John Bledsoe dipped just under the 5 minute barrier, running 4:59.56! Gabe Benson, his times dropping like flies, ran a great 5:05.36! Knocking on the door of sub-5 in the 1500m! Ryan McClowry brought us home in 5:20.18 after a great 400m! Wow! What a list of great runs from the mile run squad! Hats off to you! 

The field events closed out our Saturday of track and field, starting off with some dominance in the women’s long jump! Melissa, Rachel Schaaf, Isabella, and Khalia all landed in the top 8, going 2-3-4-8, scoring HUGE points! In order, their jumps went for 5.29m, 5.20m, 5.16m, and 4.73m! Yelim Na had a great jump for herself, going the distance in 4.36m! Dionne Edwards held down our women’s throws to go for 9.07m in the shot put, and 24.64m in the discus! What great power and technique to hold down the fort for ITFC! In the men’s shot put, Austin Simon threw far in 9.64m, and Quinn Rivara threw for 9.03m! Quinn and Austin had some nice discus throws as well, with Quinn throwing for 29.33m, and Austin throwing well in 20.64m! Returning to the jumps, Derrick had a great high jump, getting up for 1.60m after a usual heavy day! In the triple jump, Owen Haas placed third with a huge jump of 13.00m! Tyler also snuck into scoring in 8th place with a 12.36m jump! Derrick jumped in 10.89m after the crazy busy day he’s had! In the women’s triple, Melissa, Rachel and Khalia dominated once again, this time going 1-2-4 in jumps of 11.75m, 11.47m, and 10.34m! Ending the day off on a very high note, I’d say! Is there anything this group can’t do? With this, that concludes the action of day one! So let’s take a quick break, and see what’s in store for Sunday?

Sunday:

Day 2 brought a little less heat in terms of the weather, but all the same in terms of the speed put down on the track and field! What better way to start than with a new club record? Ari got the day rolling with a second place 100mH finish in 15.65, good for a new club record! A hot start! Khalia Mullin and Maria also ran some big times in the hurdles,with 18.37 and 18.73 respectively! Checking on the men’s runs, Ben took 4th place with another big run in 16.36! Matas ran well in his heat, crossing the line in 18.78! In the next heat, Derrick and Piotr cleared the hurdles quick to clock 19.70 and 21.59 respectively! Hurdles never cease to impress! 

The 200m finals were up next, and no surprise our women came up big and scored some massive points! Da’Miyah, Ninawa, and Ari came in 3-4-5 in a tight race, running times of 26.81, 26.98, and 27.03 for 15 points total! Amazing race to you three!

Tyler came back in the 200m to win the whole thing in 21.93, making him 2 for 2 on individual wins to this point! Also, he was wearing his club t-shirt at this point. Not even the singlet and still dusted the competition. Light work for our 200m squad!

Changing gears to the 800m, our women’s team continued to show why we won last year and are on course to dominate this year. Bridget, in her main event, ran a huge season’s best and a masterful race in 2:26.67 to take 6th place! Amazing run! Evelyn put together a great race as well to finish in 2:33.47! Our women represented us well in the half mile race!

The young gun Thomas Harmon led our 800m men, taking second place in 1:55.74 thanks to some masterful racing and a big kick. John Burns also ran very well in his signature event, running 1:57.16! Once again, James never ceases to amaze, as the freshman goes 1:59.99 for his first time under 2 minutes! Congrats, James! Braden Cardamone is coming back into his 800m form well, running a strong 2:01.46 to win his heat! Henry, on tired legs from the heavy duty yesterday, ran a strong 2:04.28 in his race! After his 1:57 split yesterday, I’d say it’s a job well done! Patrick Sarad also took a step back onto the 800m field, running a season’s best in 2:05.20! Percy ran 2:05.29 in his heat, running well after a strong 1500m performance! Ryan Fredericks used his newfound finishing speed to close in a huge season’s best of 2:05.96! The 800m strength is returning! Gerardo and Norb took to the line together, with Gerardo coming out on top in 2:08.94, with an even-split race of 2:10.79 for Norb! Trevor found a late kick in his race to bring it home in 2:09.83! Adam Lupatkin led wire to wire in his race, winning his heat in 2:11.53! Jose also went out hard and ran a great race, finishing in 2:13.61. Nathaniel Lenning gave the half mile another shot, running hard for a 2:23.96 finish! Ryan McClowry ran a great season’s best, crossing the line in 2:26.02! Gabe Benson ran well in 2:32.32, and Salvador finished our list of great half milers as he finished his race in 2:44.68! What a list of runners! What a list of great efforts and SB’s! Awesome job to everyone!

Now we move to the 100m finals! Our group of four had a very close race, with Melissa and Ari taking 2-3 in 12.95 and 12.98, and Da’Miyah and Ninawa taking 6-7 in 13.12 and 13.24! 19 points for the Illini! Insane running for the women! In the men’s 100m final, Tyler went 3-for-3 on the track, winning in 10.98, with Chris taking third in 11.14! Some more massive points for the men, and total domination for the women, our 100m crew went off! 

Let’s return to our men’s 5k group! Our three distance powerhouses in marathoner Will Gravelle, former D1 star Lake Spradling, and goober Adam Gorcyca, ran some tough and gritty races! Will fought hard up front, ultimately finishing in 9th in a time of 15:23.02 with a marathon still in his legs! Adam rallied hard in the last stages of the race to finish in 15:27.77, and Lake, with little workouts in his legs, still ran a fast 15:42.14! We’re proud of our 5k squad for giving it their all!

The last distance race of the day, the three-person event group team of the 3000m steeplechase, was a tough race for all. Starting with Allison Kokal, she got the crew rolling in 15:21.39! Isaac dominated the first heat of the men’s steeple, setting a huge PB of 10:33.88 in the process with his smooth technique! Norb, after the 800m, had some fatigue, but still fought to a 12th place overall finish in 10:43.02! A small group with big heart and strength, hats off to our steeplechase squad!

To close out a great weekend, of course, is the 4x400m relay. Our women’s team of Bridget, Lucca, Evelyn, and Ninawa, brought home a second place finish in 4:16.50! An amazing run for them, this all but solidified the win for our team! For the men’s team, Nic, Thomas, John Burns, and Tyler, fought hard, and brought home a second place finish in 3:22.26! An amazing effort by our men, setting a big season’s best in the process! Our remaining teams had some mix and matches to avoid injury, but our runners did amazing on all teams, running great and running injury-free! Our B team of Gerardo, Kevin, Patrick and Braden, ran a quick 3:30.88! Having a B team that runs 3:30 shows the crazy depth of our team! Henry, Sanyu, Ryan and Marcus represented our C team well in 3:38.20. Our D team ran a great race together in 3:53.24, and finally, our E team closed hard in 3:57.23 to end our wonderful weekend of track racing!

Before we end there, let’s visit the Sunday field events! A close competition, Tyler took 4th place in the long jump with a best jump of 6.43m! Ben jumped well, earning a 9th place finish with a great 6.03m jump! Owen, after his successes in the triple, jumped 6.00m for 12th place! Nana jumped well to end out in 5.21m, with Derrick and Srinjoy jumping close together in a distance of 4.91m and 4.85m! 

Isabella held down the fort in the women’s high jump, scoring for us with a clearance of 1.37m! Great work, Isabella! 

