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The Illinois Track and Field Club traveled to Millikin University on April 3rd for the Big Blue Invitational. This was the club’s first outdoor meet in over 2 years.

Field Events:

In the horizontal jumps, the furthest to jump takes the victory and for our jumpers, we had yet another successful day. In the long jump, Nicholas Hartmann was our furthest jumper, leaping 18’7.75. Finishing not too far off from him was James Lu, who had a busy day. He kicked it off though by jumping 16’0.25, claiming a top 10 finish. On the women’s side, Maria Koneva was our lone entry. Out of 3 jumps her best on the day was 13’11.75, knocking right on the door of the 14 ft threshold.

Nicholas Hartmann was a man on a mission in the jumps. He was our lone entry in the men’s triple jump, going the distance by jumping a 39’9.75. His day would not end there though as he capped off a triple jumped day by returning to his main event the high jump. His best jump on the day was 5’10.5. James Lu continued a busy day all around by also competing in the high jump. He jumped a 4’11.75 and took home a top-10 finish.

Moving on to the throws event we had two great throwers make their way to the rings this week. On the men’s side veteran Shantanu Amin kicked his day off by competing in both the discus and the shot. He took home top-10 finishes in both events, coming up big throwing 21’5.25 in the shot put and 64’6 in the discus. On the lady’s side of things, Jenna Homan had quite the day. In the shot put she had a top 10 finish overall by throwing a 26’8.25. This performance was already fantastic enough but what Jenna did in the discus ring will go down in club history. Jenna Homan shattered the old club discus record. She threw a distance of 104’7 feet, got a top 5 finish and a club record all in one day. I have a feeling that she will continue to break that record over and over and over again!

Track Events:

Kicking off the meet for the running Illini was a strong cohort of 1500 meter runners. Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan crossed the line first on the women’s side, dropping an impressive 5:30.51. Finishing not too far behind Clare was Grace McDonough running a 5:37.32. Then rounding out the event for the ladies was Natalie Maguire running a strong 6:24.36. The men looked to continue a successful day for the distance crew and did just that. Crossing the line first in the men’s 1500 was distance coach Josh Mollway in a speedy time of 4:06.73 which was good enough for a top 5 finish in the meet. Home Meet Coordinator Cade Baker was next to cross the line for the Illini running a 4:28.10 and placing 3rd in his section. In the same section Jason Palafox and Lucas Dion finished right next to each other taking 8th and 9th and running 4:34.32 and 4:39.98 respectively. Rounding out the event for the Illini was Jacob Rubin running an impressive time of 5:02.44 while being the lone runner for the orange and blue in his heat.

Moving into some shorter distances we saw some stellar performances in the women’s 100m and men’s 110m hurdle events. Our duo of Maria Koneva and Maria Becerra finished neck and neck in the event running a 20.03 and 20.41 respectively. On the men’s side, we only had one competitor in the field. Josh James ran a 15.64 which was good enough for 2nd overall in the event and not too far off from the club record. 

Moving on to the next event of the day the 400-meter dash. On the lady’s side of things, we had the most entries of any team in the field and they did not disappoint. Finishing first for the Illini was Freshman Leah Murray who ran a quick 1:04.02 which got her 4th place overall in the event. Crossing the line next was Leah’s twin sister, Sam Murray at a time of 1:04.94. Our president Ciara Ward crossed the line next, running a speedy time of 1:07.79. Rounding out the event for the women was Annie Brunton, who came in first in her heat, running a 1:08.71. On the men’s side, we had one entry. Veteran Mason Rosenberg kicked his comeback season off running an impressive 53.91, taking home 6th overall in the event.

Moving onto the shortest event of the day we have the 100m dash. We had a good combination of Freshman and Veteran men in the field. In section 2 we saw second-year athlete Adam Adil continue his stellar season, clocking in a time of 11.25 and claiming top 3 in the event. Finishing right next to Adam in 4th place overall was Freshman Jimmy Hoffman running a time of 11.42. In the next section of the 100m dash, Andre Elis Jr. took off, getting 2nd in his heat and running an 11.65. Finishing right behind Andre was the freshman duo of Joe Lian and James Lu. Taking home 8th and 9th while running 12.16 and 12.36 respectively. Rounding out the field for the running Illini was our all-around veteran Shantanu Amin, running a season opener of 15.67.

The next group to make their way to the track was our always strong mid-d squad for the 800m dash. The first to cross the line for the women’s side was Katherine Vande Pol, clocking in a speedy time of 2:18.39 which was good enough for 3rd overall in the event. Section 2 was filled with Illini ladies. Leading the way for us was Wilma Rishko who ran a quick 2:46.52 to kick things off for us. Next to cross the line was Annie Brunton running a blazing time of 2:48.16. The always strong Angela Wu finished right after running a 2:51.74. Rounding out the event for mid-d was Emily Karnuth running a 2:57.39. Standing by while the ladies took care of business was our lone male in the field Henry Hornbrook. Henry went out and put down a 2:07.70 and claimed a top 3 finish to go along with it.

“Hurdles back on the track!” In one of the most technical events of the day, Josh James returned to the track for the 400m hurdles. Josh clinched another top-5 finish on the day, running a time of 1:01.29.

In the 200m dash, the sprints squad looked to continue on an already strong day. On the women’s side, Freshman Rachel Sakwa ran a speedy time of 29.03. In the very next heat, Maria Becerra ran a time of 29.80, recovering well from her earlier hurdles race. The men looked to continue with the success as they headed to the track. After being the second sprinter to cross the line for us in the 100m dash, Freshman Jimmy Hoffman kicked things off by running a 22.67 and taking home 3rd overall. Speedster Adam Adil also joined the sub 23 party by running a 22.96. Rounding out things in section 1 was Andre Elis Jr, continuing a strong day by running a 24.02. Joe Lian took care of business by himself in the following heat by sprinting a 25.11, good enough for a 3rd place finish in his heat.

12.5 laps around the track. For most of us that seems like an impossible feat, for Grace Gudwien it’s just another day at the office. Grace was our lone entry in the 5000m run and she ran a dominant 19:38.53, taking home 5th overall in the event.

Rounding out the day on the track was the infamous 4x400m dash, an event that allows event groups to mix up and put down some fast times. On the women’s side of things, we had 3 relay entries. Our “A” squad consisting of Sam Murray, Leah Murray, Tati Montanez, and Katherine Vande Pol took home 2nd overall and ran a 4:18.00 flat. Crossing the line next was our” B” squad of Ciara Ward, Maggie Abbs, Annie Brunton, and Rachel Sakwa who pulled off a top-5 finish in the event and ran a 4:33.73. Finishing the day off for the ladies was our “C” squad. The squad made up of Grace McDonough, Angela Wu, Wilma Rishko and Emily Karnuth ran a time of 5:07.22 easily. On the men’s side, the “A” squad made up of Josh Mollway, Adam Adil, Jimmy Hoffman, and Henry Hornbrook were champions in the event taking home first, running a time of 3:36.86. The “B” squad also ran a top-3 time of the day. Jason Palafox, Cade Baker, Andre Ellis, and Mason Rosenberg finished up the day for us by running a 3:56.57 bidding Decatur a goodbye.

Official Results: http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Illinois_Prep_Top_Timing/2021_Big_Blue_Alumni_Invite/index.html

@illinitrackclub on Instagram and Twitter

Members of the Illinois Track and field Club traveled over 8 hours from Champaign to St Cloud Minnesota to compete in the Husky Indoor Club Invitational, hosted by St Cloud State University. This was our club’s first official meet since both our men’s and women’s team claimed their 12th victories respectively at the 2020 Club Relays.

Field Events:

Jumps for this meet were open throughout the day and our elite jumps group used this time to bring their A-game to the pit.

Kicking things off in the men’s long jump was our senior leader and men’s sprints coach Andy Marszewski, taking it down to his last jump of 20 feet 4 inches to claim victory in the event. In his first track meet ever freshman phenom, Nicholas Hartmann, claimed third in the long jump with a jump of 18 feet 7.5 inches. Nicholas was far from finished. In his first meet ever, he jumped 6 feet 3 inches in the high jump which was not only good enough for gold but also a new club record! James Lu also started his freshman campaign with a bang, jumping 5 foot 2 inches in the high jump and 16 feet even in the long, both top 10 finishes on the day!

The women’s long jump saw some new faces for the event as well, as the Murray twins, Sam and Leah, left their mark on the event. Sam jumped 15 feet 8 inches to take home gold and Leah was right behind her jumping 15 feet .5 inches to take home bronze. Maria Koneva also went the distance in the event going 13 feet 1.25 inches.

Track Events:

From the first gun, you could tell that our athletes were ready to compete, our first event of the day was the 60-meter dash. In the women’s 60 Katherine Vande Pol kicked things off for us running an 8.62, making it look easy. Right by her was freshman Rachel Sakwa, who kicked off her ITFC career by running an 8.73 and taking home a third-place medal. Bringing home yet another top 5 finish was Maria Koneva running a 9.07. Rounding out a great start to the meet for the Illini women was Maria Becerra, who kicked off her second year with the team in high gear, running a 9.24.

The men’s 60 got off to a little quicker start than anticipated, but our guys still came through to get some great times. Coming in second overall for the event was Jalen Frazier running a 7.22, neck and neck with Adam Adil who ran 7.27 to claim bronze in the event. The men did not stop there and added two more top 5 finishes thanks to Andre Ellis Jr running a 7.53 and Anthony Stewart right behind him running a 7.56. Freshman James Lu rounded out the event, bringing home a top 10 finish and a 7.88.

In the 4×200 we saw some familiar faces from both the men’s long jump and the men’s 60 make their way back on the track to run a blazing time of 1:36.56. The team consisted of Jalen Frazier, Andy Marszewski, Adam Adil, and James Hoffman. They came together to beat the only other men’s team by almost 7 seconds.

The sprints squad was pretty much all gas and no breaks during the first part of the meet as following the 4×200 came the 400-meter dash. The men’s team was up first and saw some new members of the club getting their first shot at running in an ITFC uniform. Hector Ramos Jr ran away with this one taking home a first-place medal and cut it close, but broke 53 by running a 52.99. Behind Hector was senior Andre Ellis Jr running an impressive time of 56.32. Right behind him was Anthony Stewart coming in at 57 seconds flat. The trio of Ramos Jr, Ellis Jr, and Stewart brought home a 1-2-3 finish and a sweep of the medal stand.

The women’s Illini 400 runners were up next, and they came into the event ready to run up the points, taking home 4 of the top 5 finishers in the event. Bringing in another, first-place finish was Katherine Vande Pol clocking in an impressive 1:02.17. Following right behind Kat was freshman Leah Murray who ran a 1:05.55 taking home a third-place medal and picking up some crucial points for the team. Taking home 4th in the event was Annie Brunton clocking in a very impressive time of 1:08.73. Finishing off the event for the Illini was our fearless leader and president Ciara Ward, who ran a blazing time of 1:09.37!

After 3 sprints like track events, we now transitioned toward the mid-d geared, 800-meter dash. The men were up first in this event and we saw some very familiar faces drop some very impressive times. Winning heat one and coming in a strong second overall, we saw the man, John Kellum drop a 2:04.96. Following up behind him was our Home Meet Coordinator Cade Baker running a 2:12.04, which put him in 8th among some really fierce competition.

On the women’s side, we also had two great runners take on the event. Mikeelie Jensen was our leader putting down a 2:40.37 and bringing home a 3rd place medal. Right behind her was Annie Brunton, who clocked in at 2:50.04, earning her second top 5 finish on the day.

After a much-needed break, the sprint boys and girls were ready to get back on the track for the 200-meter dash. The men had 7 entries in the 200 and each and every entry placed in the top 10. Coming in first for the team was-Webmaster Jalen Frazier clocking in a time of 23.35. Right behind him was Adam Adil who continued his career day on the track with a 23.47, more than good enough for second. Claiming the last spot on the medal stand was Andy Marszewski running a 23.61. Neck and neck with Andy was freshman James Hoffman running a 23.68. Our 400-meter champion Hector Ramos Jr made his way back onto the track to take home another top 5 finish running a 23.88 and capping off a 1-5 finish for the team. Andre Ellis Jr got up to speed in the event too, coming in at 24.88. In heat two Anthony Stewart, calm and collective, took care of business clocking in a 25.11 and took home 9th in the event.

