Day One Release | Results
OXFORD, Miss. – The Illinois State track and field teams had a strong outdoor-season opener with six total event wins and several personal-best performances at the conclusion of the Joe Walker Invite.
Ally Christiani, D'Jenne Egharevba, Amanda McClain and Ashleigh Wilson won the women's 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:41.90, which is ranked seventh on the NCAA Division I West leaderboard and 12th in the nation.
"The 4x400-meter relay dominated the field today," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "The foursome ran away with the competition finishing six-second ahead of the second place finisher."
The Redbirds had spectacular performances in both the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. In her season-debut, Grace Beattie captured the event title with a time of 10:48.04. Beattie's time is ranked seventh on the NCAA Division I West leaderboard and 17th in the nation. Lindsey Lewis followed in a close second with a time of 10:58.51.
"Grace (Beattie) and Lindsey (Lewis) went 1-2 in the steeple and ran top-10 all-time best marks at ISU," Bovee said. "It was an impressive debut for (Grace) Beattie."
For the men, Marcelo Burbano placed third in the steeplechase with a time of 10:07.05.
In the women's 400-meter dash, Wilson placed fourth with a time at 56.09, followed Christiani in fifth with a time of 56.20.
Jack Anstey placed third in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.07. Kyle Hatton and Tye Sutherland also had a strong effort in the men's 800-meter run, as they finished in third and fourth place in their heat and seventh and eighth overall. Hatton ran a time of 1:53.01, while Sutherland crossed the line in a time of 1:53.33.
"Strong outdoor debut for (Jack) Anstey in the 1,500-meter with a come from behind win yesterday," said Bovee. "He doubled back today in the 800-meter and just came up short, but it was a great weekend for him. I was very pleased with (Kyle) Hatton and (Tye) Sutherland today as well. Tye (Sutherland) ran his all-time best in not ideal conditions."
Molly Krawczykowski had a solid season-opener in the 800-meter run, as she finished fifth with a time of 2:15.09.
Whitney Ward had a stellar season-debut in the 400-meter hurdles, as she ran a time of 1:03.37 placing fourth overall. Her time is ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 Dion Hooker, Ben Montgomery, Jordan Wilkerson and Derrius Rodgers won the men's 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.19. Their time is No. 20 on the NCAA Division I West leaderboard.
"The men's 4x100m struggled on the last exchange but still managed to win," Bovee said. "(Derrius) Rodgers crushed his first 200-meter of the year. He is going to be fun to watch this outdoor season."
The women's 4x100-meter relay—Emily Cowan, Charde Golliday, McClain and  Egharevba—placed second with a time of 46.34.
In the field, Haley Becker and Morgan Keller led the way for the Redbirds on day two. Becker placed fourth in the women's high jump with a mark at 1.60m (5-03.00), while Keller placed fourth in the women's discus with a toss at 47.81m (156-10.50).
Francis Ehigbai had a strong performance in the men's high jump as he placed fourth with a height of 2.06m (6-09.00).
"Francis (Ehigbai) had a good outdoor open in the high jump," Bovee said.
Illinois State track and field teams will split squads next week as a select few will go to the Stanford Invitational at Stanford California, and others will compete at the Neil Moore Multi & Big Blue Classic at Charleston, Illinois. More information will be on GoRedbirds.com.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCE
Triple Jump
7. Victoria Gruszka – 11.64m (38-02.25)
8. Charde Golliday – 11.62m (38-01.50) PR
Shot Put
6. Brandy Thomas – 14.14m (46-04.75)
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