With Nats all said and done, it was a repeat dominant victory for the women, becoming two-time NIRCA champions, and the men upgraded, nabbing a spot on the podium with a great third place finish, separated by very few points between second and first! A competitive meet, we brought our A+ game to every single step, throw, and jump, putting our blood, sweat and tears into every practice for this very moment. There’s no better team and no better meet to go out on such a high note, and you should all feel proud of the amazing effort that you put out there! Everyone contributed to the successes of the weekend in some way throughout the year, so a huge thank you is in order for everyone that makes the team what it is today! While there are a couple meets and write ups left, this was the biggest and best to write, as it embodies what ITFC is all about! It was a great weekend with even greater teammates, and I hope you all enjoyed the journey through the weekend! I-L-L!

With love,

Norb 🙂

ITFC! We’re here now at Wabash College, where the weather is warm and the track is ready for some fast times and far jumps! Finally, as we get some nice conditions, get ready to see the times that people have been waiting to run all season! It’s nice to show out in the cold, but we’re ready for some hot times AND warm weather! Let’s take a dip (hopefully not) into the water pit and check out the first event of the day in the steeplechase!

The weather was warm, the wind was blowing, and our athletes were ready to roll! Starting off the meet once again was the 3000m steeplechase. Stepping, and leaping, out of his comfort zone was the 800m/Miler Norb Nieves, taking on one of the most unique track races for the first time. In his steeplechase debut, Norb finished in the middle of the pack with a time of 10:41.15, and all without falling! I’d say that’s a win in its own right! Not bad for the first time!

Let’s replace the barriers and water jumps with regular hurdles. Freshman star Ben Cooper and Jumpman Derrick Stokes got some quick work done in the 110mH! Ben ran smoothly over the hurdles to a 4th place finish in 16.40, and Derrick got his long day started by rounding out the top 10 finishers of the meet in 19.36! Those boys glided over those hurdles swiftly and smoothly! But don’t count our powerful duo of 100mH women! Ari Afolabi and hurdle master Maria Becerra set some fast marks of their own, with Ari getting fourth as well, dipping under 16 seconds in 15.94! Maria got her day started in 19.19 with smooth sailing over the hurdles as she prepared for more quick sprints later in the day! Always an inspiring and exciting start to the day with some hurdles!

Derrick and Maria also did their classic hurdles double, clocking in a hot new PR of 64.62 for Derrick, and a blazing run of 72.38 for Maria! That hurdles strength never ceases to impress! 

The flat 100m is sure to show the fast feet of our sprints, as Sanyu Kumaran and Sandin Cuturic also started their days with the straightaway sprint. Both competed hard together in the same heat, with Sanyu coming out on top in 12.15, and Sandin coming in hot with a 13.15 finish! We’ll see these guys in some of the later sprints of the day, but a fast start to a long day of racing! Over to the women’s 100m, Maria shot out of the blocks like a cannon, running an impressive 13.59, with Rachel Sakwa right behind her in a fast 13.61 of her own! Gotta love it when the day starts off this strong!

We’ll give distance some love now, as the 1500m started strong with John Wiser and James Stanley in the fast heat. The duo went 2-3 overall in the meet, with Wiser setting a nice PR in 4:06.66! Some strong running from Wiser, especially as he did the dirty work of setting the pace from start to finish! James used his deadly finishing kick to close the gap, dipping under 4:10 to cross the line in 4:09.16! James gets quicker with every meet! A nice trio in the following heat of Adam Lupatkin, Trevor Glancy, and Antony Rizk worked well together over the course of the race! Trading leads, Adam came out on top in 4:30.90, Trevor kicking hard in 4:32.76, and Antony closing in for a 4:35.81 finish. All three set PR’s as well! Teamwork makes the dream work as always! Gabe Benson and Ryan McClowry ran strong as well, as, once again, our guys set some big PR’s. Gabe improved his time to 5:10.25, while Ryan demolished his EIU time in 5:13.93! Suhani Peramanu was our lone woman representing ITFC in the 1500m, representing the “I” well in a time of 5:45.95! What a run for Suhani! What a day for the 1500m crew! PR’s all around!

Let’s move to the 800m. While everyone’s got their favorite event, I think this was one of the fastest events of the day. Starting off VERY strong, freshman phenom Thomas Harmon took third place in a fast meet with a blazing time of 1:55.03! The kid’s got speed! And who else to follow but John Burns, who set a big lifetime PR of 1:56.82 to get 4th place overall! In the next heat over, we have to give it up for Mid D Monster Henry Hornbrook, who broke the 2-min barrier for the first time in his life, running wire to wire in an amazing performance of 1:58.81 to win his heat and take 5th overall as well! That 4x800m team for Nats is going to be something huge for these boys! James Stanley doubled back from his 1500m, getting faster in the two lap event to finish in 2:02.07! James is knocking on the door of sub-2 soon! The long sprinter, Gerardo Porras, showed his 800m strength once again, running smooth for a nice outdoor best of 2:08.71! That closing speed is something to beware of! Jose Ocegueda Zuniga ran tough in his heat as well, showing his strong footspeed to complete his race in 2:13.89! Jose is showing some nice improvement! And finally, Gabe Benson closed it out with a 2:42.57 following his great 1500m performance. Rough double but tough runners! 

How about those 400m’s? Big man Nic Soto went to town on the one-lap race, throwing down a new PR of 51.55 and placing in the top 8! That’s our guy! But not far behind, Adam Adil showed he could still throw down in the long sprints, running a hot 52.82! Ryan Fredericks, who has been dominating the 2/4 combo recently, and Gerardo Porras, the 4/8 connoisseur, battled head-to-head, with Ryan setting a new season’s best in 53.29, and Gerardo close behind with a 53.43! Nice race, boys! Sanyu Kumaran continued his hot streak with a 54.88 run, very nice indeed! Secretary Jon Wallk hit a big PR in the open 400m, running 56.93! He’s still got it! Some speed work after the steeplechase, Norb doubled back, running a PR of 58.10 in the flat 4 as well! Close behind him were Ryan McClowry, showing his quickness off his feet in 61.01, and Sandin close behind with 63.91! Lucca Bibbey had a great showing with a strong 4th place finish overall in 63.41, a great showing of her 400m strength as we head into nationals! Quarter milers absolutely killed it!

Cutting it down a notch, the 200m’s also put out some blazing performances of their own! Once again, Nic led us off, with a speedy 22.78 finish to also place in top 8! The kid’s got speed! Ryan Fredericks doubled back in the 200m, with a new season’s best of 24.30! Sanyu and Jon battled in their heat, with Sanyu coming out on top in 24.30, and Jon finishing with a 26.28! Not bad for Jon’s first 200m! Sandin brought us home in 26.60, a great run for him! Ari took the women’s title like it was nothing, winning the women’s 200m in a time of 26.46! Lucca also took to the 200m to run a quick 28.46, and Rachel followed suit in a fast 28.94! Speed is definitely on the track here!

This meet also marks the appearance of the ITFC 4x100m! Nic, Adam, Sanyu, and Sandin, all with big days thus far, cruised home to a top 8 finish in 44.92! This sprints crew has got some strength! They can handle just about anything! 

The longest race of the outdoor season, the 5000m, had some brilliant performances in some hot heat! Brisa McGrath placed top 8 in a great return to the outdoor track in 19:03.79, with Emma Bergmann also stepping back onto the track with a time of 19:47.18! Welcome back, Emma! Our last 5000m runner, Cade Baker, showed out. Cade was just going to do his best, with no expectation, and that seemed to give him the race he needed, as he landed a massive PR of 15:53.43! What a run for the president! 