The women also had an outstanding performance, putting up some unreal numbers. Out of the top 6 finishers for the event, 4 of them were runners in orange and blue. Leading the way for us was Freshman, Rachel Sakwa who paved the way running a 29.66, picking up a nice third-place medal to go along with it. Our leader on and off the track, Ciara Ward, ran a 30.04 claiming 4th. Another very vital role player on the sprints squad, Maria Becerra, followed right behind Ciara running a 30.55. Rounding out the event for us was Maria Koneva running a very strong 32.49.

Now going the distance, we move onto the 2-mile run! Due to some coordinating issues in the event, our ladies did not have the ideal day they thought they would’ve. Even given this adversity that did not stop our own Grace Gudwien from running a 12:27.9 and getting second overall, indoors by herself, by far one of the best showings for our club to date.

Onto the last track event of the day the 4×400 meter dash. Even given how tired everyone on the team was we still managed to take home some hardware in both divisions. On the women’s side of the event, the women’s A team left Minnesota leaving no doubt about who the true victors were. The team consisting of Leah Murray, Sam Murray, Rachel Sakwa, and Katherine Vande Pol ran a 4:24.89 beating a tough SCSU A squad by close to 24 seconds. The women’s B team of Grace Gudwien, Clare Oehler, Annie Brunton, and Mikeelie Jensen came in right behind SCSU running a 4:50.88 and picked 4 up more medals adding to the team’s never-ending total.

The men on the other hand also left St. Cloud state on a high note. The team of Jalen Frazier, Jimmy Hoffman, Hector Ramos, and Andy Marszekski ran a 3:40.14 and took home gold in the event.

Team Scores:

Men’s:

1.	University of Illinois Club	46
2.	University of Minnesota Club	18
3.	St. Cloud State Track Club	12
4.	Iowa State University Club	3

Women’s:

1.	St. Cloud State Track Club	33
2.	University of Illinois Club	28
3.	Iowa State University Club	12
4.	University of Minnesota Club	5

The men’s team brought home a 1st place trophy and the women’s team came home with a 2nd place title, both teams left Minnesota with a host of medals. Congratulations to everyone who competed, you made the ITFC family more than proud and we look forward to seeing all that you accomplish moving forward. It is safe to say we’re back.

The Illinois Track Club’s next meet will be at Milikin University on April 3^rd, 2021 for the Big Blue Alumni Invitational. We look forward to getting more and athletes competing as we move to the outdoor season!

Official Results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/413690/results

@illinitrackclub on Instagram and Twitter

Hi everyone! Hope you all are staying safe and healthy amidst these times. The board and myself are greatly looking forward to the day we can all finally practice together again. Until that day, stay engaged, involved, and in contact! This writeup is intended to get the word out about our new website, and how we hope to use it to keep you informed in the future. Before I do that, however, it is very important that I give some massive credit to our teammate, Nikita Smyrnov, who went above and beyond to use his computer science skills to basically design the entire website. He put a ton of time and effort into this, and delivered an outstanding website that will be very useful and overall just looks great. If you get the chance, make sure to thank him for his work.

Most of the website is pretty self explanatory, however there are some cool new features that we hope to use quite a bit more going forward. The first of these new features are the training and social calendars. These calendars will be updated by the social coordinators and coaches, and will have all the information you need to know about where, when, and what we are doing at practices and social events. This way the board won’t need to spam you with emails all the time, only important reminders. Another important new feature designed to reduce email spam is that the travel form links will be put next to each race in the race schedule. Make sure you check that out. The final new addition to the website is the page that has all of the routes we run, in case you are new or aren’t familiar with a certain route. To those of you who know other routes that are not currently on the website, send me a link of the route made on onthegomap.com and I’ll add it. The rest of the website is similar to the old one, just with a bit of a facelift. It runs smoother and looks better, and is much easier for me to use to do my job (Thanks Nikita!)

Feel free to explore, and if you have feedback definitely let me know! Try to familiarize yourself with the site, since we hope to use it quite a bit more than the previous one. Like I said earlier, I can’t wait to see you all again, and until then, stay happy and healthy, and keep running!

Love,

Jeffrey <3

Well everyone, we made it. Whether we like it or not, our time at this beloved university has come to an end (unless you’re really smart and staying for graduate school). For our undergraduate seniors, these past 4 years have been far from dull. From a polarized election to a global pandemic, we’ve seen it all. Though our final season may have been cut short, that doesn’t take away from the incredible efforts put forth by you this season as well as from ones that came before. 

This write-up will be highlighting some of our talented seniors from this year, from the accomplishments they have made while at U of I to their favorite memory in the club. Thankfully, we were not alone! Along the way we met some incredible teammates, both older and younger, that have had a lot of things to say about us! So without further ado, let’s say goodbye to our seniors!

Cody Lund. During his time on the club, he served as head coach for the 2020 ITFC season and ran with the distance crew, crushing it in the mile. He will be receiving his Bachelors in Molecular and Cellular Biology as well as a minor in Psychology! He’s pretty smart. When asked what his favorite memory was, Cody said “The 4×4’s at UChicago this year. It was really the culmination of a great meet. The entire day it seemed like everyone was getting a PR and we proved we were one of the best teams there. The whole team lined the track for the 4x4s to cheer each other on. There were a couple of close races and an exciting comeback which got everyone yelling and screaming like crazy. The coach from Beloit College approached me afterwards and invited us to their track meet because she loved the energy we had as a team. As the coach it just made me really proud to see the love, passion, and support we all have for one another.” Couldn’t have said it better myself Cody, that’s why I copy and pasted it. A lot of people had a lot of nice things to say about Cody. He truly is a great leader and an excellent role model; we couldn’t have been more proud to have him as our head coach. Your running buddy will miss you too Cody.  

Alex Bienduga. While Alex was a sprinter on the club, he also served as president for the 2019 and 2020 ITFC season, as well as the sprints coach for the 2020 season. Alex has been working towards his Bachelors in Actuarial Science and Communication and plans on moving to Minnesota after graduation to begin working as an Actuarial Analyst! When asked what his favorite club memory was, Alex said the 4×4 at the 2017 NIRCA Nationals meet. Alex stated, “We broke the NIRCA record with a 3:18. My favorite part though, is being swarmed by teammates at the finish line. Made me want to stick around with the club for another year.” Our club members always have great things to say, and anonymously a member has said, “I would like Alex to know that all he has to do is take a deep breath and just trust in his ability- everything will work out. Alex has been a great coach with open arms, and because of his approachable character, he has made our team, as a whole, closer and more willing to come to practice everyday with a want to improve.” It’s truly amazing how well our leaders touch each member of our club and the impact they have left.

Julia Schultz. Julia served as IXC president for the 2019 season and left her mark on the club without a doubt. She will be earning her Bachelors of Science degree in both Civil and Environmental engineering! After graduation, she plans on moving to San Francisco to work for a small environmentally conscious company and then attend grad school in the fall of 2021! Another incredible smart and talented individual on the team. When asked what her favorite memory was, Julia said that 2018 cross country nationals was the highlight of her time in the club. The team had performed really well on both the men’s and women’s side, and individuals PR’d across the board, even though it was on an extremely cold day in Lexington, Kentucky. She said it was a very happy day for her, and her whole family came to watch! Can’t ask for anything more than that! When the team was asked about Julia, it was clear we loved her charisma. Always bringing high energy to even the most dull occasions, Julia always seemed to keep spirits high! 

Riley Maloney. Riley was another member of the distance crew, both in cross country and track. During her time here at U of I, she will have earned a Bachelors in Food Science & Human Nutrition (Dietetics)! After graduation, Riley will be completing her dietetic internship followed by her first year of graduate school at the University of Minnesota! While she’s there, she’ll be focusing on eating disorders! That’s amazing Riley and we’re all cheering for you! Riley said her favorite track memory was always attending the Wash U meet. That meet always yielded her PR’s and during her junior year her, Emma, and Ryan got ice cream after the meet! Always a nice bonus! Riley would also like to give a special shoutout to her OG pals as well as the other members of the club that have made this a home for her. She also said “Never give up on this club even when you hate it; always aim to hangout with more than just the same two people; and always run the race, even if you aren’t “ready””. Some very wise words from a woman who has been through it all. Good luck in your future endeavors Riley! We will miss you!  

Desarae Echevarria. Des was a jack of all trades for the club. She performed in sprinting events, jumps, and hurdles, with hurdles being her favorite by far! During her time here at the university, Des has been working towards her Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering! That’s incredible! After graduation, Des will be relocating to work as an engineer in Dallas, Texas! Reading Des’ answer for her favorite memory on the team made me laugh, so I am just going to copy and paste it for your enjoyment as well. “The first memory that immediately makes me smile is one where we’re all sitting around a dinner table at a pizza place. The details before the laughter initiated are fuzzy -probably because my brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen. What I do remember is Beau reaching for a slice of pizza, and as he gripped just the top layer of cheese, the waitress took it away…leaving him with just the cheese. A combination of his facial expression/reaction and me being the only one to have seen what just happened made me laugh for 30min straight, and sporadically for the following hours in the car ride back home.” She also would like to thank the coaches for pushing her to break all of her hurdle PR’s and for making the club an unexpected family. We were happy to compete with you Des and wish you the best in Dallas!

Zach Mesplay. Zach has been around for a while. On the club, Zach was a distance runner who really enjoyed failing at the 3k steeple, mad respect for even attempting the steeple, while also tearing it up on the course in cross country. During his time at U of I, Zach has been working towards a degree in Mechanical Engineering! After graduation, it looks like Zach will be headed up to the Detroit area to work for General Motors! Looking back at his time on the club, Zach said his favorite memory was running the 3k at Club Relays. Club Relays is always a fun meet for the team, as it’s our home meet so everyone can *hopefully* come out and race. We hope the start of your career at General Motors is successful as well as the rest of your running career!

Inga Augustaitis. Inga has been very involved in the club, serving as our throws coach for the 2019 season. While on the club, she has also competed in the shot put and discus, with discus being her favorite. This makes sense because she currently holds the home meet record for the discus! Outside of the pit, she has earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education! Her goal after graduation is to find a job where she can teach students music! Music teachers were always one of the better teachers in elementary school, but that’s just my opinion. When asked what her favorite memory was, Inga said that her favorite was at NIRCA Nationals last year. Specifically when all the throwers began benching fellow teammate, David Young. Man, that must have been a sight to see.  

Angela Wu. Angela was a mid distance runner on the team, with her preference being the 800. Couldn’t blame her, anything over a mile just seems unnecessary. While in school, Angela was working towards her Masters of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering! That’s really impressive! Angela’s next step after graduation is to start her new job in Champaign as a researcher. In this position, Angela will be focusing on energy analysis and sustainability! When asked what her favorite club memory was, Angela said it was being super nervous before the first race and then realizing it she was able to get out there and do it. That’s a really big milestone for all runners! The first race is always a big one, but after the gun goes off, all that stress just disappears and you can focus on competing. Congratulations on graduating and good luck in your career Angela!

Alex Hanskat. Graduating in the top 1% of the haus class, Alex has spent his club career on the distance squad. His favorite event was the 1500m as opposed to the mile because those 100 meters really make a difference as stated by an anonymous source. Off the track, Alex has been working his be-hind off to earn a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering! His plan after graduation includes working in Chicago and joining the club of washed-up athletes by proving themselves at those family turkey trots on Thanksgiving. When looking back on the club, Alex said that his favorite memory was, and I quote “8 IXC men. 3 mattresses. 1 mega-bed.” If you know, you know. We wish you the very best, IXC ghost writer, and we are so proud you have reached your “full Hanskat”, as quoted by an anonymous club member.

