RESULTS
DES MOINES, Iowa. – Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams had a spectacular closing day at the 107th Drake Relays as the women's 4x400-meter relay squad set a new school record, while the men's 4x100-meter relay placed third. ISU men's team placed fifth in the Hy-Vee Cup, while the women tied for ninth place.
The Redbird men's placed fifth behind Illinois, Texas, Minnesota and Air Force, as the women followed first-place finishers—Baylor and Texas. The Hy-Vee Cup is a team award that is given to the men's and women's teams that have the best score in five relays—100, 400, 800-meter relays, as well as the sprint and distance medley.
The quartet of Ally Christiani, Amanda McClain, Ashleigh Wilson and Sarah Mussallem had a stellar performance as they set a new school record time of 3:38.20. Christiani led the relay off with a 55.7 split, followed by a 54.2 split from McClain. Wilson posted a 54.3 split in the third carry, while Mussallem closed with a 53.7 split. The team placed sixth overall.
"The women's 4x400 went out and completed well against some of the top-teams around the country," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "They secured the school record under unfavorable conditions and their time should get them in the NCAA Preliminary Round. I only see them improving their time later in the season."
The men's 4x100-meter relay of Dion Hooker, Jalen Lewis, Anderson Devonish and Shandall Thomas had a strong effort as they finished third with a time of 40.69.
"The men's 4x100 finished third, which was one of our highest finishes here at the Drake Relays in a really long time," Bovee comments. "It was really good to see Andy Devonish blow up on the turn, followed by Shandall battling on the home stretch and passing some guys to secure that third spot. Also Jalen Lewis did really well, as we added him in the mix earlier this week. It was just a really good team effort."
In the men's distance medley relay, Aidan Askin (1,200 meter), Ben Montgomery (400 meter), JD LaFayette (800 meter) and Ryan Rutherford (1,600 meter) ran a time of 9:50.44 and placed fifth overall. Askin ran a 2:59.1 split in the first carry, as Montgomery ran a 47.2 split in the 400-meter leg. LaFayette ran the 800-meter leg with a 1:52.6 split, followed by Rutherford in the 1,600-meter carry with a 4:11.1 split.
"The distance medley relay team had a pretty even effort around the track," Bovee said. "Ryan Rutherford was able to finish fifth in a field of 20 as he was sitting in eighth in his first two laps. I was really happy to see Ryan show that extra gear that we really need. Also, that was our best DMED time indoor and outdoor in quite some time."
In the men's sprint medley relay, the Redbirds posted a time of 3:28.76. Michael Jopes and Antonio Farley ran the 200-meter leg, respectively. Kyle Hatton ran the 400-meter leg with a 48.8 split, followed by CJ Hamilton in the 800-meter leg with a 1:54.3 split.
For the women's sprint medley relay, ISU earned a time of 4:00.69. Emily Cowan and Kelsie Prear ran the 200-meter leg, while DeAsia Garrett ran the 400-meter leg with a 57.2 split, respectively. Rayanne Wright closed with the 800-meter leg with a 2:12.7 split.
"As a whole our men finished fifth and our women finished ninth in the Hy-Vee Cup," Bovee said. "I think that demonstrates a great balance that we were able to put together with all the different relays. I am quite pleased with the competitive effort that both teams show this weekend."
Illinois State travels to Madison, Wisconsin on May 6 to compete in the Wisconsin Twilight. The Redbirds prepare for the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships that are only two weeks away (May 13-15).
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