Nic also had quadruple duty today, ending with the 4x400m with a team of himself, John Burns, Henry, and Thomas Harmon. The boys powered home to a super fast 3:30.49 – all of which had ran at least another event in the day! Mighty impressive running!

Before we head out, we always gotta give some love to the field events. Starting with high jump, Derrick had a nice attempt and clear at 1.50m! For as much as he runs and jumps, I don’t think I could move like that if I were him! But wait, he’s STILL not done! Derrick, along with Ben and newcomer Owen Haas, went long in the long jump! Ben and Owen battled closely, with jumps of 5.91m and 5.88m respectively, and Derrick finally finished out his crazy busy day with a jump of 5.40m. Legs of steel, everyone, legs of steel. Owen also doubled in his strongest event, the triple jump, placing 4th overall with a jump of 12.69m! That boy can move!

And last but certainly not least, newcomer Daniel Coxworth flexed his muscles in the discus throw, where he also took 4th place overall with a massive throw of 45.25m! That thing FLEW! Massive throwing, Daniel! 

The weather and results we’ve all been waiting for gave our athletes a big confidence boost going into the biggest meet of the year: NIRCA Nationals! How will we fare in the big meet? Tune in next time on the next exciting writeup of ITFC! Thanks for reading!

Norb 🙂

What’s up ITFC! Good news, we have another great outdoor meet to cover! Bad news?…it’s still pretty cold. BUT, that didn’t stop anyone from bringing their A-game and giving it all they got. The Big Blue Alumni meet at Millikin University provided some great competition for our squad, rain or shine (although there wasn’t any shine). So what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving!

The first event of the day was (supposed to be) the 3000m Steeplechase. How did our runners fare with jumps over barriers in cold winds? Trick question: they didn’t. Due to weather, the event was canceled, so Isaac, Norb, and Allison were spared for another day.

The REAL first event we will cover is the men’s 100m. Starting off fast, some blistering wind got our men off to some blistering starts as well, as Tyler Klein and Chris Raymond-Bertrand went 1-2 with 10.65 and 10.90 runs respectively! Holy cow, those times are quick! Forget the cold, because they and our other sprinters were setting the track on fire! Adam Adil tore up the track in his own heat, running 11.56 for a nice first 100m outdoors this season! Marcus Scott is getting real close to that sub 12 barrier, running 12.02 in his heat! The boy’s getting quick! David Welte-Hart and Brandon Perruquet ran well together in their heat, with David running 12.4 and Brandon finishing strong in 13.2! Srinjoy Das also took a quick break from the jumps to test his speed on the flat track, running 12.94 for a nice change of pace! 

The women set the track ablaze just the same as the men, as Melissa set a fast 12.59 mark to place second throughout the meet! Ninawa also placed in the top heat with a top 7 finish in 13.22! Finally, Isabella Brunke had herself a quick run out of the blocks to finish her race in 13.68! These sprinters running so fast in the cold is a testament of pure strength and talent to them! Props to all of you! 

Putting some hurdles on the track (thankfully going with the wind), Ben Cooper, Matas Carmichael, and Derrick Stokes held it down for the men’s hurdle squad. Ben took charge to finish quick in 17.01, with Matas right on his tail in 17.82! The duo finished in the top 5 in the meet! Derrick also finished in the top 8 with a nice consistent result in 19.91!

The 100m runners like that 100/200 double, but nobody seems to dominate the 200 like Tyler, again, as he wins the event like nearly always. Tyler pushed through to a fast 21.71, surely leaving burn marks where his spikes touched the track! Matas Carmichael brought the heat to his outdoor debut as well, running 24.62 in cold conditions! Marcus also brought it back to the 2 with an impressive 24.85. Isaac Schifferer, having been spared from the steeplechase, set a pretty speedy 24.74 mark! Isaac can do it all from the 200 to the 3000m Steeple! David, Srinjoy and Brandon also like their double sprints, as the crew came in hot with times of 25.14, 26.36, and 27.25 respectively! Henry Hornbrook also switched gears to run the 200m, as he and David were neck-and-neck, finishing just behind in 25.16! On the women’s side, Ninawa also dominated her usual sprints triad, as she took 5th place in a fierce 27.08 run! Arianna Kopecky ran well in her half-lap sprint to come across the line in 30.14! Lots of great racing and cross-event group competition that we love to see!

In that cold, that 400m group needs some extra love, especially to the long sprints master Gerardo Porras, who finished 4th place overall in a masterful run of 54.52 to win his heat! Henry Hornbrook also put up a good fight after a 1500m that he dominated earlier in the day, running a 58.10 on tired legs! Nothing like a hard workout! In the next heat, Derrick got some flat speed work done, completing the one-lap in 58.96! Next, Jon Wallk, Sandin Cuturic and Salvador Madera toed the line against each other in a great effort of 58.36 for Jon, 65.53 for Sandin, and 70.38 for Sal! This was also Sal’s first track meet, and while it was a tough one, some great efforts from him in the 4! As per usual, Ninawa flexed her crazy strength and speed combination by completing the 100, 200, and 400m, and this time, her 400m placed her in the top 5 with an amazing time of 64.67! Never ceases to impress us! Arianna also doubled back in the 400m to run a very respectable 71.65! Nice work for our two long sprint women!

The 800m runners showed some grit running in that tough cold wind, which is the theme of the day, yet their guts, like all of our athletes, still deserve a special acknowledgement. Thomas Harmon ran a fast race in 2:01.18, which is amazing with a headwind that strong blowing at you. Patrick Sarad stepped back into the 800m and went out with a nice 2:08.50. Again, with the conditions, easily dropping some time in the next run! Trevor Glancy ran with guts to take an early lead and finish in 2:15.01. Nathaniel Lenning also tried his hand at the 800m, running a nice 2:28.85! Props to him for stepping out of his comfort zone. Ryan McClowry rounded out our men, finishing the two laps in 2:39.68. Gotta give it up to Ryan – he runs everything he says he will and gives it his all regardless of the conditions! Our middle distance master, Bridget Brokaw, landed a very strong top 6 finish in the 800m as well, running 2:32.63 in these conditions! What a strong run! Evelyn Rowan ran 2:46.63 with Bridget, so congrats is in order for braving the tough winds of Millikin! 

We also had Matas be our standout in the 400mH in this meet, with a blazing time of 66.56! Nice work for a lot of sprinting in this cold!

That 1500m was quite the battle, so again a special shoutout is in order for our mile group. Our women’s duo of Lauren Bartels and Allison Kokal ran a great race together in a much less-than-ideal mile race. Lauren ran very well in 6:24.40, with Allison not far behind with a time of 6:41.99! For the men, Spencer Nelson, doing the heavy lifting up front as always, had a very respectable run in 4:25.68. John Burns had a strong kick to catch a few in his heat, finishing in 4:28.40. Simon Hildy, racing well, came through in 4:31.19! Nice racing for the freshman, challenging the upperclassmen early in the race! The next heat provided a four way race of Illini, with Henry Hornbrook not letting a little wind and cold get in his way. Henry powered home to a huge PR of 4:33.63, leading from wire to wire. Arthur Mazzeo made a late charge to come through in 4:39.57, surging ahead of Cade Baker, who finished close in 4:41.52! Norb Nieves rounded that group in 4:44.97. The next group featured the trio who have been racing together all year – Isaac, Adam Lupatkin, and Antony Rizk. As usual, all three raced together and raced hard, with Isaac in 4:45.45, Adam in 4:48.24, and Antony in 4:50.43! John Bledsoe stepped onto the 1500m circuit, getting his debut outdoor race in 5:15.58, and Aidan Markiewicz finishing up in 5:23.70. The group of milers that braved the second longest event of the day are surely to drop some crazy time in future races!