Brianna Legner. Up next we have yet another distance runner, Brianna! During her time on the team, Brianna specialized in the mile. This is strictly sticking to track and field, otherwise her favorite would be cross country, as it is her “FAVORITE”. Upon graduation, she will be receiving a degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences! After graduation, her plan is to continue to attend U of I in the graduate program for Speech Pathology! That’s incredible! When asked what her favorite club related memory was, like Zach, she said club relays was probably her first choice. However, she also said her workouts this year with her partners was “just an amazing feeling!” It really is an amazing feeling having a stellar workout crew. Brianna also wanted to add in that, “Through this club, I have made so many new friends and best friends that have shaped me into who I am today and made me a better person. I would have been lost without this club and this team made this very large university feel more like home. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Illinois Track/Field and Cross Country Club.” Apparently, she also has some fire TikToks!

Mason Rosenberg. Mason has been a dedicated athlete on this team, through health and injury. While competing, Mason performed in just about every sprinting event. In the classroom, he has been studying to earn a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering! Yet another engineer on the team. Absolutely full of smart student athletes. However, Mason’s journey at U of I is not finished. Upon graduation, he will begin his graduate program here in lovely Champaign-Urbana. Looking back on his time on the team, Mason said his favorite memory was winning club relays 4 years in a row. Just as a disclaimer, we’re currently on a 12 year hot streak for those keeping score back home. In all seriousness, it really is impressive to be a part of a team that can come back, year after year, and perform as well as us. Thank you Mason for your contributions and I’m sure next year’s team will be making sure you return!

Emily Condic. As a heavily involved mid-distance runner, Emily has been proving herself time and time again. On the track, she loved to run the mile and off the track, she was working towards a degree in Chemical Engineering! After graduation, Emily’s plan is to work for either Shell or P&G! Given that this information may or may not be a bit outdated at this point, she has probably already decided! In which case, congrats Emily! When looking back at her time on the team, Emily described her favorite memory from nationals last spring. “It was a beautiful, sunny warm day at Track Nationals 2019 and I had just finished taking pictures on the podium with all my teammates. I hope in the car with Beau Barber and start driving home when all of a sudden the sky opens up and starts hailing. I’m talking golf-ball sized hail that was raining down so hard that you couldn’t see five feet in front of you. We had to pull off the side of the road and we talked to each other, literally yelling to be heard until the hail stopped. We were blessed with such good weather at nationals only to have hail later on, bizarre!”  Just goes to show the random weather we can have here in the Midwest! Glad that you had a great bonding experience with your teammates!

Daniel Engel. Yet another splendid individual, graduating at the top of his class from the clubhaus. Daniel was a dedicated distance runner who really enjoyed running the mile. During his time here at U of I, Daniel was working towards his Bachelors of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering! His plan after graduation? He’ll be returning to campus to pursue his graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering! Very impressive! Looking back at his favorite memory, Daniel said it was track nationals his freshman year. It was his first time racing with the club and overall a great experience. Nationals is always a great team experience. Freshman who missed it this year, definitely attend next year. Our teammates say that Daniel is one of the most talented and kind individuals they have ever met. They also said that he can solve a Rubix Cube on the dance floor? Sounds like a perfectly balanced person! 

Jarod Meyer. Oh boy oh boy. Another animal from the clubhaus, Jarod has spent his club career on the distance squad in both cross country and track. Jarod ran all sorts of events, and was even attempting the steeplechase this season! Probably would’ve seen him shatter that glass hip, but still an A+ for effort for this kid. During his time at U of I, Jarod has worked sleeplessly for his Materials Science and Engineering degree. Most of the time he was making heinous animations in his lab, but a degree is a degree. After graduation, Jarod plans on serving his 5 years of indentured servitude as a graduate student at Stanford! Looking back at his ITFC career, Jarod said “There are so many to choose from, but the entire weekend of Track Nats 2019 is something I’m going to look back and laugh on for the rest of my life.”  100% agree with you. He also wanted to add in that he will miss you all, even you Connor.

Evan Patel. What a guy. Evan was a distance runner on the team, specializing in the mile for indoor and the 1500m during outdoor. His training schedule and eating habits were unorthodox and the average person probably wouldn’t survive more than a month. Honestly surprised he made it through undergrad. Evan will be earning his degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology and will stay around for a little longer pursuing some Post Bacc experience before attending Med School. From there, he may disappear to Cuba as an unlicensed doctor or something. His favorite memory on the team, either the legendary MegaBed or 10PM practices with everyone in the Armory, especially the meaty planks. Good choices. Your determination and sheer will are one in a million and a few of the underclassmen are hoping for a 5th year return, let’s see it happen. 

Matthew Beckerman. It’s always weird typing about myself in these. Anyways I have been a part of the club for the past 3 years as I was scared off by Old Man Somerfield freshman year. I’ve been a part of the distance crew on cross country and track, specializing in the 3k and 5k. It appears I’m the only (as far as this writeup is concerned) business graduate this year. I’ll be earning my Bachelors of Science in Information Systems and Information Technology. My plan after graduation is to hopefully find a job in Chicago before fall, after obtaining the first of many information security certifications. My favorite club memory would have to be track nationals in 2019. Jarod, Matt Dickinson, and I left the hotel after day 1 to go to a nearby casino. We went straight to the roulette table and put all of our money on red and won. We immediately left afterwards. That weekend as a whole was a college highlight for sure, between the casino and the MegaBed. 

These are not all of the seniors or graduating individuals on the team, just the people who wanted to be mentioned in this farewell write-up. To all the other members of this team graduating this spring, congratulations! It has been amazing competing alongside you and I hope you are proud of the achievements you have earned both in the classroom and out on the track. I wish you all nothing but the best in your future endeavors.

 As our time together is coming to an end, I want to express my gratitude for the team, and inspire some ambition for the younger members. This team is like a family. Regardless of how fast you run or how high you can jump, everyone is there for you. During my time on the team, I have failed to meet one genuinely awful person on this team. That’s a very special thing. If you’re reading this and haven’t been fully involved with the club, I challenge you to change that. Start attending practices more often, enter in more races, and especially go to social events. You might just find your next home.

Hello! It’s been a while! How are you? Are you staying inside like a smart, responsible person? I hope you’ve taken advantage of the nice weather we have had recently and gotten in some exercise between your Zoom meetings like our runners have been! This past weekend, April 25th and 26th, our athletes participated in ITFC’s first ever virtual race! Well, it wasn’t a race really. Our athletes took to the streets to see how far they could run or bike (without hurting themselves) for a good cause! Our club donated $1 per mile run by a distance runner and $5 per mile run by a non-distance runner (sprinter, thrower, jumper, etc.), up to $1,000 to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, and we smashed that goal! Distance covered by bikers was half the amount per mile as stated above.

Our athletes ran/biked a combined total of over 730 MILES in those two days! As our outgoing President Bienduga put it eloquently, “That’s pretty crazy”. That is about the distance from Chicago to Philadelphia! However, the story does not end there. Our generous athletes were also given the option to donate some of their refunded seasonal fees on-top-off the $1,000, making the overall donation over $1,600 with more rolling in! With all the bad things that have been happening in the world, this is our team’s effort to try and help those less fortunate that are struggling during these difficult times. We hope all of our athletes, and readers, are staying safe and abiding by the CDC guidelines so that we all may be reunited in the fall.

There were some outstanding performances this past weekend! As expected, distance runners went to the extreme, running anywhere from half marathons to 18+ miles! We had a few surprises on the sprinters side as well! Let’s dive into the results from our virtual charity run, just to see how far we all ran and biked this weekend.

Usually we would go through each event throughout the course of the day, but since this was just one event, we’ll be going through the performances based on the time they entered their results. That being said, Evan Patel was our first entry, busting out a solid 13.14 miles! Being a pro distance runner and McChicken fanatic, this was most likely a walk in the park for him. Jeffrey Hesselbein was next at a respectable 12 mile effort! Once again a member of the mid-distance/distance crew, this should have been a typical long run for the future webmaster of IXC. Sprinter alumni Kaleigh Evans took to her bike and busted out a solid 20 mile ride! She also went against her doctor’s orders and busted out a 7 mile run! Outgoing social coordinator, sprinter, and thrower Shantanu Amin got to get a feel for what distance runners go through and ran a respectable 2 miles! See you in the 5k next year Shan? Future social coordinator and sprinter, PJ Coleman, ran an impressive 6.19 miles! Stated in his report, “Distance runners deserve a beer and psychological support”. Agreed PJ.

Distance alumni Lindsey Schmidt pulled through a solid 9.27 mile run! Nice job! Sprinter Alton Barbehenn went from sprinting a measly 60 meters to over 6 miles! 6.27 to be exact! What a performance! Another strong performance by a fellow sprinter was Katherine Vande Pol with an incredible 5 mile run! Another showing by an alumni, sprinter Malorie Moore got out on Saturday and ran a nice 2 mile run! Nicely done! What do you know, another alumni participating! Adriana Miltko was a distance runner on IXC and ITFC and cranked out a solid 6 mile run! She also stated she would like to donate additional money to the cause! Thank you Adriana!

Swedish phenom Malin Ekblad put on a solid performance of 6 miles completed! Well done! Former travel coordinator and sprinter alumni, Michael Jang ran an incredible 9.02 miles! That”s nuts for a former jumping and sprinting athlete! I hope your legs are feeling better. Another sprinter and jumper, Desarae Echevarria contributed a solid 7.52 miles! You sprinters have more endurance in you than I thought! This old cross country man was able to bust the arthritis out from his joints and finish on top with our farthest single effort! Ryan Somerfield ran a whopping 18 miles! Props to you big guy! Ryan also ran an additional 9 miles on Sunday! Making his combined total 27 miles! Outgoing webmaster and yours truly Matthew Beckerman contributed a solid 10.29 miles in the cold rain on Saturday afternoon.

Distance star Jacob Fleck put in some honest work and came out with a solid 5 mile run! Well done! Another member of the distance crew Lauren Bartels was another one of the runners to run a half marathon this weekend, at 13.1 miles. Nicely done! Former distance runner and 2019 GLR Mega Red teammate, Austin Keuhr ran a solid combined 6 miles to help donate to charity! Great job Austin! Natalie Maguire, another distance runner got out on her bike this weekend and logged a decent combined ride of 28 miles! Well done Natalie! Former sprinter and jumper, Ben Junkroski logged an impressive 6 miles! Accompanied by Ben was former distance runner Callie Rukavina, who obviously also ran 6 miles. Great job you two!

Incoming webmaster for the 2021 track season, sprinter Jalen Frazier came out of nowhere and decided to be the sprinter that runs 10 miles! Incredible! Along with the new board theme, the incoming president for next year, Ciara Ward with an impressive 4 mile run, claiming she was very fast while blocking out her time. I’d keep an eye on her next year, who knows what she can do with all that power. Cross country runner Zoe Jacquat had a solid performance of 6.26 miles! Happy to have your support for the charity! Justin Baysore put in a solid combined 15 mile effort this weekend, love to see it! Former cross country runner, Mega Bed founding father, and coolest man you will ever meet from Denmark was Jean Khavaquiah Rasmusen with a converted distance of 10.44 miles! He’s one of those weird metric people over there.

Natasha Ferrero, a sprinter on the club, cranked out a solid 5.25 mile effort! Nicely done! Distance alumni, Emily Foley got in on some of the action and contributed 5.5 miles to the fundraiser! Great job Emily! Freshman distance runner Mikeelie Jensen ran a solid 6.87 mile run, rounding it up to 7 for the benefit of the charity. I don’t think Rhode will make you run the additional .13 but who knows what goes on in his head. Senior distance runner Michael Gerkin ran a nice half-marathon! Another senior distance runner, Eli Walker also ran a solid half! Nicely done gentlemen!

