NORMAL, Ill. – In its only home meet of the outdoor season, the Illinois State track and field teams put together some strong performances at the annual Redbird Invite Saturday at the Redbird Track and Field Complex.
Senior pole vaulter Chase Pavelonis set a school outdoor record with a mark of 17-01.00 and set himself up for a spot in the NCAA First Round competition. He was joined by several teammates, who set personal bests and came away with individual wins as the Redbirds ran away from the competition at the meet.Â
"I was impressed with the team from top to bottom today and thought they competed with a lot of focus and intensity," ISU Director of Track and Field Jeff Bovee said. "It was most likely a combination of competing at home for the first time this season and the great running conditions, but this was the most complete effort we have put together this season. There were key performances in nearly every event and several new personal bests that moved several of our student-athletes up their respective MVC lists."
Men's Field
Evan Garretson (155-02) and Anthony Marmion (154-09) took the top two spots in the hammer thrown competition held Friday afternoon, and Garretson followed that up with a second-place effort in the shot put (46-10.25) and a third-place finish in the discus (147-07). Kyle Lombardino was second in the discus (162-10) and the duo of Kevin Fisch (197-05) and Bastian Hauk-Jegen (185-09) finished 1-2 in the javelin with personal-bests. Jacob DeJaegher won the high jump with a mark of 6-05.00 and Aaron Kennebrew won the triple jump competition with a leap of 45-11.75.Â
Women's Field
Jianna Williams came away with a pair of wins in the hammer throw (205-04) with over a two-meter personal best and also took the top spot in the shot put with a throw of 51-07.25. Morgan Keller also took second place in the discus with a personal-best effort of 157-08 and Amanda Young won the pole vault event with a mark of 11-01.00. Also taking top honors was Haley Becker in the high jump with a mark of 5-05.75. Patrice Jones (18-04.25) and Jalynn Roberts-Lewis (18-03.00) finished second and third, respectively, in the long jump competition to round out a solid effort for the Redbirds.
Men's Track
Anderson Devonish recorded a personal-best effort of 20.72 to win the 200-meter dash, moving him into the No. 5 slot on the ISU all-time list in the event. He was also part of the 4x100 meter relay team that took top honors with a time of 40.91 and the 4x400 meter relay squad also took top honors with a mark of 3:14.81. Antonio Farley won the 400-meter with a time of 48.20 and Javar Cruz took first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.22. Tyler Rippel also took home a win in 800-meter with a time of 1:53.74, Kyle Mattes set a personal-best with a time of 15:18.92 to win the 5,000 meter run and Jesse Hahne won the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:54.06.
Women's Track
The women's relay teams swept the competition as well and Roberts-Lewis was a big part of that success. She took first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.78, as the Redbirds finished 1-4 in the event. Katelyn Hill took home a win in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.34 and Sarah Mussallem (56.40) led the Redbirds in second through sixth place in the 400-meter run. Lindsey Lewis took the top spot in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:44.96 and Kimberly Christensen led five Redbirds in 1-5 spots in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:30.45
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