The outdoor 5000m is already a grueling race, but for Will Gravelle, Anders Mortensen, Claire Casiello, and Anna Zlatic to actually race that well in the frigid weather deserves a round of applause. Claire remained controlled and calm throughout the race, running a strong 20:27.46 for 4th place! Right behind her was Anna, coming home in 21:00.75 for a fifth place finish! Will ran very smart and controlled, winning the heat in a new PR of 15:16.82! Dang! Anders also made his lifetime track debut, stepping away from the roads and getting it done on the track in 17:52.72! Many kudos to all of you for your toughness and sticking it out there in such a brutal 5k!

Before we check out until next time, we actually had lots of field event representation! You always love to see it! Srinjoy took to the runway in the long jump to pair with his sprints for the day! Joy leaped a distance of 4.93m for a great start to his outdoor season! Along with Joy were Melissa and Isabella, with Melissa taking second with a leap of 5.13m, and Isabella taking 6th with a nice jump of 4.88m!  In the triple jump, Tyler has been working on his triple, landing a second place finish overall in 12.42m! Derrick also finished his busy day in a jump of 10.57 for the absolute tank of sprints and jumps that he is! Melissa also showed her toughness throughout the day, as her triple jump, after other jumps and sprints, landed her in first place with a leap of 11.60m! And finally, our standout high jumper, Isabella, got up there with a top 8 finish in 1.35m! Awesome day for the jumps squad! 

The throws squad was deep this meet especially, with Dionne Edwards, Alicia Guerrero, Austin Simon, Frank Chaves, and Beau Barber himself stepping into the ring! Austin led the throws squad with a heave of 8.95m, with Frank giving chase in a throw of 8.79m close behind him! Beau is finding form again in his new event, getting his shot out in 7.87m! Dionne and Alicia had themselves some big throws of their own, with a giant 9.79m throw for Dionne, and another big thow of 8.49m for Alicia! 

In the discus, the same squad brought it back, plus the addition of Joseph Harmon! This time, Frank led the throwers in a nice toss of 22.54m! Austin still let his discus fly far with a throw of 20.60m, and Beau had a great throw again in 20.47m! Joseph, older brother of Thomas, threw for 16.44m in his first track meet of the season! Those Harmon men are full of strength! Alicia got her discus flying out of the ring, with a monster 25.05m throw, and Dionne to follow with a 19.73m heave out of the ring! A great showing of strength and technique for sure! 

Well, that meet surely was ice-cold, but our athletes thrive in all conditions! Hopefully, at the next meet, the weather is surely going to pick up. Nonetheless, as this was a great opener for a few of our athletes to get the rust busted and get their outdoor wheels turning! Onwards to Nationals! See you next time!

-Norb

While indoor is over, and our beloved Club Relays must wait another year for it to resurface on the main stage, the outdoor season is back! Our first meet at Eastern Illinois in Charleston, IL, proved to be a tough one for all of our athletes! That doesn’t mean we didn’t give it our all and set the track on fire! With the new season comes the return of some of our favorite events only found on the outdoor circuit! Without further ado, let’s get into the outdoor season!

The meet kicked off with part 1 of a weather-wise difficult meet. Nevertheless, the Illini are always up to the challenge. Underneath Friday night stadium lights, our fierce 5k group took on the 3.1 mile distance on the track in rainy weather. That didn’t stop Lake Spradling, who felt at home in the wet environment, running a fast 15:14.62 in tough conditions! Right on his tail was Adam Gorcyca, with a crazy 15:18.80, running well with Lake throughout the race! Gabe Inojosa also rose to the challenge, running a strong race for a big PR of 17:21.75 in the same race! Never count out ITFC, regardless of conditions!

Our women didn’t shy away from a little bit of rain either, with Diane Makovic running a smashing time of 18:16.40, earning a 5th place finish! Maddy Feehan followed pursuit, running 19:57.00, very impressive for the downpour! They might as well do the steeplechase for the water they had to run through! These distance runners dominated the race in such unfavorable conditions, which begs the question of just how fast they’ll end up later in the year? What an exciting race!

The next morning, the weather was not much more favorable, yet ITFC still showed up to do what they do best! Starting off on the track, newly appointed steeplechase coach Isaac Schifferer toughed out the 3000m distance in the chilly wind, running a fast PR of his own in 11:10.02! Can’t complain when you cut off 30 seconds off your old PR in tough weather! Coach is starting off hot! 

Getting to the sprints next, the men now upgrade from the 60m to the 100m as we begin our outdoor debut! Tyler Klein ran against a stacked meet, running a blazing 10.83 out of the gate to land in the top 8! Matching up against many of the other teams that we will face later in the season, Tyler put his name out there as a warning for others! Look out!

Tyler continued this dominance as he increased the distance in the 200m, running an ITFC no. 2 best mark in 21.77 to win the event! TK takes the 2 as always! With a bit of cross-event group competition, Marcus Scott, Ryan Fredericks, Henry Hornbrook, and Sandin Cuturic battled head to head to head to head (wow) in a tight finish for the 200m! Marcus came out on top with a nice PR in 24.98, with Ryan so close behind in 25.01! Henry was on the hunt as well, running 25.34, and Sandin close behind in 27.14! Big representation of the Illinois singlet in this heat, what a sight to see! 

Doubling up to the 400m, Ryan and Marcus took to the one-lap race as well! Ryan has shown that his speed is returning, as he finishes the race in 54.49! Marcus also shows how his strength has increased, with a 56.04 finish to his name! Those are some fine sprints from the boys! Kat Vande Pol took to the blocks for her 400m, her prime event, running 60.79 for a top 8 finish, which is a heck of a run so early in the season! At this point, I would also like to acknowledge Kat for her four years of incredible racing and services to ITFC, as this was her last meet with the Illini. Kat, we will miss you and your breathtaking times in the middle distance events, and best of luck to your new adventures! Keep blowing away your competitors on the NC track circuit!

As the outdoor tour begins, the mile is no more, but the 1500m has come to stay. Many of our freshmen took their first leap into the new yet familiar distance, and boy did they not disappoint! Percy Moser, James Stanley and Braden Cardamone all took the 1500m by storm, with Percy leading the charge to finish in 4:12.07. James was close behind, using his strong kick to come home in 4:14.62! Braden ran hard as he stepped up the distance, showing he’s still got some mile strength in the tank, finishing in 4:24.64! Cade Baker got his outdoor debut started with the 1500m, with a fast closing kick, to take second in his heat in 4:25.92! Ryan McClowry ran 5:23.55 to begin his outdoor season with ITFC, a nice showing for the distance men! Way to run! 