Continuing with the mileage, Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan, a distance star ran a nice 9 miles this weekend. Well done! Unit Mackenzie Bach, famously known for his participation in the grueling Bicentennial last August came out and contributed 11.12 miles! Nicely done Mack! Old grandpa Beau Barber must’ve felt it on this one. His only remarks after his solid 5 mile effort was “ouchy”. Former travel coordinator, sprinter Andy Marszewski threw in a nice 3 mile run this weekend. Sprinters rarely run more than 1 mile during their workouts so all of them are really putting in some work! Tiffany Yathaputanon, a former distance runner for IXC and ITFC contributed a meaty 10.27 mile run!

MaryBeth Feeley a freshman distance runner, put in some solid work and ran a solid 5 miles this weekend! Love to see it MaryBeth! Another freshman distance runner putting in some good mileage for a great cause was Isaac Schifferer, pumping out 8 great miles! Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise? I thought not. If you would like to know a story the Jedi would not tell you, hit up distance runner Connor Farrell and he’d be glad to let you know while simultaneously running a half-marathon. Continuing on…sprinter Andre Ells Jr. had a solid showing of 2.01 miles this weekend! Not bad for a super fast sprinter! Lauren Gapinske had a great showing with an impressive 8 mile effort! Nicely done!

Local beans fanatic and urban legend Alex Hanskat cranked out a beefy 15 miler this weekend. Not bad for a washed-up distance runner! You’re lucky we’re donating your mileage even though you were irresponsible and broke CDC guidelines. Shame! Upcoming IXC president, former home-meet coordinator, spent 45-minutes lost in a forest during GLR, Bryan Himmel had a great run this weekend. Getting into the double digits with a solid 10 mile effort! Thank you Mr. President! Junior distance runner and heir to the Bruyere throne was Olan Bruyere with a 6 mile run. Nicely done Olan! 2019 NIRCA MVP and former sprints coach, Becky Haight ran an incredible combined 11 miles! We hope you’re doing well and good luck on your finals! Former treasurer and mile-specialist was Andrew Rhode with a decent 4.35 mile run on a “no worky” ankle. You get an A for effort Rhode <3.

Wheaton North alumni and current sprinter/hurdler, Josh James hopped on his bike this weekend and got in a solid 17.9 mile ride! Nicely done Josh! Distance runner and super star, Mia Bertaud clocked an impressive 9.9 miles this weekend! Yes, it’s ok you used your phone Mia! Senior distance runner, Brianna Legner had some watch difficulties but persevered for a combined 10 mile effort! Nicely done Brianna! Junior distance runner, Grace McDonough also busted out a solid 10-miler. Well done ladies! Former president, Alex Bienduga had an impressive day with 8.8 miles on the clock! Must’ve been hard getting those horse legs to move that far! Maybe next year you’ll be able to beat Jang and Jalen.

Former IXC treasurer, and Mr. Money Man, Alex Kogen put in a solid 10 miles this weekend! Love to see it Kogen! Also, I think Daniel wants to discuss more about a high risk, low yield investment with you. Eli Decker, sprinter for ITFC, wishes everyone to stay healthy and busted out a solid 4.09 mile run! Thanks Eli! Distance runner Mahum Chaudhary contributed a whopping 14.15 miles! Nicely done Mahum! Distance coach, Josh Mollway got out there and finished a monster 16 mile run! He also ran an additional 5 miles on Saturday so that”s a combined 21 miles! Great job Josh! Another distance runner, Grace Gudwien also got out after it and ran an incredible 15.05 miles! Nicely done Grace!

Another distance runner came to run for the cause, and that was Liam Bots with his solid run of 10.09 miles! Awesome job Bots! Haus dweller, Daniel Engel put in a solid 5 mile effort out there! Talk to him if you want an “in” on the stock market, especially in times like these! Distance junior, high-roller, as well as another haus dweller, Nikita Smyrnov got out there and ran a solid half marathon. Nicely done Nikita! Former ITFC throws coach and musically gifted Inga Augustaitis represented the throwing crew and ran 4.68 miles! That’s what I love to see! Thanks for the support Inga! Another distance star came out to support the cause, representing the bike gang was John Kellum with his casual ride of 4.7 miles! Nicely done Kellum!

Local comedian, future Stanford grad student, and IXC cult leader, Jarod Meyer cranked out a solid half marathon while injuring his hip! If you see this man, you may confuse him with Tom Hanks from the famous movie, Castaway. Quarantine affects us all in different ways. Former mid-distance coach and future head coach Patrick Wilhalm continued on the struggle bus but managed a solid 10.01 mile effort! Thanks coach! Former head coach and prom king Cody Lund ran an immaculate half marathon, wishing he could taste that sweet NIRCA paper at Nats this year. Me too buddy, me too. Another distance runner, Garrett Minich had a solid 4.2 mile out-n-back run! Nicely done!

Future travel coordinator and steeple-chase fanatic, Justin Ostrem ran a combined mileage of 23.21 miles! Rumor has it he’s been preparing for this weekend with his underground training crew back in Wheaton, IL. Fellow distance runner Henry Hornbrook got in a hefty 8 mile run this weekend! Nicely done Henry! Junior distance runner, Angela Wu busted out 16 miles this weekend! She also wants everyone to know how proud she is of all of you and that teammates are the best. Aww shucks, thanks Angela! Former sprinter, John Brandenburg went on a nice walk/run this weekend! 4.5 miles of running and 11 miles total! Love to see it John! Thanks for participating! IXC legend Leonel Rodriguez put in some solid effort this weekend, contributing 7 miles to the cause! Great job Leonel! Freshman distance runner, Cade Baker was another one of the members to run a half-marathon! His only concern was that it hurt. Sorry Cade! Hope you recover soon!

Another freshman distance runner was Brisa McGrath with a solid 11 mile effort! Well done Brisa! Former sprinter, Sonia Zhang participated and ran a solid 12 miles! That’s nuts for a sprinter! Excellent job Sonia! Distance runner, Lauren Brunk contributed a nice 5.71 miles to the charity! She also says hi Cody. Former distance runner, Anna Welton-Arndt ran a solid half marathon, or a little over at 13.18 miles! Nicely done Anna! Our last entry of the charity was former distance runner, Zach Mesplay at an astounding 15.54 miles! Nice job bringing it home Zach!

A final round of applause to all of our athletes that went out and ran for a good cause! You all should be proud of that. It is important, in times like these, to remember what you have to be thankful for. There are countless people in the world who are in far worse situations than you, so doing whatever you can to help will go a long way. I hope you all are staying safe and staying healthy during these times, and together we will get through it! Continue to run and be active, stay positive, and we’re all here for each other! I’ll see you all very soon for our final write-up of the year!

Team,

We received notice this evening that NIRCA has officially cancelled Track & Field Nationals with no possibility for a change in either date or venue. The board met tonight to discuss this matter along with how we wish to continue with the rest of the season given the uncertainty which lies ahead. At this time, we do not plan on sending athletes to meets the rest of the semester.

With that being said, this is not a complete shutdown of our season. For those of you who wish to continue your training we will work to provide a consistent practice schedule. Our event coaches will be sending out information in the near future regarding how your training group will proceed after break. In the event policies change at our university and others which allow us the ability to compete, we intend to do so. I encourage you all to continue your involvement with this team in some capacity the rest of the season. What I believe makes this group special is not the performances we have at meets, but the passion, energy, and love you all carry for this sport and your teammates.

On a personal note, I want to congratulate everyone who set new PR”s and broke their goals this indoor season. There”s nothing I”ve enjoyed more than watching you all compete. As I”ve said before, this is an extremely talented team. I had no doubt we would be coming home from Nationals with two trophies. I know you all will make up for it next year. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Love,
Cody Lund
Head Coach

Welcome back folks. For the third weekend in a row, Illinois Track & Field Club puts forth their best in an attempt to perform well. However, this is not like any other meet that has occured throughout the season. The Illinois Club Relays is the finale of the indoor track season for the Illini and is a chance for each individual to put their best foot forward and see what they can do before they head outdoors. We invited over 25 club teams, and many individual racers (700 athletes!), to come down to our beloved Champaign-Urbana Armory track to see if they could stand a chance at stripping our title (spoiler, they didn’t). At Club Relays, events are scored differently as opposed to a traditional track meet. The times/distances/heights of each team’s top 4 best performing athletes are added together and scored as a relay. Speaking in overall terms, on the women’s side, we won the 60m dash, 60m hurdles, mile, high jump, long jump, and triple jump. They also were able to snag second in the shot put and 3000 meter run! For the men, victorys were in the 60m hurdles, mile, and triple jump. Second place in shot put and tied for third in the high jump. Additionally, they placed 4th in the 60m dash and 5th in the 3000 meter run! The points from the top three finishing teams are listed below for the men’s and women’s.

Women’s Team Finishes
1. University of Illinois……………111
2. University of Michigan………..69
3. University of Wisconsin………62

Men’s Team Finishes
1. University of Illinois…………….94.5
2. University of Wisconsin……….68
3. University of Michigan…………66

After many years of close meets, the 26.5 point margin of victory on the men’s side was our largest since 2014! That was back when Grandpa Beau Barber was still an undergrad! For the women, this is the third straight year scoring over 100 points and also 5 more points than last year! Nice job Coach Bienduga!

Spectators and competitors got to witness intense competition while also watching people in jorts and ties hand-off a bagel baton in the 4×4. The diversity of this meet is unmatched, and neither is the energy. We’re all here because we enjoy running and racing one another, and that’s what this meet embodies, no matter the skill level. We saw tons of PR’s, many podium finishes, and countless smiles. With the introduction out of the way, let’s move onto the individual results just to see how much ITFC swept the competition.

The day began at around 10am with the first running events being the 60m hurdles. Starting with our women, we had three ladies represent us on the track. Tatiana Montanez came through with a winning time of 10.31s after three stepping for the first time and dropping a whole second off her time! Maria Becerra was next at a solid 11.51s and Taylor Millsap closed it out at a respectable 12.87s! Nicely done ladies!

On the men’s side, we saw the same trend. Josh James had an incredible showing, taking first place overall at 8.66s, now 2nd all time for our club! Well done Josh! Garret Barch followed up with a fourth place finish at 8.87s and Yousuf Ahmad was right behind him to secure fifth for the Illini at 8.90s, his first time ever under 9 seconds and 6th all time for the club! Elias Decker was next at 9.38s followed up by Alton Barbehenn at 9.55s! Closing it out for ITFC was PJ Coleman at a solid 11.76s! Great job men!

Men’s high jump was occurring in the infield with three Illinois athletes. Jacob Birg lead us at a solid 1.70m, with Jad Karajeh coming in at the same height! Andy Marszewski topped it off at a solid 1.50m. Excellent performances!

For the women, we saw Susan Whelton come in 2nd place overall with a height of 1.45m! Yuliya Ilnitzkaya wasn’t too far behind in 3rd with a height of 1.40! Nicely done ladies!

Back on the track, the women’s 60m dash was up. Securing yet another victory for the Illini was Ibu Ajifolokun with an outstanding time of 8.39s, earning the 7th spot on our All-Time best leaderboard! Following up in third overall was Natasha Ferrero with a solid 8.66s! Melissa Suarez closed it out nicely at 9.85s! Well done ladies!

On the men’s side, we had quite the showing. Leading the charge was Jalen Frazier at a speedy 7.29s! Andy Marszewski followed up close behind at 7.33s. Adam Adil and Shawn Rosofsky were practically neck-in-neck at 7.41 and 7.42 respectively! Andre Ells was next at a solid 7.45s, with Turner Hastings not too far off at 7.51, a very nice PR! Brend Hiserote debuted with an impressive 7.80, tying with Anthony Lu at an exact 7.80s! Matthew Steele came across the line at 7.85s with Nicolas Perez close behind at 7.93s! Sandin Cuturic finished in just over 8 seconds at 8.03! Sam Stabosz was next at a solid 8.22s finish and Shantanu Amin closed it off strong at a 9.53s! Well done men! As you can see, we have depth.

Onto the beginning of the main reason why this meet is referred to as “Illinois Club Relays”. Besides events being scored as relays, we offer the 4×800, 4×200, Sprint Medley, and of course the 4×400. The first relay of the day was the 4×800.

