RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Illinois State track and field teams captured many personal-best performances in the second day at the Black & Gold Premier.
Lindsey Lewis posted a huge personal-best in the women's 3,000-meter run as she placed third at a time of 10:11.72, which is a 14 second PR. Her time is also ranked tenth on the Missouri Valley Conference descending list.
Another standout performance came from Demetria Anderson, as she won the 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.49. Her time is ranked third on the ISU's all-time best list and is tied for third in the Valley.
"That was a huge confidence boost for Tria (Demetria Anderson)," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "She took the next step forward running against tougher competition."
Anthony McRoberts had a fantastic day in the men's triple jump, as he won the event with a personal-best jump at 14.49m (47-06.50). His mark is ranked sixth in the Missouri Valley.
Another event winner for the Redbirds was Skyler Arthur in the men's open mile run. He won the event with a time of 4:16.80 in the last 60 meters. Arthur had a huge kick at the end to pass a few players. Then, in the last 60 meters he was neck-and-neck with Tulsa's Isaac Dobos, who finished with a time at 4:16.87.
"Skyler Arthur is really starting to learn how to run as a redshirt freshman, and he is getting better every week," Bovee said. "I am really pleased with his progress. I am also pleased with Jesse Hahne winning the 3K last night. He's been up and down, but it was good to see him turn the corner and getting things going in the right direction."
The Redbirds had a spectacular day in the women's open 800-meter run, as Rayanne Wright took first place with a time of 2:14.62. Hattie Plumb and Phoebe Clowser followed in second and third place with personal-best times at 2:15.28 and 2:15.93, respectively.
Kimathi Johnson had similar success in the men's open 800-meter with a personal-best time at 1:54.07.
"I was really pleased with the 800 meter women and the 600 meter women," Bovee said. "We have a lot of depth in those two events, and I think those two groups will continue to get better. We are very young in our middle distance women runners in general. We have very talented freshman and sophomore class, and the big key for them is just to keep improving because I think at the end of the season they can be scorers at the Valley."
In the women's premier 400-meter dash, Amanda McClain placed third with a time at 55.72. Ashleigh Wilson (56.11) and Ally Christiani (57.09) each won their heat and placed fifth and eighth, respectively.
Derrius Rodgers placed second in the 60-meter dash at a time of 6.75, while Shandall Thomas placed fourth at a time of 6.77.
"It was great to have Shandall Thomas back into the fold for the first time this season," Bovee said "He put together a strong 60 meters with Derrius (Rodgers) finishing top-4 in that event in the premier section. D'Jenne (Egharevba) continues to run well in the 60 and continues to fight for a top spot."
D'Jenne Egharevba placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.58.
James Brandenburg and Jordan Wilkerson finished the heptathlon in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Brandenburg posted a total of 4,954 points, which is just 34 points off his personal best (4,988). Wilkerson posted is a total of 4,488 points in his first heptathlon competition.
In the women's 4x400-meter relay, Christiani, Whitney Ward, McClain and Wilson posted a time at 3:46.49 and placed fourth overall.
For the men, Justin Agustin, Kyle Hatton, Jalen Lewis and Ben Montgomery ran a time of 3:16.82 in the men's 4x400-meter relay and placed sixth overall
"This weekend definitely provided our whole team a chance to compete in higher competition than the last two meets," Bovee said. "We have a lot of young athletes with our staff with only have two recruiting classes under our belt, but I thought overall we responded well. I think day one was a little difficult for the longer sprints trying to navigate the bank track, but I thought they came back today and handled that better. I think we are heading in the right direction and we learned a lot about ourselves in this meet."
Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams are back in action Feb. 3, as they travel to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the Meyo Invitational.
GoRedbirds.com:Â Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