The 800m followed soon after, with our young distance guns taking the track to the outdoor two-lap race. With all of the freshmen testing their strength, Henry Hornbrook showed his senior strength, taking the lead for the Illini in 2:03.04. That doesn’t mean the freshman let it happen easily, as James Stanley fought hard in the final kick, battling with Henry to finish in 2:03.07! Braden Cardamone and Percy Moser also fought well throughout the race, with Braden’s 400m strength and speed carrying him through the home stretch to finish in 2:04.14, with Percy’s endurance taking him through closely in 2:04.68! Very nice work, boys! Simon Hildy held his own, taking the race out quickly as well in his own heat to finish with a respectable 2:07.62 after a quick 1500m as well! Cade Baker showed his presidential strength, doing his favorite mile/800m double to finish with 2:10.08! A nice double for some speed and strength work for many of our 800m men! While that seems to be a common double, Isaac made his case for quite an even more difficult double, as he completed his 800m after his stellar steeplechase in 2:16.28! What a pair of runs from Isaac! Taking it home for us was another 1500m/800m double runner in Ryan McClowry, steadily improving in tough weather with a 2:38.46 run! Gotta love that 800m+ double! 

Our two women, Evelyn Rowan and Mikeelie Jensen, took the 800m like champs as well despite increasing winds and cold. Evelyn ran a well-paced 2:37.07 for her race, shaking off the outdoor rust, with Mikeelie returning to the outdoor track to finish in 2:57.68, another well-paced race! The 800m in wind and cold is a rough experience indeed, but these women still made light work of it. Awesome job!

With outdoor comes one of the toughest events out there, the 400m hurdles. As tough as this event is, our runners are even tougher. Derrick Stokes and Kat Vande Pol were our standout hurdlers, shaking the rust off of the long hurdle event. Derrick was up and going with a quick lap around the track in 67.96 despite wind and chills, and Kat showed her spikes were still hot after the flat 400m with a 71.10 lap with hurdles! Beastly runs for such a difficult event!

Dropping to a shorter distance, in the 110mH, Derrick held down the fort in a strong effort of 19.78 after adjusting to the change from 60m to 110m. The rust is busted, and the times are going to drop on a dime soon!

Before we go, Beau’s Throws Squad got it done in the discus ring this time instead of the shot put! Zachary Marisco, in his ITFC debut, threw for 31.54m, while Quinn Rivara threw 22.37m in his outdoor debut! Good starting marks to get some distance out there, boys!

Finally, the women’s 4x400m ended the day for our squad well! A strong showing by Evelyn, Rachel Sakwa, Maria and Kat landed ITFC in third place with a fast 4:24.85 team effort to end a cold day filled with some hot times!

The conditions of the meet provided an extra challenge to overcome, yet they prevailed as always. Tough conditions forge tougher athletes, and we will show our strength down the line on the national stage! Great job to everyone that competed and those who came out to support! Through wind and rain, cold and heat, ITFC perseveres! Till next time! I-L-L! 

Norb 🙂

ITFC! IT IS TIME FOR THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR!!! Our Club Relays has finally come and gone, and in spectacular fashion just as we expected. Each year, the competition gets more fierce, but we come back even stronger than last year! We saw more records break, higher jumps, faster starts, stronger kicks, and farther throws than you can imagine! So what are we waiting for? Let’s get into it! 

You all know the drill by now. The 60mH always takes us out to a hot start, and Ari Afolabi and Maria Becerra were our dominant duo that shot out of the blocks like rockets! Ari stormed to a crazy fast 9.01, winning the meet overall, with Maria completing our scoring with a fast 10.91 of her own to get second in the event! Never a dull race with these two on the track! 

The men followed close, fired up by the hot start of the women. Ben Cooper and Jumpman Derrick Stokes got it going quick, with Ben getting 3rd overall with a 9.23 for a great new PR of his own for the season, and Derrick dropping some monster time in 10.22! Big moves for the boys in the hurdles! Matas Carmichael and Piotr Biel were welcomed back to the track, and what better way to return back to racing at our very own home meet! Matas opened up his season with a 10.81 finish, and Piotr finished close behind in 11.17. Welcome back to the track, gentlemen!

After hurdle crew did their thing, we moved on to the flat 60m, where a super exciting race between Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu, Ari Afolabi, Ninawa Odicho, and Da’Miyah Morgan all went head-to-head which left some burnt rubber on the track! Melissa, with a new meet record, took the top time with a blazing 7.84! Ari, Ninawa, and Da’Miyah all were neck-and-neck right behind, taking the 3rd-5th in 8.02, 8.08, and 8.17 respectively – all three marks new season bests! The day has barely begun, and there was no shortage of speed on the track! Isabella Brunke ran next in a fast heat with a great mark of 8.62, keeping up with a tight finish in her heat. Yelim Na was next up, getting under the 9 second barrier and running 8.97! Finishing up our crazy fast squad of 60m women was Arianna Kopecky stormed across the line in 9.05! There’s no words that can describe that event, but we sure try. What a day, and it’s only the second event!

The men followed up with our scoring duo of TK and Nic Soto, both of which had some heavy days ahead of them. Tyler won the meet overall with a tough 6.94, the only sub-7 of the meet, and Nic sped down the straightaway to a 7.24 to land a top 8 finish overall, scoring the Illini 10 points. Adam Adil got going quick close behind, and I mean QUICK. Adam’s 7.28 was a big SR on the day, putting together all that training right at the perfect moment! Emmanuel Lokango and Ethan Mullen were next up for the men, with Emmanuel winning his heat in 7.46, and Ethan winning his in 7.53! Freshman Marcus Scott stormed down the track to a 7.59 finish not far behind. Sanyu Kumaran got his day started with a 7.71 to begin his full day of racing as well! David Welte-Hart made quick work of the 60m with his 7.82. Leo Cumbie got back on the track in 7.88 as well for a nice return after a short break from racing. Neck-and-neck were Sandin Cuturic and Joe Lian, running 8.10 and 8.11 respectively! Quite a photo finish! Srinjoy Das returned to the track as well, bringing it home in 8.17 for the long jumpers return to ITFC! Matas, with short rest from the hurdles, doubled back in 8.43, and Brandon Perruquet rounded out our star sprinters in 8.66! What a day for the short sprints to show out in front of the home crowd!

We’ll return to plenty of sprinting later, but for now, we’ll shift to the first big relay of the meet: the 4x800m! The women’s heat was a fast one, but our underclassmen A team of Evelyn Rowan, Anna Jablonski, Bridget Brokaw, and Alyson Ficca, all of which had big days ahead of them, ran strong for a 4th place finish in 10:06.44 in a very fast heat! Way to run, ladies! The 4x800m squad has a bright future ahead of them with the fully underclassmen team and the strength they displayed!

Moving to the men, the A team, composed of Thomas Harmon, John Wiser, John Burns, and Eldon Warner, ran away with the title in a near record-breaking performance in 7:56.25! Those boys have some wheels! They won the event by a full 10+ seconds, which is no joke at all! The B team, with Ryan Fredericks, Simon Hildy, Gerardo Porras, and Braden Cardamone, ran a very impressive time of their own, coming away in 8:26.05 to land in the top 8! The C team of Norb Nieves, James Stanley, Trevor Glancy and Linus Ringstad, also ran impressively in the same heat, rounding out the top 10 teams in 8:30.70! The D team managed to put together some great legs to dip under 9 minutes, as the group of Jose Ocegueda-Zuñiga, John Bledsoe, Yuki Mizuno, and Patrick Tallon, ran a strong team race for 8:59.87! Antony Rizk, Gabriel Inojosa, Charley Hoppis, and Joseph Symanski brought our E team through the line in 9:10.30, and our final team of the fantastic F team of Vijay Shah, Ryan McClowry, James Meadows, and Aidan Markiewicz, brought it home with a 9:57.13 team run. Lots of relays, lots of big runs for everyone!