Kicking it off was the women’s 4×8, and earning a top 5 finish was our ‘A’ squad consisting of Julia Schultz, Emily Condic, Mikeelie Jensen, and Maddy Feehan with a solid 10:24.56 finish! Our ‘B’ squad was made up of Audrey Calkins, Lauren Bartels, Lauren Brunk, and Margo van Loon and together they managed a 11:11.89! Nicely done ladies! Our third and final women’s 4×8 consisted of MaryBeth Feeley, Gabriela Aguilar-Ripley, Mahum Chaudhary, and Maggie Kosterman and ran a 11:38.09! Great job everyone!

We had four men’s squads. Our ‘A’ squad secured the W and managed to place second overall on our All-Time Bests with a solid 7:59.55! Oh and it was run by Josh Mollway, Nikita Smyrnov, Patrick Willhalm, and John Kellum. Solid performance out there and an extraordinary comeback by Kellum as anchor, rumor has it Cody Lund’s heartbeat peaked at 115bpm during this race! The ‘B’ team consisting of Jeffrey Hesselbein, Drake Heisterkamp, Cade Baker, and Jacob Fleck managed to pull off a 8:33.47! ‘C’ squad wasn’t too far behind at 8:39.13 made up of Norb Nieves, Henry Hornbrook, Nathan Zachar, and Jonathan Walk. Closing it out was our ‘D’ team made up of Garrett Minich, Tristan Taylor, Spencer Robieson, and Will Thomas and finished in 9:07.99! Well done to all the 4×8 teams!

Long jump was up next. Starting with the women, we had Ibu Ajifolokun jump an impressive 4.70m which earned her 2nd place overall! Close behind in 4th was Jessica Zhang at 4.43m! Melissa Suarez closed it out for the Illini at 3.72m. Nicely done ladies!

On the men’s side, Andy Marszewski jumped a solid 5.85m! Triple jump star Jad Karajeh was next at a respectable 5.70m! Jacob Birg came in at a solid 5.47m. Brend Hiserote jumped a fantastic 5.14m and Shantanu Amin topped it off at 3.54m! Well done men!

Back on the track, the 4x200m relay was up. We had two 4×2 women teams, one of which placed first place overall! (Starting to see how we won the meet yet?) The ‘A’ team made up of Katherine Vande Pol, Ibu Ajifolokun, Natasha Ferrero, and Tatiana Montanez ran a combined time of 1:51.72 and placed first overall! Our ‘B’ team ran another solid time of 1:58.90, earning them fourth overall and consisted of Zoe Tsokolas, Maria Becerra, Keyana Diaz, and Ciara Ward. Great job ladies!

For the men, yet another Illini victory, and setting the club AND meet record by half a second! Our ‘A’ squad, consisting of Garret Barch, Alex Bienduga, Jalen Frazier, and Andy Marszewski secured first place overall and an amazing time of 1:31.91! Incredible! Our ‘B’ team made up of Anthony Lu, Adam Adil, Yousuf Ahmad, and Matthew Steele crossed the line with a cumulative time of 1:36.58! In an un-orderly fashion, our ‘D’ team was up next with a time of 1:46.72, just edging out our ‘C’ team. The ‘D’ team was made up of Sandin Cuturic, Shawn Rosofsky, Brend Hiserote, and PJ Coleman. The ‘C’ team got cucked by .03 seconds and ran a time of 1:46.75! Still faster than my 800 though so you’re all still fast. ‘C’ team was ran by Nicolas Perez, Elias Decker, Shantanu Amin, and Turner Hastings. Well done on all fronts men!

We’ll take a look at the shot put pit to see how we did on that front. On the women’s side, Inga Augustaitis placed second overall with an impressive throw of 9.64m! Drew Hong followed up nicely in fifth at 7.65m! Nicely done ladies!

For the men, throws coach Chris Rydberg came out on top with a first place finish of 12.65m! That’s the fifth spot on our All-Time bests leaderboard! Liam Nassib was next in fourth place overall at 11.35m. Kelvin Cross threw an impressive 10.46m with Sam Stabosz close behind with a 10.43m! Shantanu Amin closed it out with a solid 6.11m throw. Nicely done throwers!

The 3000 meter run was up next on the track, with a decent showing on both the men’s and women’s side, surprising Coach Lund with a second place on the women’s side and a sneaky 4 points grabbed by the men! Starting with the women’s, Grace Gudwien had a solid performance and finished fourth overall at 10:59.30! Brisa McGrath came in next at 11:14.47! Riley Maloney had an outstanding race at 12:18.80! Nicely done! Natalie Maguire finished it off for the Illini women at 13:08.15! Well done ladies!

For the men, Justin Ostrem had a solid race being seeded a “bit” faster and managed a 9:05.04! Eli Walker continued his hot streak after a year hiatus with a great race and a time of 9:12.81! Coming back a week after being sick with minimal running, Connor Farrell was able to cross the line at 9:16.95! Yours truly, Matthew Beckerman ran another PR race at 9:20.77! Zach Mesplay had a solid debut performance at 9:31.89! Alex Kogen came across the line at 9:38.57! Kogen read my writeups. Michael Gerkin came out for Club Relays and ran an impressive 9:42.44! Father Wassim Elhouar ran another respectable race at 10:17.30! Basketball fanatic Nathan Saltzman closed it out for the Illini at 10:23.43! Well done everyone!

Next set of races were the women’s and men’s 1600m sprint medley relay! Abbreviated the SMR, the legs are not of equal distance for those uninformed readers. The first two runners run 200 meters, the third leg runs a 400, and the anchor runs an 800.

We had one team on the women’s side of things, and of course you already know they took first place overall. Representing the Illini in the ‘A’ squad was Zoe Tsokolas, Maria Becerra, Ciara Ward, and Katherine Vande Pol with a time of 4:30.91! This places them in the fifth spot on our All-Time bests leaderboard! Nicely done ladies!

On the men’s side, we had two teams represent ITFC. The ‘A’ team consisted of Adam Adil, Garret Barch, Jalen Frazier, and Patrick Willhalm. Together, they got second place overall and finished at 3:41.21, taking seventh on our All-Time bests leaderboard! The ‘B’ squad consisted of Anthony Lu, Josh James, Andre Ells, and Drake Heisterkamp and they finished at 3:53.88! Nicely done men!

Next up is the horde known as the mile. There were over 300 runners between the men’s and women’s races, and 13 heats in the men’s. It was insane. We’ll start with the women.

A fantastic race by Julia Schultz with a huge surge to chase down the leader and managed to close a roughly 80 meter gap! Julia bagged second place overall for Illinois and ran an impressive 5:17.07! Nicely done! Brisa McGrath was one of the other unfortunate souls to do the 3k and mile double, but still managed a 5:36.28 mile! Grace Gudwien was in a similar boat and also managed a great time of 5:44.73! Mia Bertaud had a solid performance with a 5:49.83 finish! Clare Oehler was close behind at 5:51.24, with Maddy Feehan also close at 5:55.70! Emily Condic and Noel Brindise were basically tied at 6:03.25 and 6:03.34! Audrey Calkins crossed the line at 6:10.19 and tatted up Mikeelie Jensen finished at 6:14.46! Still plenty of ITFC runners to go. Lauren Bartels came across at 6:23.19! Mahum Chaudhary and Maggie Kosterman were also essentially tied at 6:25.93 and 6:25.99 respectively! Nicely done! MaryBeth Feeley was able to finish at 6:50.09! Katelyn Howley got very close to a sub 7 minute mile at 7:00.30, almost there! Natalie Maguire closed it out at a solid 7:14.51! Wow that was a lot of runners. Nicely done all around ladies!

There’s even more runners in the men’s. Get ready for a ton of names and a ton of times. Starting off strong, coming in for the 1, 2, 3 sweep was Josh Mollway, Nikita Smyrnov, and John Kellum at 4:25.47, 4:25.88, and 4:27.27 respectively. Hands-down, favorite race of the day to watch. Excellent racing by all three of them and perfect execution to secure the sweep. Next up was another incredible race which deserves recognition. Andrew Rhode finished at 4:32.17. A huge mid race surge to chase down the leader, similar to Julia’s race, and kept pushing as hard as he could. An absolute unit came out of nowhere and managed to outkick Rhode, but still a great race overall and the end of an incredible indoor season. Human anomaly, Evan Patel debuted his season with an impressive 4:37.64! This man can do extraordinary things with very little training or care for his well being. It’ll be interesting to see how he does outdoors. Jeffrey Hesselbein was next up, squeezing under 4:40 with a 4:39.54! Nicely done Hesselbit…Hesselbein! Spencer “Give me attention” Nelson came across at 4:40.17, getting shut out by Hesselbein. Head coach Cody Lund had an impressive mile at 4:40.66 with no racing all season! Alex Hanskat had a season PR for the 800 in his mile and managed a 4:40.93! Just missing Cody’s cheeks by over .20 seconds.

Splitting up this section because there are still a ton of athletes to go. Foolish man Justin Ostrem dared to do the 3k/mile/4×4 triple and felt it this mile. Still pulled off a 4:47.03 which was a lot better than his counterpart…myself…. Liam Bots had a great race with a time of 4:50.02! Cade Baker was next at a solid 4:52.49! Tim Green had an impressive race and finished at 4:53.52! Matthew Beckerman was the other fool to do the 3k/mile/4×4 triple and survived with a 4:53.78. We’ll see him and Ostrem again in the 4×4. Lucas Carrillo came across at a solid 4:53.81! Norb Nieves wasn’t too far behind at 4:54.24, another solid PR! Future Meyer animal, Jordan Meyer managed a decent sub 5 mile at 4:58.17! Nice job! Justin Baysore and Robbie Sieczkowski came very close at 5:12.01 and 5:12.14! Olan Bruyere was next at a solid 5:14.78! Thomas Tran came across the finish line at 5:16.25 with Matt Dickinson close behind at 5:17.50! John Feeley ran a solid race with a time of 5:23.65 and Isaac Schifferer closed it out at 6:00.89! DONE WITH THE MILE! Congrats to all the athletes who competed!

Before we move onto the 4x400m relay, we’ll finish off the field events with the triple jump. On the women’s side, Yuliya Ilnitzkaya secured second place overall at a solid 9.53m! Taylor Millsap was next up in fifth overall at 9.08m! Jessica Zhang was close behind in sixth at 9.06m! Well done ladies!

On the men’s side, we had our triple jump legend Jad Karajeh take home first place overall with a solid performance of 13.33m! Jacob Birg was next in fourth place at 11.61m! Nicolas Perez closed it out for the Illini at 11.16m! Nicely done men!

The last event of a very long day, the 4x400m relay. At this point it was about 7:30pm (give or take some minutes). We had 21 relay teams between the men and women heats, which if you do some fast math, is 84 athletes. This next section is going to be long. Get comfy!

Starting with the women, our ‘A’ team consisted of Katherine Vande Pol, Ibu Ajifolokun, Natasha Ferrero, and Tatiana Montanez. Together they took home the W with a time of 4:11.53, third on our All-Time best leaderboard! Next up our ‘B’ squad consisted of Zoe Tsokolas, Ciara Ward, Maria Becerra, and Katherine Miles and ran a cumulative time of 4:47.67! This is where the fun begins. Our ‘G’ (yes, G) team consisting of Julia Schultz, Mia Bertaud, Tiffany Yathaputanon, and Margo van Loon came across at 4:50.25! It’s gonna get disorganized very quickly with the team lettering. Next up at 4:51.77 was our ‘D’ squad consisting of Maggie Kosterman, Gabriela Aguilar-Ripley, Mahum Chaudhary, and MaryBeth Feeley! ‘C’ team was up next, made up of Susan Whelton, Jessica Zhang, Yuliya Ilnitzkaya, and Melissa Suarez and together these ladies ran a 4:55.65! Nicely done! Close behind was our ‘F’ team comprised of Lauren Bartels, Lauren Brunk, Emily Condic, and Clare Oehler and together they ran 4:56.23! Our ‘E’ team was even closer at 4:56.95 and made up of Mikeelie Jensen, Brisa McGrath, Audrey Calkins, and Maddy Feehan. Closing out the women’s section of the 4×4 was our ‘H’ team consisting of Riley Maloney, Natalie Maguire, Katelyn Howley, and Zoe Jacquat with a solid time of 5:46.80! Nicely done everyone!

