CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Chase Pavelonis breaks his own Illinois State pole vault record for the fourth time this season, as he jumped to a mark of 17-01.75 Saturday at the Orange and Blue Open at the Armory.
Pavelonis reached the 17-foot mark for the first time in his career, formerly holding the ISU record at 16-11.00 set at the Indiana Relays. The senior vaulter currently holds the best jump in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita State's Ethan Pearson holds the No. 2 spot behind Pavelonis with a best mark of 17-00.75.
"The big story of the day is Chase," director of track and field and cross country Jeff Bovee said. "He finally got over the 17-foot barrier for first time in his career. His final jump was just about 17-02, and he looked fantastic. He made a couple good attempts at 17-05, which is great as we head into Valley meet. Chase will contend for a Valley title, and he will have a couple strong competitors in the mix. Overall, he looks great, and I am really proud of him."
Men's Track
Raimon Clay had a breakout day with two first-place medals, including a personal-best 60-meter time of 7.01 and also ran to a first-place finish in the 200-meter with a time of 22.42.
CJ Hamilton returned to the track, recording a first-place finish in the 400-meter. Hamilton clocked a 400-meter time of 50.37. Ben Montgomery was right behind Hamilton with a 400-meter time of 50.40. Kyle Hatton and Tye Sutherland also went 1-2 in the men's 600-meter race, finishing with times of 1:23.14 and 1:23.42.
Women's Track
Ariel Michalek continues to remain steady in the 3,000-meter race, as she finished second overall with a time of 10:03.24, and in her first race of the 2014-15 season, Kim Christensen clocked a 3K time of 10:36.14. Krista DeCeault finished just behind Christensen with a 3,000-meter time of 10:37.51.
Kimi Sanden clocked a mile of 5:16.99 to finish 11th overall.
Men's Field
The triple jump trio of Ernest Gardner, Montgomery and Jon McDermott swept the triple jump, as Gardner finished with a season-best mark of 13.93 meters (45-08.50) to claim the first-place medal. Montgomery jumped to a best mark of 14.52 meters (44-04.25) and McDermott finished third with a mark of 13.37 meters (43-10.50).
Demetri Alimissis led the Redbird men in the long jump, finishing second in the field with a best mark of 6.53 meters (21-05.25). Travon Diggins finished two spots behind Alimissis with a best mark of 6.31 meters (20-08.50).
Jake DeJaegher finished second in the men's high jump with a mark of 1.98 meters (6-06.00), while Logan Zeman placed fifth in the event.
Evan Garretson led the Redbird men in the shot put with a second-place finish overall, heaving a mark of 14.44 meters (47-04.50).
Women's Field
Amanda Young jumped to a personal-best mark, vaulting over 11-feet for the first time this season. Young jumped to a best mark of 3.42 meters(11-02.50) to finish fifth in the field. Taylor Knauf finished just above young with a best mark of 3.57 meters (11-08.50).
Patrice Jones jumped to a second-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.37 meters (17-07.50), while Kolby Hoffman finished fourth overall with a best mark of 5.19 meters (17-00.50).
"Overall it was a good meet for us," Bovee said. "The meet served what we needed it to. It was a really nice tune-up for the conference meet next week. We sat out a lot of athletes this week to rest up some of our kids, but we will be ready to go for the Valley meet next week."
The Redbirds return to the track next weekend, as they travel to Northern Iowa for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