Taking a step back down to the sprints, our women’s 4x200m won the event in…1:47.48?! A huge new club and meet record set by Melissa, Ari, Ninawa, and Maria made the Illinois crowd erupt in shock and awe. None of these women were fresh, but you’d have never guessed it by how they tore up the track on this relay! When any of them step on the start line, you know it’s gonna be electric!

Following suit, the men’s team of Adam, Nic, Tyler and Ben won in 1:32.74, taking the win by almost 2 whole seconds! Once again, all of these runners had run at least once already, showing you the toughness of both Illinois men and women. The B team of Joe, Marcus, Ryan Fredericks, and Matas, came through in 1:40.43 to get some extra speedy times on the track of their own! Our final team in the 4×2 of Sandin, Isaac, Brandon and Leo, ran away with a 1:49.29 finish for those again on non-fresh legs, and Isaac gearing up for the mile later that night. Absolutely killer 200m runs all around for everyone!

Once again, our team went the extra mile (or rather extra .86 miles) in the 3k, which is always a loaded event. Diane Makovic and Brisa McGrath took our team to the top, scoring 10 points with Diane’s second place finish in 10:35.05 and Brisa’s 10:50.43 for 4th place! The fast times didn’t stop there however, as Claire Casiello was close behind with an 8th place finish of 11:09.55, and Maddy Feehan always right on her tail in 11:19.87! Alyson Ficca again showed out with her range across the distance events, finishing up her own 3k in 11:27.25! Anna Zlatic ran well, finishing the distance in 12:33.24, showing heart and toughness throughout the race! Our group of resilient women brought home some big points and big runs in the longest event of the night!

The men’s 3k was loaded, but that still didn’t stop our guys from running hard. The young gun Adam Gorcyca, in his first track race, took the second heat in a super time of 8:55.36! Adam didn’t work on his own though, as Will Gravelle and him traded leads, both running very well together, with Will finishing in 8:58.35! Even with sore and tired legs, Lake Spradling still gave it his all and pushed hard, running the 3000m in 9:17.13! Leyang Zhang, finally getting into his groove, pushed to a nice big PR of 9:39.13! Mikey Smart, one of the Oswego Trio, ran well despite some soreness with a big 9:46.10 finish! Finally, our new XC treasurer Quinn Born balled out with a 10:12.62 finish in his first track race of the season. That’s a lot of running for both the men and women, so like always, kudos to your guts and strength in running a brutal race!

Alright, the track can’t have all of the fun. Let’s hop on over to the field events, starting off with the long jump! Tyler, in no surprise, showed off his versatility again, winning the meet individually with a 6.58m jump, with Ben following up with a 5.69m jump of his own to take top points in the event! Can’t beat those results from the sprinter/jumper duo! Nana and Derrick made a strong duo themselves, with Nana leaping to a far 5.23 jump, and Derrick, being a workhorse on the jumps like TK, getting in a nice 4.98m jump! These boys are animals in the pit! On the women’s side, with a crazy 2-3 finish, Rachel Schaaf and Melissa easily got the 10 points with a close 5.36m and 5.31m jump respectively, being the only group to have both jumpers over 5m! Talk about dominance! The jumps don’t stop there, as Isabella and Khalia respectively were very close to each other, jumping 4.51m and 4.47m! That’s what great teamwork looks like! Yelim and Neha were our final duo of the long jump, as Yelim jumped for 4.07m, and Neha not far behind with 3.98m! What a start from the long jump!

Taking a few more steps forward, triple jump is coming up now! Nick Hartmann and Derrick gave it their all after multiple jumps and sprints around the day, with the duo going 10.82m and 10.68m together to score 6 big points for the Illini! Those legs were heavy as lead, yet they still got up there! Props for the hops! When it came to the women, Rachel and Melissa just cannot be stopped! Taking 1-2 in this event, they were the only athletes over 11m, with 11.15m and 11.08m leaps! Again, just pure dominance. Khalia took fifth individually in the event with some strong jumps of her own to land her a 9.99m distance! Neha rounded out our women in the TJ, coming in with 9.63 in her three jumps on the runway! The jumps squad is dangerous all around!

We’ll round the jumps out by going up high to the high jump! Nick showed why he’s a high jump specialist, winning overall in 1.88m! Derrick followed behind for 1.63m in his jump, making the duo second overall! Man, these guys got some tough legs! Rachel Schaaf finished her tour de jumps by nabbing second place by getting up there with a 1.42m jump! Round of applause for the strength and versatility of all the jumpers out there, scoring big points for the orange and blue!

Don’t forget the throws, though! For the shot put, the freshman dynamite duo of Quinn Rivara and Frank Chavez grabbed 5 points for the Illini throws squad, getting 8th and 9th with throws of 9.34m and 9.11m respectively! Austin Simon also got his throwing debut in, throwing the shot a full 7.95m! But why stop there? Dionne Edwards took a big bronze medal, getting third overall and leading the Illini to a second place team finish behind tough competition! Dionne threw a far 9.83m, showing the power and technique that’s been perfected all season! Esther Omole and Alicia Guerrero were right behind her, as both finished next to each other as well, throwing 8.75m and 8.59m respectively! Some killer throws from some deadly throwers! Make sure you keep an eye on this group as they get more and more experience throughout their careers, because it’s gonna be special!

Now we get to one of the most dynamic and rarest races in the track and field world: the Sprint Medley Relay! Composed of two 200m legs, a 400m leg, and anchoring with an 800m runner, this relay got our sprinters and mid distance group working together and showing out. Our women’s A team of our workhorses of Da’Miyah, Ninawa, Lucca and Bridget, took the win by over 7 seconds with a time of 4:35.22. Shoutout to the absolute strength of all of these women – there’s never a challenge they can’t take on across multiple races! Our B team of Arianna, Isabella, Jasmine Paulson, and Mikeelie worked well as a team and got the baton around with a 5:48.81 time, with Jasmine making her ITFC debut! We’re proud of our teams not only for running fast, but for working well with their teammates in an unusual event!

The men had some tough competition as well, but that didn’t stop them all from giving it their all. The A and B teams were nearly neck-and-neck all race, with the B team pulling ahead until the very last leg, where Henry Hornbrook of team A, after superb legs from Ethan, Gerardo, and Nic, took 5th place overall and the top time of our Illinois squad in 3:47.04. The B team of Sanyu, Ryan Fredericks, Braden, and Patrick Sarad, ran extremely well, finishing so close with a 3:48.47! That was definitely a race for the ages! It didn’t stop there, as our third team of Sandin, David, Marcus, and Michael Rizk ran very well together in a time of 4:00.22! It’s not easy to change speeds between legs and run with teammates that are unfamiliar, so shout out to the teamwork of all of our ITFC SMR runners!