Onto the beefy men’s section. Let’s see how long the alphabetical order goes for team letterings and their respective finishes. Starting off with our ‘A’ squad, made up of Alex Bienduga, Jalen Frazier, Patrick Willhalm, and Andy Marszewski with an impressive time of 3:29.53 and an eighth spot on our All-Time best leaderboard! Not only that, but they also bagged the W! Next up was the ‘B’ team consisting of Josh Mollway, John Kellum, Andre Ells, and Drake Heisterkamp with a solid time of 3:40.43! Nicely done! ‘C’ team was close behind at 3:41.04, made up of Josh James, Elias Decker, Adam Adil, and Garret Barch, well done! The ‘E’ team, consisting of Cody Lund, Alex Hanskat, Jeffrey Hesselbein, and Nikita Smyrnov was next up at a solid finish of 3:47.31! The ‘G’ squad, codenamed: “Boys Who Cry” followed up at a 3:52.94, made up of Evan Patel, Mackenzie Bach, Eli Walker, and Connor Farrell. Nicely done boys! Our ‘D’ team was comprised of Anthony Lu, PJ Coleman, Yousuf Ahmad, and Turner Hastings with a solid time of 3:53.37! Great job!

Splitting this up just like the mile because there are still about half of the teams remaining. Following up close behind the ‘D’ team was our ‘H’ team at 3:53.93, made up of Henry Hornbrook, Spencer Robieson, Jonathan Walk, and Nathan Zachar. Nice job men! The ‘F’ squad consisted of Spencer Nelson, Tristan Taylor, Malachi Robinson, and Norb Nieves and together they were able to run a combined time of 3:56.26! Nicely done! Our ‘I’ team was made up of Lucas Carrillo, Garrett Minich, Liam Bots, and Tim Green and were able to cross the finish line at 3:56.91! Almost done, I promise. Our ‘K’ team consisted of Alex Kogen, Andrew Rhode, Jacob Fleck, and Olan Bruyere with a solid time of 3:59.19, well done! The ‘L’ squad (no L’s taken today) was made up of Cade Baker, John Feeley, Jordan Meyer, and Kevin Callahan to run a great race with a time of 4:02.45! Great job gentlemen! Our ‘M’ team consisted of Matthew Beckerman, Justin Ostrem, Arthur Mazzeo, and Jarod Meyer. Having two fools who triple entered, and a man who just finished a 12 hour travel day from California to show up and run a 400, somehow managed a 4:05.61. Well done men! Our final 4×4 squad, the ‘J’ team consisted of Wassim Elhouar, Isaac Schifferer, Thomas Tran, and Justin Baysore topped off Club Relays 2020 with a 4:17.41 finishing time! Congrats to our massive 4×400 effort!

And just like that, Illinois Club Relays 2020 is a wrap! Massive shout out to Bryan Himmel for coordinating the meet this year. Without him, this wouldn’t have been possible. Also shout out to Cody Lund and Alex Bienduga for their efforts of getting things organized and also having to proofread this monster of a writeup, I appreciate you both. As stated in the title, ITFC walked away with their 12th consecutive win and I’m sure they’ll do the same for the 2021 Club Relays and so on. This couldn’t have been done without the incredible efforts put forth by each of our athletes, so a final congrats to everyone who came out and competed! Now, we look ahead to the outdoor season. We have quite a bit of downtime between now and our next meet (March 28th), followed up by Nationals early April. Train well and consistent these next 4 weeks to stay in competing shape. Thank you to all the other teams and athletes that came out and competed as well, we’re all hoping you return next year and spread word so that we may have even more athletes competing! Also wanted to thank Milesplit and NIRCA for showcasing the meet on their respective social media accounts! And the truth is…I am NIRCA.

Official Results:
https://results.shazamracing.com/meets/5579

Being on a club team is always interesting. When telling people that I run on a club team, some responses may include: “Oh that’s cool, so like 10-20 of you get together and run?” or “That’s awesome! Do you guys still go to meets?” or “What’s your mile time?”. Then after I flex my mediocre mile time from high school, I mention that our club team has athletes that can stack up against, and win against competitive D2 and D3 athletes; their whole perspective changes. We are an entirely student-run track team with the same firing power as some impressive varsity teams, and that was the case this past weekend at the University of Chicago. Countless PR’s sprinkled in with some All-Time Bests, and topped off with just an overall great time. The Illini took a huge step forward in the week leading up to Club Relays, let’s take a look at the individual results to see just how well they performed.

At 11am, bright and early for a college student, the Women’s 5k stepped onto the track. Our very own Margo van Loon represented us, running a staggering 21:53.64! What a time!

Next up was the women’s 60 meter hurdles. First up was Desarae Echevarria running a speedy 10.22s! Had we been allowed to qualify for the finals, Des would have made it for the women. Following up right behind her was Maria Becerra finishing in 11.79s! Nicely done ladies!

Next up, the gentlemen 60 meter hurdles. Our top 3 sprinters would have qualified for the finals, and placed very well, just an FYI cough UChicago cough. First up, Garret Barch at an impressive 8.76s! That’s a third All-Time Best! Following behind was Josh James at 8.84s, and Yousuf Ahmad at 9.14s! Nicely done men! Continuing the Illini barrage was Elias Decker at a blistering 9.96s! Finishing it off for the Illini was PJ Coleman with a 12.61s finish! Great job all around guys!

We’re going to interrupt this running and move our gaze to the field events, where athletes have just started to compete. First up, women’s high jump.

Our solo star, Yuliya Ilnitzkaya jumped an impressive 1.43m! Well done Yuliya!

Opening next, was the women’s long jump. First was Jessica Zhang with an impressive 4.41m! That’s pretty far folks! Unfortunately, Melissa Suarez fouled out, but will be back stronger than ever at Club Relays, mark my words.

We’ll come back to the field events after some more running events take place. Women’s 60 meter dash seems to be next!

Barely making it to the race after competing in long jump was Melissa Suarez who ran an impressive 10.15s! Our only showing but a fast one nonetheless! Great job Melissa!

The men’s squad came to play. First up for the Illini was Adam Adil with a quick 7.40s! Following up at exactly the same time was Shawn Rosofsky, also a 7.40s! Nice job men! Andre Ells was next up with a 7.54s finish, followed up by Turner Hastings at 7.61s! Pretty freaking fast! Matthew Steele came out with a solid 7.82s finish! Bienduga meme enthusiast, Shantanu Amin topped it off at a solid 9.77s 60! Well done gentlemen! Excited to see what you all can do at Club Relays next week!

Unfortunately, none of our men were up for the men’s 5k, so we look back to the field events where another round of events have opened.

Starting with the men’s long jump, Andy Marszewski pulled off an impressive 6.00m! Like last week for the weak-minded imperial users, that’s like 18ft! Insane! Jad Karajeh followed up suitably at 5.88m! Shantanu Amin unfortunately fouled out but will be back at Club Relays without a doubt hungry for a second chance. Great job men!

Back to the track! Women’s mile was the next race. A time that would have gotten her a top 5 finish was Brisa McGrath with an impressive 5:30.29 finish! Nice job Brisa! Not too far behind was Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan at 5:52.82! Packed up almost right next to each other were Lauren Bartels and Mahum Chaudhary at 6:24.04 and 6:32.17 respectively! Maggie Kosterman finished it off at a solid 6:43.34! Nice job ladies!

On the men’s side, we had quite the showing of Illini as well! A very impressive race by Nikita Smyrnov with a huge comeback in the second half got him a very fast time of 4:28.57! Following up right behind was Josh Mollway at another fast time of 4:31.59! Great race to watch men! Next up was ex-cross country treasurer and future con-man Alex Kogen at a steady 4:50.55! Close behind was Lucas Carrillo at an impressive sub 5 time of 4:54.08! Tim Green and Liam Bots were even closer and both managed sub 5 minute miles at 4:55.71 and 4:56.18 respectively! Liam and Lucas both won their respective heats and rumor has it the three of them want to fight it out at Club Relays to see who comes out on top! Stay tuned for some spicy distance action! Norb Nieves managed to break the 5 minute barrier at an edgy 4:59.60! Thomas Tran was next up at a solid 5:13.24! Finishing it off for the Illini was a solid group of three. Justin Baysore at 5:20.99, Isaac Schifferer at 5:22.48, 14 seconds faster than just one week ago! John Feeley came in strong at 5:24.98! Nice job all around gentlemen!

Before we move onto the remaining running events, it’s time to close out the field events.

Representing the Illini in the men’s triple jump was Jad Karajeh at an astounding 13.91m! Not only was this over a meter PR for Jad, but he also demolished the previous club record of 13.07m. No doubt he’ll be doing much better outdoors. Not to mention all of that and a third place overall in the triple jump!

Next up was the women’s shot put. Drew Hong threw a solid 7.46m. Nice job Drew! On our men’s side, we had Shantanu Amin throw a whopping 6.32m! A pretty solid PR! Excellent performance throwers and to our entire field events crew!

On the track, women’s 400 meter dash. Natasha Ferrero showed up with an impressive 1.05.44! Close behind was Tatiana Montanez at 1:06.07! Nicely done ladies!

For the men, Jalen Frazier ran an impressive 51.97! Earning second place overall! Close behind was Justin Davis in third at 52.17! Nice job men! Finishing it off was Turner Hastings at a solid 57.28, dropping significant time over the last few weeks! Well done all around!

The mid-distance squad had a chance to compete in the 800 meter run. Starting with the women, Katherine Vande Pol ran a speedy 2:22.17 which earned her third place overall! Well done Katherine! Mikeelie Jensen was next up at 2:36.51 and following right on her heels was Maddy Feehan at a solid 2:37.73! Excellent job! Closing out was MaryBeth Feeley and Mahum Chaudhary with solid sub 3 minute times at 2:56.42 and 2:59.04 respectively! Great performances ladies!

On the men’s side, the Illini went home with the first place AND second place podium finishes! Not bad for a club team! The always-smiling runner John Kellum has just been killing it all season. Finishing in 1:57.14, this man beat second place by almost 2 seconds! Great job John! We’re all excited to see what you can pull off at Club Relays! Distance coach Josh Mollway was able to snag that second place spot right at the end at 1:59.07. Still in the top 10 was mid-distance coach Patrick Willhalm at a fast time of 2:01.42! Getting close to that sub 2 minute milestone aren’t ya Patrick? Next up was Jeffrey Hesselbein at a solid 2:04.47, taking home the W for his heat! Jacob Fleck had an impressive race with a 2:07.89 finish! Close behind was Cade Baker at 2:08.17! Nice job gentlemen! Nathan Zachar finished at 2:11.21, so close to getting under that 2:10 barrier! Norb Nieves ran a respectable 2:15.08 and topping it off was none other than father Beau Barber at an impressive 2:15.47! Great job all around men!

After the 800, some real speedsters were up in the 200 meter dash. Starting with our women, Desarae Echevarria sprinted a solid time of 28.39s! Zoe Tsokolas followed that up with an impressive 29.23s time, and wrapping it up was Maria Becerra with a 29.79s! Nicely done ladies!

On the men’s side of things, Garret Barch ran an impressive 23.25s! Very close behind was Andy Marszewski at 23.35s! President, and meme goldmine, Alex Bienduga was third for the Illini at a solid 23.47s! Nice job gentlemen! But it doesn’t stop there! Adam Adil was creeping up on Alex at a 23.80s finish. Yousuf Ahmad was next at a great time of 24.72s, with Matthew Steele to follow up nicely at 25.58s! Sandin Cuturic closed it out nicely for the Illini at a solid 27.43s! Well done everyone!

