MADISON, Wis. – Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams came away with success in their final meet at the Wisconsin Twilight Friday evening at the McClimon Memorial Track Complex.
Emily Clay, Bloomington, Illinois, native started the success story, as she broke the school record in the women's pole vault with a career-best height of 4.08m (13-04.50). She went on to win the event for the Redbirds. Clay's mark solidified her chance to compete in the West Preliminary Round, as she is currently tied for the No. 27 spot on the west regional qualifying list.
Emily Clay had a tremendous performance today," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "She came close of clearing the next mark, but was just a little off on her final attempt. Nonetheless, I am extremely proud of her, and I am very pleased in the effort we put in as a team today. We had a few marks that should get some student-athletes to the first rounds of NCAAs."
On the track, Jackie Mink has a stellar performance as she placed second in the women's 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 2:07.57. Mink is looking to stamp her ticket to the West Preliminary Round, as she is currently ranked 33rd on the west regional qualifying list. She also moved up on the Missouri Valley leaderboard from fourth to second.
"Jackie had a great race today, and drove home strong," Bovee said. "The race started out very fastest and she was running against a rival from UNI. They battled to the end and they both had a strong effort today. I am excited to see Jackie next weekend at the conference meet."
Sarah Mussallem captured her career-best performance in the 400-meter dash, as she won the event with a time of 54.71. Ashleigh Wilson followed in second place and ran a personal-best time of 55.77
Freshman Megan Krolak had a strong performance in the women's 1,500-meter run, as she placed third with a PR time of 4:48.89.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Demetria Anderson (14.06) and Katelyn Hill (14.18) finished second and third, respectively. Anderson also placed second in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:05.40.
Emily Cowan won the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 24.60. On the men's side, Raimon Clay also won the men's 200-meter dash with a time of 21.66.
Another event title for the men, came from the 4x400-meter relay team. The quartet of Ben Montgomery (47.1), CJ Hamilton (48.3), Jalen Lewis (47.3) and Anderson Devonish (45.9) ran a stellar 3:08.61, which is ranked third on ISU's all-time best list. Illinois State 4x400-meter squad is still leading the Valley.
In the men's 100-meter dash, Dion Hooker placed second with a time of 10.75, followed by Clay, who ran a time of 10.83.
In the men's high jump, Derek Wegman and Francis Ehigbai had a spectacular day. Wegman finished second with a personal-best height of 2.09m (06-10.25), followed by Ehigbai in third with a mark of 2.04m (06-08.25).
"I was really pleased with Derek and Francis today," Bovee comments. "They had minimal time to warm-up due to unforeseen circumstances, and they both went out and competed well. That is really impressive for freshman to do."
"All in all, our athletes competed well today, and where able to come away with tremendous marks," Bovee said. "This meet definitely prepared us and built us momentum heading into next weekend for the Missouri Valley Conference meet."
The Redbirds conclude their regular season and will be competing next weekend (May 13-15) in the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Indiana. More information will follow this week on GoRedbirds.com.
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