With the most packed event of the night, the mile proved to be just as exciting as years prior. Quite a few of our women doubled in the 3k from earlier, yet that did not stop them from showing some guts on the tough double on the night, especially with the longer distance first! Within the top of the women’s heat, Diane Makovic, on tired legs from the 3k, led us off in a strong 5:27.53 for 6th overall in the meet! Evelyn Rowan, also on double duty for the day, came off her 4×8 leg with a solid 5:40.31 for 15th overall! Brisa McGrath also returned to the mile this season after her PR performance in the 3k as well, running a great time of 5:45.77. Claire Casiello and Maddy Feehan were running close together, with Claire leading in 5:50.80 and Maddy kicking home in 5:52.80. Alyson Ficca, after her 4×8 leg as well, followed behind in 5:56.49, and Anna Zlatic finishing up in 6:10.35. Give a special round of applause to this first group, as every one of them doubled, many of them having also done the 3k first. That is no easy task for any runner! Next was our duo from Grayslake, Suhani Peramanu and Lauren Brunk. Both have been running the mile together well, and both women ran very strong together, finishing neck-and-neck, with Suhani running 6:05.65, and Lauren right there in 6:05.97! What a close finish from old teammates! Our final two stellar women were Lauren Bartels, who capped off her indoor season with a 6:33.49 finish, and a great finishing kick by Allison Kokal which led her to a season’s best of 6:40.62! An amazing indoor mile season cap to lead to some fast 1500m times outdoors!

Coming next to the men, the first head had the long-awaited return of Eldon Warner, as well as the dynamite duo of John Wiser and John Burns. Eldon’s return to racing was a tough one, with a stacked field against him. Nevertheless, he ran strong and led the Illini in 4:21.78. John Wiser ran his usual strong and solid race, getting a PR in 4:27.56 after his 4x800m leg as well, with John Burns finishing up in 4:43.07 due to a sudden mid-race cramp. Don’t worry – he’s not done yet with the day. The men in the 2nd heat, inspired by their teammates, ran strong as well, with many dropping some big indoor PR’s. Percy Moser, Spencer Nelson, and Thomas Harmon were the top of their heat from wire to wire, with Spencer doing all the heavy lifting up front. Percy let out a strong kick 100m out, winning the heat in 4:27.35. Spencer followed right behind, nabbing a big PR in 4:28.71 for his first time under the 4:30 barrier. Thomas was just behind Spencer, running a crazy strong 4:29.93 – keep in mind that he split a 1:57 earlier in that day! President Cade Baker finished his indoor circuit with an impressive 4:43.96! Up next was Simon Hildy, who raced hard despite a fall mid-race. Simon got up quickly and showed toughness, finishing in 4:48.28 for a tough performance. James Stanley also went under his lifetime PR big time, closing hard and nearly catching the leader of his heat, storming home to a 4:37.70 time! What a close from James! Alex Kogen also ran strongly in this heat, showing his steady improvement as he finished in a time of 4:44.83! Arthur Mazzeo ran like a dog in the next heat, taking over late in the race to win with a blazing time of 4:43.54 to win by nearly 3 seconds! Henry Hornbrook, on tired legs from his SMR, ran a tough race with a good finishing time of 4:55.02. Who knows what awaits him in the 1500m outdoors with all that new and improved strength! Mid D Coach Norb Nieves set a lifetime full mile PR, dipping under the 4:50 barrier with a hard final 400m to run 4:49.23! Next up, Isaac Schifferer had a massive breakout race, with an earlier kick and smart pacing to shatter his PR in 4:53.71! It was always there, but Isaac finally turned it out for a great race. Adam Lupatkin is getting that groove back, breaking 5 minutes indoors to run 4:57.78! Antony Rizk also continues to make strides (and regular runs) towards improving the mile time, running a smart 5:05.21 with a great base to take to outdoors! Double T – Tristan Taylor – had a big race as well, running 5:12.17, with Andrew Stevenson getting down to business in 5:13.11! Thomas Tran, another great runner with the initials “TT” continued his mile streak with a consistent and strong 5:21.19! Taking a well-deserved break from the meet to run, Nathaniel Lenning took an early victory (8) lap(s) in 5:26.21! And finally, without further ado, our man Gabe Benson killed it around the track with a huge, HUGE PR in 5:29.16! Phew! Quite the amount of miles covered in that superb group, but it provided one of the best races of the night as per usual!

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the 4x400m relay! The great conclusion to a great meet, the women showed no mercy as always, winning by over 10 seconds! Lucca, Ninawa, Bridget and Anna Jablonski each ran stellar legs, coming away with the victory in 4:16.27 to secure the win for the Illini in our home meet once again. While we couldn’t host as many teams as we have in past years, that didn’t stop the fun races and teams that showed up to run some great 4x4s. The next team of Maddy, Maria, Reiss, and Alyson landed in the top 8 as well, running a great 5:00.88 for a victory lap of their own! The Lauren’s and freshmen team of Lauren Brunk, Lauren Bartels, Allison and Suhani cruised down the track to a 5:19.18 finish – a great team and a great way to cap off their meet. We also had a mixed relay team that came out on top, composed of Ryan Fredericks, Joseph Symanski, Brisa McGrath, and Mikeelie Jensen, earning their crown in 4:31.37! 

Finally, the men had tough competition and tough days overall. Our guys got out there and gave it everything they had, taking the silver medal in the event, but securing the team title for the men overall. Thomas Harmon, Nic Soto, John Burns, and Tyler Klein himself ran a blazing time of 3:25.67, ever so close to Wisconsin as they took the win, but props to them for a great race. Another loaded team of Braden, Henry, Gerardo and Patrick Sarad, despite multiple legs between all of them, ran a very impressive 3:36.02! The fun doesn’t stop there, as Trevor, Jose, John Bledsoe and Aiden Markiewicz got it done in 3:50.21 to close out their Club Relays experience. Finally, the team that got to finish the men’s 4×4’s out for the orange and blue were Jon, Thomas Tran, Tristan, and Isaac, as the seniors shared their ultimate 4×4 experience to finish strong in 4:11.90.

With an amazing amount of 93 points on the men’s side, and 96 points on the women’s side, Illinois Track and Field Club extends their win to 14 times in a row. Absolutely unbelievable. It’s not about the wins anymore, but about the commitment to teamwork, excellence, and support everyone on the club comes in with, day in and day out. It’s been a pleasure running indoors with all of you, and as we move to outdoors, it’ll only get even better (and colder). Amazing efforts to everyone, and as always, I-L-L!

-Norb

ITFC! Only an hour away, in Bloomington, IL, our next challenge awaits! The Titan Invite at Illinois Wesleyan University is one of our classic meets that we frequent, so you know the competition is going to be good! We’ll see some dirty doubles, tough triples, far jumps and throws, quick starts, and all around great running! This will be our final tune-up until Club Relays, so the great people of ITFC put our best foot forward to toe the line at this meet! Without further ado, let’s get this show on the track!

As per usual, we’re going to jump out of the blocks right into the 60m! Our three sprinters for the men, Tyler Klein, Emmanuel Lokango and Sandin Cuturic, put out some great runs! Tyler won his preliminary, and placed second in the meet overall, both with blistering times of 6.95! Tyler has been putting together some insane races with consistent time drops! Emmanuel also ran strong, running a consistent 7.60! Our man Sandin finished his run in a time of 9.05 – but fear not, as Sandin continues to recover, watch a whole second+ in time drop down in no time!