The distance squad was up again, this time for the 3000 meter run. The women sent forth Grace Gudwien to run a respectable 10:55.20! Look out for her at Club Relays to do some real damage!

Leading the charge for the men was sophomore out of Wheaton, IL Justin Ostrem with a solid time of 9:14.64, winning his heat! Some serious speed for a man with little speed to no speed work. The debut of Eli Walker’s season was a long awaited return. After pushing himself past the limits last year at Club Relays, he came back strong almost a year later at 9:24.21! Look out for him next week, he’s hungry for a faster time. Matthew Beckerman had an impressive race of 9:25.58! A 20 second PR! Future beans boy Jordan Meyer managed a sub 10 minute time of 9:59.02! Nice job! Wassim Elhouar crossed the line at 10:18.69, but he’s looking to greatly improve in the coming races. Well done all around gentlemen!

The main course, the most hype event, the 4×400 meter relay. Rumor has it ITFC has over 20 TEAMS stacked for club relays next week 0_0. This week however, we had one women’s team and they finished third overall! Comprised of Katherine Vande Pol, Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan, Ciara Ward, and Desarae Echevarria, these ladies were able to crank out a solid time of 4:28.09! Well done!

For the men, the Illini came with 3 4×400 relay teams. Our ‘A’ team was made up of Andre Ells, Josh James, Patrick Willhalm, and John Kellum. Together they pulled off an impressive 3:36.16 and a second place overall finish from a cheeky lean by Kellum! Nicely done! The ‘B’ squad, Elias Decker, Drake Heisterkamp, Beau Barber, and Nikita Smyrnov, crossed the line in 3:42.86! Great job men! The ‘C’ team was made up of Norb Nieves, Tristan Taylor, Malachi Robinson, and Spencer Nelson and together they finished in 3:56.42, winning their heat due to a crazy comeback pulled off by Spencer! Great job all around!

As we wrap up this weekend at the University of Chicago, ITFC sets their gaze on the horizon at Club Relays. This may sound a bit biased, but Club Relays is one of the best indoor meets in the nation for club running. It’s the benchmark meet for the indoor season and is an all around great time. Expect to see some fast times, great competition, and tons of memes. Great job to everyone that competed this past weekend, there is no doubt that a lot of you should be happy with your performances. Now it’s time to prepare for next weekend. Let’s go take our 12th W in a row.

Official Results:
https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/mtrack/2019-20/files/ITF-MB-invite-results.pdf

Much like getting sick on the beaches of Ecuador, the Illini faced the competition offered by the University of Indianapolis with sheer will and determination. In the midst of rigorous training, the Illini still had some standout performances. It is important to emphasize that the track season has a long way to go before the athletes begin to “peak” as it’s called. Whether your performance was a PR or far from, keep this thought in the back of your mind. Come to practice hungry and determined to run fast, jump high, or throw far. Just under two weeks until the biggest indoor club meet in the nation, have that be your benchmark. With that out of the way, onto the individual results!

The day started around noon with the opening of the field events. First up, men’s long jump. Andy Marszewski was our first chosen athlete to compete, jumping an incredible 5.89m! Following behind was social coordinator Shantanu Amin with an impressive 3.84m! For you imperial scum, that’s over 12ft!

For the women’s, we saw Ibu Ajifolokun jump an impressive 4.84m which secured her the 4th spot on our All-Time bests leaderboard! Following up on that was Melissa Suarez jumping a solid 3.56m! Nice job to our long jump athletes!

With no Illini being represented in the triple jump, we moved on to the shot put where we had one lone athlete compete. Shantanu Amin came in and threw an impressive 5.48m! More Bienduga memes are coming Shantanu, don’t you worry.

That concludes our field event portion for this meet, we hope to see more out there next week at the University of Chicago! But now, it’s time to look onto the track and see how our running athletes stacked up.

Starting with the women’s 60m hurdles, Desarae Echevarria came across the finish at a blistering 10.40s! Following up was Maria Becerra at 11.93s finish! Not bad for her first ever hurdle race! Excellent job ladies!

For the men’s hurdles, Josh James did not disappoint when he finished top 5 in the finals with a 8.81s finish! Josh has been working on his starting steps at practice and his new strategy of 7 steps over 8 should lead to faster times later this season! Excellent race! Just barely missing qualifying, but no doubt that will come in the future was Yousuf Ahmad with a 9.25s. Alton Barbehenn finished it up for the Illini with a strong 9.83s. Great job gentlemen!

Next up, the 60m dash! Starting with the ladies, Ibu Ajifolokun opened up with a 8.48s finish! Securing the 7th spot on our All-Time bests leaderboard! Following her was Melissa Suarez with a 10.28s! Nice job ladies!

On the men’s side, we saw Jalen Frazier run an impressive 7.31s time! Close behind was Shawn Rosofsky with a 7.41s finish! Our very own President Alex Bienduga sprinted a blistering 7.47s! Coach Helberg would be proud, kid. Next up was a very close finish between Matthew Steele and Turner Hastings. Steele came across at 7.80s with Hastings right on his heels at 7.82s! Unfortunately they weren’t in the same heat but great performances nonetheless! Sandin Cuturic made his season debut with a 8.18s finish and Shantanu Amin came across at 9.80s! This man does it all I swear.

Next event on the track was the 400 meters, sprinters version of “distance”. On our women’s team, we saw Katherine Vande Pol on the edge of a top 5 finish with a 1:01.35 performance! Awesome job! Desarae Echevarria was next for the Illini at a speedy 1:07.46, an excellent race! Ciara Ward topped it off for the Illini at a solid 1:08.31 race. Nice job all around ladies!

On the men’s side, Andy Marszewski showed up and secured a top 5 finish for the Illini with a solid 52.36s time! Distance / mid-distance hybrid John Kellum decided to give the 400 a try and ran a solid 53.76s race, just getting him into the top 10! Next was Henry Hornbrook with a respectable 55.57s time! Alton Barbehenn and Beau Barber had pretty close finishes, once again separated by heats. Barbehenn finished at 56.37s while Barber finished at 56.49s. Nice job men! Turner Hastings finished with a speedy time of 57.85s! Great job to all of our 400 meter runners!

A nice break from sprinting events leads us to the mile run. Distance runners most favorite event to flex.

Starting with the women’s mile, freshman Brisa McGrath had an amazing race that landed her in the top 10 with a 5:39.95! Lauren Bartels also had a standout race in the mile, finishing at a blistering 6:15.72, 10 seconds faster than at IWU and a lifetime PR! We have some fast ladies on the team! Gabriela Aguilar-Ripley was next for the Illini at a solid 6:31.32! Following up was Mahum Chaudhary with an impressive 6:39.44! Angela Wu came across the finish at a solid 6:44.13 and closing it out was Natalie Maguire with an amazing 7:03.12! Well done ladies!

On the men’s side, we apparently had some issues with timing in one of the heats so we’ll give an estimated time for that athlete. Starting us off was steeplechase coach Justin Ostrem with a respectable 4:41.18! Not bad for mid indoor season! Arthur Mazzeo just wedged under the 5 minute milestone for a solid 4:59.89! Awesome job! Justice Carter ran a strong race and finished in 5:10.45! Thomas Tran had some timing issues on the official results. Based on some complex mathematical equations, we estimate Tran crossed the line between 5:15 and 5:17 based on how fast he ran his final lap. Still an excellent job nonetheless! Isaac Schifferer came across at a solid 5:36.02, beating his IWU time by 12 seconds! A round of applause for our mile runners!

Next on the track was the infamous 800 meter run, it’s like a 400 just twice!

Representing our women athletes was none other than Natalie Maguire who ran a solid 3:18.03! Way to represent the Illini Natalie! Hoping to see more of our women out there next week!

The men’s 800 meter run was a sight to behold. I wish I could have been there to see it in person. John Kellum not only ran a season PR in the indoor 800, but he also won the race and placed 6th on our all time best leaderboard! Kellum ended up winning with a 1:59.77, the only one to go sub 2 that day. Amazing job Kellum, excited to see what comes at Club Relays! But wait, there’s more! Nikita Smyrnov came across the line in third place! Shaving close to 3 seconds off his time from IWU and a season best at 2:01.20! Excellent job Nikita!

Drake Heisterkamp also had a solid performance at 2:07.43! Excellent race! Cade Baker had an awesome race and finished with a 2:11.24! Jonathan Walk debuted his season with a solid 2:12.29! After that, we had an awesome stream of Illini, coming in one after another in their heat. Henry Hornbrook finished at 2:15.66, Nathan Zachar came across right on his heels at 2:15.83, Norb Nieves shortly after at 2:16.11 which was an 8 second improvement from IWU! Finally old man Beau Barber with a solid 2:16.65! Spencer Robieson closed it out for the Illini at 2:20.27. Excellent job men!

Back to sprinting events, the 200 meter sprint was next. Representing the women was Katherine Vande Pol with a 27.68, a time worthy of taking 5th on our All-Time leaderboard! Next for the Illini was another All-Time best, Ibu Ajifolokun ran a fast 27.99 taking the 6th spot on our leaderboard! Following her was Natasha Ferrero with a solid 29.25! Wrapping it up for the horde that is known as the 200 meter dash was Maria Becerra with a respectable 30.03! So close to breaking that 30 second barrier!

For the men, we had quite a few gentlemen represent the Illini. Starting off was Andy Marszewski with a top 10 finish at 23.32! Alex Bienduga somehow weaseled his way into the top 10 as well at 10th place by just .01 of a second with a time of 23.47. Cutting it close Mr. President! Jalen Frazier came across at a speedy 23.60! Yousuf Ahmad finished with a solid 24.68 and not too far behind was Shawn Rosofsky at 24.98! Matthew Steele had a DQ time listed in the results, but based on trusted sources, he ran an impressive 25.32! He’ll be back next week so keep an eye out. Wrapping it up for the men’s 200 was Sandin Cuturic with a solid time of 27.18! Great job gentlemen!

Next event on the track was the 3000 meter run! Representing our women’s squad, we had Grace Gudwien run a speedy 10:42.83 and finish third overall! Nice job Grace!

On the men’s side of things, our very own distance coach Josh Mollway lead the charge with an impressive 9:08.51 and a first place for his heat! Nice job Josh! Usual mid-distance runner Andrew Rhode showed off his distance prowess with a 9:29.04! Beans boy Jarod Meyer had a respectable race with a 9:53.28 finishing time! Nathan Saltzman came across the line at 10:35.35, finishing it off for the Illini. Great job men! Olan Bruyere was another victim to fall to the timing issues. The results had him at 10:12.40, but more accurately would have been close to under 11 minutes. Still great performances all around!

Final event of the day, 4×400 meter relay. Starting with our women’s relay teams, our ‘A’ squad consisted of Desarae Echevarria, Ibu Ajifolokun, Natasha Ferrero, and Ciara Ward. These speedy gals were able to secure a second place finish for the team with a cumulative time of 4:25.90! Excellent job ladies! Our ‘B’ squad consisted of Maria Becerra, Brisa McGrath, Mikeelie Jensen, and Angela Wu. Together, they managed a 5:02.29 total time. Excellent races ladies!

Our men came to UIndy with three 4×400 relay teams. In an un-orderly fashion, our ‘B’ team ended up finishing first consisting of Nikita Smyrnov, Drake Heisterkamp, Alton Barbehenn, and Jeffrey Hesselbein. Together, they pulled off an impressive 3:42.41. Nice job men! Our ‘A’ squad followed up with a 3:51.41 consisting of Josh James, Josh Mollway, Patrick Willhalm, and John Kellum. Great performance! Our ‘C’ squad was made up of Norb Nieves, Jonathan Walk, Beau Barber, and Nathan Zachar. They managed to cross the line at 4:02.00. Excellent performances all around gentlemen!

