ISU Track & Field Records Solid Performances at Illinois Twilight

URBANA, Ill. – The Illinois State track and field teams completed the Illinois Twilight Saturday, as both the men's and women's squads had solid performances at the University of Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium. The men finished in second place behind Illinois, while the women were fifth at the end of competition.

"We had strong performances across the board in the sprints and distance events," director of track and field Jeff Bovee said.  "We had many seasonal and all-time bests."

On the men's side, Logan Zeman won the high jump with a mark of 2.04 meters and the 400-meter relay team crossed the finish line first with a time of 3:14.27. 

The Redbird women found success in the 200-meter dash, as three runners finished in the top-10.  Jalynn Roberts-Lewis (24.67) led the pack with a third-place finish, while Emily Cowan (24.84) was fifth followed by Sarah Mussallem (25.09), who took ninth.

In the women's 5,000-meter run, the Redbirds had three runners in the top-five, as they were led by Haley Goers, who won the race with a season-best time of 17:05.67. Kim Christensen was third in 17:20. 74, while Ashley England took fifth with a time of 17:33.18.

Women's Track
Running the first 100-meter relay of the season, the Redbirds finished second with a time of 46.02.  In the 400-meter relay, ISU ran to a third-place finish, crossing the line in 3:49.72.

Katelyn Hill raced to a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.95. Cowan and Elise Anderson took seventh and eighth in the 100-meter dash, while DeAsia Garrett (57.43) and Patrice Jones (58.30) finished the 400-meter dash in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Kimi Sanden crossed the finish line in the in the 1500-meter run with a personal-best time of 4:35.38, while Sydney Billingsley finished the race with a time of 4:45.36. Jackie Mink crossed the finish line in 2:15.38 in the 800-meter run, placing 11th.

"Running unattached, Kelly McShea won the 1500-meter run in a three-second personal-best time of 4:25," Bovee said.  "Kimi Sanden won the second heat and took charge during the last lap for a lifetime best.  Haley Goers led from start to finish for season-best 17:05, which was a big confidence boost for her. Emily Cowan had a big day with a strong 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash and was part of our second place 100-meter relay."

Men's Track
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Dave Eckhart (9:36.73) and Brendan Hoskins (9:44.56) crossed the finish line in third and fourth place, respectively. JD LaFayette (3:51.96), Tyler Morse (3:53.57) and Aidan Askin (3:54.46) finished 11th, 13th and 14th, respectively, in the 1500-meter run. Jesse Hahne ran to a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:38.40 followed by Jeff Bajema, who took fourth place, crossing the finish line in 14:42.46.  Also in the 5,000-meter run was Kyle Mattes, who completed the race in 15:07.08 for ninth place. CJ Hamilton was fifth in the 800-meter run, finishing in 1:53.34. Also in the 800-meter run were Tyler Rippel (1:53.67) and Ryan Bybee (1:54.40), who were eighth and 12th, respectively.

Steven Hartzell (10.99) and Dante Hutton (11.11) finished 10th and 11th, respectively, in the 100-meter dash. In the 400-meter dash, Ben Montgomery crossed the finish line in 48.91 in fourth place. In the 110-meter hurdles, Javar Cruz crossed the finish line in fifth place with a mark of 53.07. Anderson Devonish kept his stellar streak going, as he took third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.16, while Antonio Farley was 15th in 22.39. ISU won the 400-meter relay in a time of 3:14.27 

"For the men we had steady progress in the 200-meter dash through the 5,000-meter run," Bovee said. "Anderson Devonish led the way with another improvement in the 200-meter dash in 21.16, and then, anchored with a 47.7 for a come-from-behind win in the 400-meter relay. The 800-meter runners ran solid and were helped by the outdoor return of Tyler Rippel coming back from injury. JD LaFayette ran another lifetime best of 3:51 to win the second heat of the 1500-meter run. The 1500-meter run was led by sophomores Jesse Hahne and Jeff Bajema had big breakthroughs.  I was also proud of how Mattes and Ward were aggressive and ran all-time bests as well."

Women's Field
In the javelin, Camila Dayson-Aravena recorded a throw of 22.17 meters, finishing in 11th place. Amanda Young cleared 3.36 meters in the pole vault for a 12th-place finish. With a height of 1.54 meters, Haley Becker took eighth in the high jump. In the long jump, Roberts-Lewis leaped 5.39 meters, while Kolby Hoffman recorded a mark of 5.17. The duo finished sixth and ninth, respectively. Shelby Allen took third in the triple jump with a distance of 11.51 meters.

Men's Field
In the hammer throw, Evan Garretson recorded a throw of 44.58, while Anthony Marimon recorded a distance of 41.85. Garretson finished seventh in the shot put with a mark of 15.37 meters. Kyle Lombardino had a second throw in the discus that reached 42.40 meters and was followed by Marimon, who recorded a toss of 42.32 meters.

In the jumps, Chase Pavelonis finished seventh in the pole vault, after clearing 4.91 meters. Also competing in the pole vault was Patrick Riley, who recorded a height of 4.46 meters. In the high jump, Jake DeJaegher took eighth, clearing 1.94 meters. Hartzell took third in the long jump with a mark of 6.83 meters. Demetri Alimissis (6.78 meters) took fifth in the long jump, while Travon Diggins (6.57 meters) finished 10th. 

The Redbirds return to action at the Drake Relays, April 23-25.

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