Our duo in the women’s 60m were treasurer Ninawa Odicho and hurdles coach Maria Becerra got the hurdles out of the way to test their speed. Ninawa ran away with a 6th place finish in the finals with a time of 8.24, with Maria shooting out of the blocks to finish in 8.75.That speed will definitely translate nicely to drop that hurdle time for Maria!

Keeping up with the sprints, in the 200m, Ninawa led the women with a third place finish overall with a crazy fast 26.48. Maria also doubled back in the sprints, with a fast time of her own in 28.31. When these two get on the track, you know that speed is on the track (sorry). Moving on to the men, Tyler once again led the charge with another very close 2nd place finish, with a tie from first place, both running 22.05! A very impressive performance by Tyler! Emmanuel also doubled up in the 200m, getting out a quick 24.69! Gerardo Porras took the time to test his one-lap speed with a nice 25.60 after all those great 800’s he’s been running! Finally, Brandon Perruquet, our guy, got to step on the track for his first meet! Brandon ran a great opening 28.44 to welcome him to the track season!

Let’s keep up the fast times with the 400m, where Gerardo held down the fort to focus on the long sprints for this meet! Gerardo ran a strong 56.14 in a tight finish for his heat! For the women, Ninawa continued her sprints dominance, with her best time of the season in 60.44 to take second in the meet! What a feat of strength! Kat Vande Pol, running wide, came across the line in a quick 61.53 to take 6th and score, with definitely more in the tank! Bridget Brokaw, our mid distance tank, took to the track in a 65.00 for the 400m! This will be one of two quarter-miles she runs this meet, which isn’t easy on the legs and lungs! Finally, freshman Lucca Bibbey, also with double duty on the 400m today, ran her first in 67.47!

We’ll take a break from the speed and step up to the mile. With the men, John Wiser, Lake Spradling, and Percy Moser led the charge in heat one, with a surprise visit from ITFC Alum Jeffrey Hesselbein, who was given a warm welcome back on the track from our guys still in the club. Lake, with a very impressive late surge, overtook most of the field to take 2nd overall with a time of 4:26.64! John Wiser, per usual, used his strength to run a strong and even third place finish of 4:27.81. Percy, not far behind, finished out in 4:32.55! Heat two featured our freshman 800m phenom Thomas Harmon, with a strong performance of 4:30.29! President Cade Baker, on the upswing, ran another great 4:37.69 for the mile distance! IXC President Cadyn Grafton opened up his track season with a 4:48.93! Big things are coming from him! In the following heat, Arthur Mazzeo and Norb Nieves worked together after a slow start to finish in 4:48.33 and 4:52.28 respectively! Isaac Schifferer, with his blazing kick, set a new PR with a time of 5:00.47! Some tweaking with his pacing and the 5-minute barrier will be shattered! Antony Rizk also continued improvements in his racing strategy and times, dropping to a 5:05.92! Our last heat had senior Thomas Tran leading the Illini in 5:21.20, with Charley Hoppis in 5:22.53 very close behind! Rounding out the heat were Nathaniel Lenning in a time of 5:26.62, and Gabe Benson continuing his tear on the mile distance with a 5:36.54 finish!

Diane Makovic led the Illini women, with a time of 5:27.35 after a hot start to take third overall in a deep field! IXC Secretary Alyson Ficca had a great race of her own, running a quick time of 5:46.80 for a new season record! Anna Zlatic also runs a great time in this race, breaking the 5:50 barrier to run 5:49.58! Next up were Suhani Peramanu and Lauren Brunk, the duo who has been racing together all year long! Suhani had a late charge to challenge Lauren, with Suhani running a great 6:15.77, and Lauren close behind in 6:18.37! Allison Kokal finished off the women’s mile by winning her heat in 6:44.46! Her strong kick always serves her well!

Lots of our milers also doubled into the 800m, which is a tough double for all to do. John Burns led us off strong with a 2:01.06 for the 800m result he’s been looking for. Henry Hornbrook, with a massive indoor PR, overtook in the second heat to run 2:03.41! John Wiser, fresh off of his mile double, ran a very impressive 2:04.07, with Spencer Nelson close behind in 2:04.18 in the next heat! Another pair of doubles from the mile, Norb Nieves set an indoor best, winning the heat with 2:11.53, and Antony Rizk close behind in 2:14.70! Charley Hoppis, also a part of that double group, ran a great 2:21.47, as well as Gabe Benson and Nathaniel Lenning in 2:34.22 and 2:39.26 respectively! The 800m after the mile is rough on the legs, so congrats to all of you who ran and a special nice job to those who doubled!

The women set a strong precedent, with Evelyn Rowan winning the meet in a quick 2:25.92 from wire to wire! Anna Jablonski continued her strong series of 800m runs next in 2:28.81 in the same heat to take fourth overall! Mikeelie Jensen also competed and took a step up from the 400m, with a nice return to form in 2:51.84! Mikeelie is getting stronger bit by bit, and that 400m training is helping her improve well! Awesome job to those in the half mile run!

Returning to distance events, even after a tough mile performance, Lake Spradling still broke 9-minutes in the 3000m, running a tough 8:59.18! What a performance! Leyang “Hawk” Zhang also found a good stride in a heat that matched his pacing, running a new PR of 9:47.07! Finding a good pace has helped Hawk tremendously!

With the women, they put on a show as many of them worked together very well throughout the race. Diane doubled back from the mile to run 10:46.09, an impressive run, good for second place! The next string of the usual trio, Claire Cassielo, Alyson Ficca, and Maddy Feehan, continued their train of strong performances working together. The three distance women ran times of 11:32.86, 11:42.57, and 11:44.94, working together the whole way. These three are some tough training and racing partners that continue to bring out the best in each other! Don’t forget about Anna Zlatic, not far behind in 12:00.44, again after a fast mile earlier in the day! Anna hung on to the pack for a majority of the race, displaying some tough racing strategy that is not easy to teach! The distance women especially exemplified some grit and toughness, so kudos to all of you!

Before we get to the 4×4’s, let’s jump on over to the throws pit and the jumps runway! Tyler Klein returned to the long jump, with an impressive new best of 6.45m to take third in the meet! Tyler scores no matter the event, no matter the meet! 

Frank Chavez was our solo thrower for the men this meet, throwing for a distance of 9.35m! Frank has been our most consistent thrower, and his dedication is showing! Dionne Edwards stepped back into the ring and threw down (or up, and then down) the shot with a 9.52 throw to take 9th overall! To those who took to the field, amazing work!

Now for the biggest event of the meet, the 4x400m relay! Our A relay consisted of big men Nic Soto, Henry Hornbrook, Isaac Schifferer and John Burns for a combined time of 3:38.22, all of which were on tired legs from quick races! Impressive running, boys!

On the women’s side, we had two super teams of (A) – Ninawa, Bridget, Anna Jablonski and Lucca, and (B) – Kat, Suhani, Allison, and Maria! The A team had a tight race and finished in a close second, with a 4:17.92 finish! Our second team made a great team and ran well, despite some injury maintenance, with a time of 5:06.50. Our teams got to run and run well, which is all we could ask for. With some recovery from our hard working women, times are sure to drop like flies!

With IWU under our belts, we now look to gear up to the pinnacle of indoor running! Our final meet of the indoor season, our very own Club Relays, is up next! We hope to see all of you there! Amazing job to all that ran at IWU and took a step out of their comfort zone to run a tough double or unfamiliar event, you all did amazing! As always, until next time! See you all soon! I-L-L!

Take care,

Norb 🙂