It was a solid day all around for the Illini, and each athlete should have something to walk away with. As stated at the beginning, we are currently in the midst of intense training not only to gear up for Club Relays, but for the whole outdoor season as well. If your performance wasn’t where you wanted it to be, analyze what could be improved on and go for it. We still have a long season ahead of us and weeks of training and racing to help build up for Nationals and beyond. This is ITC signing off, we’ll see you at UChicago.

There is unrest in the running world. As the devastating month of January comes to an end, a new hope is on the horizon. This past Saturday, February 1st, the Illinois Track Club traveled across the great plains to Bloomington, IL where they faced great competition, and reaped great rewards. President Alex Bienduga claimed close to 70 ITC athletes competed. We’ll see if his reputation of lies and trickery upholds. Regardless, it was a great day to watch the Illini compete. Close photo-finishes, life-time PR’s, and all wrapped up with an exquisite family dinner at the local Champaign Culvers. So sit back, relax, grab some popcorn, and enjoy.

The day started at 10:15am when the women’s 5k began. Unfortunately for the Illini, no single woman decided to run this event. Big sad! However, just 20 minutes later, a lone wolf stepped up for the men’s 5k. Wassim Elhouar ran a smooth 17:58. By no means is this the fastest this man can run, but it’s an excellent place to be at for the beginning of the season. Especially on an indoor track.

While the 5k races were happening, our field friends were out showing how strong ITC is. Sadly no women were representing the Illini in the women’s shot, however we did have athletes in the men’s section. Leading for the Illini was our very own throws coach! Chris Rydberg threw a whopping 12.60m! Incredible! Sam Stabosz followed suit at a 10.10m throw, and Kelvin Cross right on his heels at 10.09m. Our very own social coordinator Shantanu Amin finished the Illini strong at 5.97m. Excellent job gentlemen!

In the long jump sections, we had Melissa Suarez representing the Illini women at a 3.24m! For the men, Jad Karajeh led the charge at an incredible 5.85m! Grant Brown followed suit at an impressive 5.39m. Well done athletes!

Next set of field events were the triple jump sections. Representing ITC in the women’s section was Yuliya Ilnitzkaya, jumping an incredible 9.52m! For the men, we had Jad Karajeh place in the top 5, jumping 12.88m! This places him at the #2 spot for All-Time performances for indoor track! Great job Jad! Following up was Nicolas Perez at 11.07m. Great performances all around by the Illini!

Unfortunately, ITC doesn’t have any pole vaulters (rip). So the next, and final field event would be the high jump! For the women, we had one lone athlete compete for the Illini. Yuliya Ilnitzkaya jumped an incredible 1.40m! Continuing the trend of lone competitors, Jacob Birg jumped 1.75m for the high! Well done athletes!

Swinging our attention back to the track, the 60 meter hurdles prelims are underway. Starting with the women, Desarae Echevarria ran a speedy 10.59! Teammate Tatiana Montanez followed up nicely at 11.89! Nice job ladies! For our men, we saw Josh James lead the pack and run 8.91 which earned him a qualifying spot! Amazing performance by Josh! Elias Decker was next for the Illini at 9.50 and Joseph Bleyer wrapped it up for the team at 10.03. Great races by everyone!

For the 60 meter dashes, no women were representing the Illini, however we did have our men athletes run strong races. Leading the charge was Jalen Frazier with a blistering 7.30. Next race would have been a photo-finish had they been in the same heat. Travel coordinator Andy Marszewski edged out President Alex Bienduga by just 2 hundredths of a second. Andy ran a 7.35 and Alex finished in 7.37. Alex’s comments post race were “The 60 isn’t my race”. Clearly. Next up for the Illini was Andre Ells at 7.49. Following close behind was Grant Brown at 7.56. Excellent job gentlemen, but we aren’t done yet! Turner Hastings crossed the line at 7.74. Nicolas Perez was able to run a speedy 8.17. PJ Coleman sprinted across at 8.99 and Shantanu Amin finished in 9.75 seconds. What a showing by the Illini in the men’s 60 meter dash!

Next event on the track was the mile! This race was stacked full of Illini throughout all heats. Leading the women was Mia Bertaud at 5:53.26! Incredible time! Next up was a close race between Audrey Calkins and Lauren Brunk, finishing in 6:11.61 and 6:13.19 respectively. Next for the Illini was Ally Tippett at a speedy finish of 6:20.88. Nice job! Riley Maloney wasn’t too far behind at 6:22.52 and Brianna Legner was right on her heels at 6:22.98! Such a close race! Lauren Bartels finished in 6:25.61 and Sarah High finished it off for the Illini at 7:16.50. Excellent job ladies!

Onto the men! Starting off strong was our very own distance coach Josh Mollway at a whopping 4:26.09! Following up not far behind was legendary John Kellum at a blistering 4:28.44! These two showed excellent team work during the race and should be proud of their finishes. Andrew Rhode had, what may seem, the race of his college career. About halfway through the race, this man, this animal, had one of the biggest surges ever witnessed in club running. Going from mid-pack all the way up to 2nd place and gaining on the leader, Rhode managed to pull off a 4:36.57. An incredible effort all around.

Coming up next in the mile was steeplechase coach icon, Justin Ostrem. Ostrem busted out a 4:47.44 after a flaky off season riddled with illness. Great job out there! Gaining fast and coming for Coach O’s rear was haus legend Jarod Meyer. A late race surged secured a 4:48.74 for this unit. Well done lad! Alex Kogen was not too far behind at 4:50.87. The next set of Illini in the mile were all relatively close in finish, two of which were in the same heat which lead to a great race to watch. Jacob Fleck came across at 4:57.57. Cade Baker finished in 5:01.48, so close to that sub 5 milestone! Norb Nieves came across shortly after at 5:02.76. Surely sub 5 is inevitable for these two runners!

Think we’re done with the mile? Nope! Nathan Zachar finished at 5:09.21. Nice job! A close race between Thomas Tran at 5:22.90 and Justin Baysore at 5:24.27. And finally, Isaac Schifferer closed out the mile for the Illini at 5:48.65. Well done to all the men that ran in the mile! Excellent performances all around and still plenty of opportunities for improvement!

Next event was the 60 meter hurdles finals! Josh James was back on the track and secured 6th overall at 8.79, 4th All-Time club fastest for men! Excellent finish Josh!

After the 60 finals were the 400s. In the women’s sections, we had three athletes represent the orange and blue. Leading was Katherine Vande Pol at 1:03.04! Once again a 4th All-Time fastest for women! Tatiana Montanez was next at 1:09.25 and Ciara Ward closed it out at 1:09.41. Great performances ladies!

For the men, we had two athletes competing. Mid-distance coach himself, Patrick Willhalm finished in an astounding 53.96! Teammate Turner Hastings finished not too far behind at 58.11! Great job gentlemen!

Onto the 800s! On the women’s side, we had Mikeelie Jensen lead the way at a solid 2:33.68! Next up was Audrey Calkins crossing the line at 2:49.84. Excellent job! Close behind was Angela Wu at 2:50.83. Ally Tippett wasn’t too far behind at a 2:55.17! And topping it off was MaryBeth Feeley finishing at a 3:04.67. So close to that sub 3 minute milestone! Excellent job all around ladies!

Just like the mile, we have a ton of men who raced in the men’s sections of the 800. 13 athletes to be exact. To start, we once again saw Josh Mollway and John Kellum running well together! The finish was quite close this time with Mollway at 2:00.85 and Kellum at 2:00.91! Well done men! Next up was Nikita Smyrnov at a solid 2:04.73! Following him was Jeffrey Hesselbein at 2:06.15! Excellent races!

This next race ended in excellent fashion. Andrew Rhode once again had an outbreak of a race accompanied by his teammate Spencer Nelson. In the final stretch, both of them performed what secretary Patel describes as a “Saints Pass”. Essentially overtaking a runner from either side simultaneously. Nelson was able to edge out Rhode slightly in the finish at 2:06.53 while Rhode finished in 2:06.68, both of them earning a #1 and #2 finish in their heat! Awesome race gentleman and a very exciting one to witness!

Drake Heisterkamp came in at a solid 2:07.66. Well done! Henry Hornbrook lead the next batch of Illini at a strong 2:12.86. Following him was Beau Barber at 2:16.05. On the old man’s heels was a slightly less old man, Jacob Fleck finished at 2:16.31. Excellent performances by the boomers! Nathan Zachar was next at 2:17.95. Close behind but unfortunately in a different heat was Alex Hanskat at 2:17.99. Finishing it off for ITC was Norb Nieves at 2:24.26. Well done men! Many more opportunities to race lie ahead if you weren’t pleased with your performances. Great job nonetheless!

Closing in on our final events. Next up is the 200 meter dash. On the women’s side, Katherine Vande Pol lead the Illini with a 28.16! 6th All-Time for women! That’s fast! Following behind was Zoe Tsokolas at 29.10 and Natasha Ferrero at 29.80! All ladies ran sub 30 seconds! That”s amazing! Well done!

In the men’s sections of the 200, President Alex Bienduga opened up with a 23.36 and snuck his way into the top 10! Great job supreme leader! Next up was Jalen Frazier and Andre Ells. Separated by heats but still neck-and-neck. Frazier finished at 24.31 while Ells came across at 24.34. Elias Decker wasn’t too far behind at a 25.78! Closing out for the men’s 200 was PJ Coleman and Shantanu Amin running 30.06 and 34.57 respectively. Well done men and great job on your races!

The second to last event of the day was the 3k. In the women’s races, the Illini had two athletes represent them. Grace Gudwien came across at 10:48.15! This was an incredible race given her limited running, and only 7 seconds off her PR! Excellent job! Brisa McGrath followed suit at 11:19.19! Well done ladies!

For the men’s races, Connor Farrell lead the charge at a solid 9:23.59! Beating his time at this race last year! Fresh off the mile, Justin Ostrem was able to pull off a 9:40.80 on dead legs, not bad for the mile/3k double! Matthew Beckerman ran a smooth race at 9:45.00 and should be able to drop that time in races to come. Ian Dempsey finished it off at 11:01.26! Just a few more weeks of training and that sub 11-minute time is there! Great performances everyone!

Now for the main event, the most hype event of any track meet. The 4×400 relay. Representing the women’s ‘A’ team was Desarae Echevarria, Katherine Vande Pol, MaryBeth Feeley, and Tatiana Montanez. Excellent racing by these ladies landed them with a 4:30.78! Nice job! The women’s ‘B’ team consisted of Ciara Ward, Zoe Tsokolas, Mikeelie Jensen, and Natasha Ferrero. Combined they pulled off a 4:33.96. Well done!

Final race of the day, the men’s 4×400. ITC brought 4 men’s relay teams to compete. Starting off with the ‘A’ team, Alex Bienduga, Jalen Frazier, Andy Marszewski, and Justin Davis managed a 5th place spot and a combined time of 3:32.76! This places them at the #9 spot for All-Time indoor track records, however they’ll be going much faster in the coming weeks. Well done men! Next up was the ‘B’ team consisting of Patrick Willhalm, Elias Decker, Andre Ells, and Josh James. These four men were able to run 3:42.15. An excellent time for them! ITC’s ‘C’ team consisted of Drake Heisterkamp, Jeffrey Hesselbein, John Kellum, and Andrew Rhode. These men combined finished in 3:44.48! Well done! And finally, the ‘D’ team consisted of Nikita Smyrnov, Henry Hornbrook, Beau Barber, and Matthew Beckerman. Combined, they were able to put down a solid 3:49.27! Great job by everyone!

What seemed like a long day through this post actually flew by as fast as our athletes. We had a huge showing of Illini and we couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them. For those that are proud of their performances, good. You’ve earned it. Keep putting in the solid training you have been and come back stronger each race. For those that aren’t happy. That’s ok. It’s only the beginning of February and track is a long season. Keep coming to practice and putting in consistent effort and you’ll get the results you want. A final congratulations to all of our athletes and thank you to our coaches for pushing them to their bests. We’ll see you next time at the U Indy Invitational on February 15th 2020!

Official Results:
https://www.iwusports.com/documents/2020/2/1/titanopenresults_2_.pdf