LINCOLN, Neb. – Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams posted several impressive performances at the Mark Colligan Memorial, one coming from the sophomore Bloomington-Normal, native JD LaFayette. LaFayette won the men's 800-meter run with time of 1:49.99, and is currently ranked 13th on the NCAA performance list. He also is currently ranked third on the Illinois State all-time best list.
"JD had a fantastic race today," said Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee. "This is his first time cracking the 1:50 mark, which is a significant milestone for an athlete whether it being indoor or outdoor. There will be a lot of great things coming from JD this year."
Kelly McShea posted another impressive weekend as she again won two event titles. McShea compete on Friday at the Praire Wolf Indoor Invitational, where she went on winning the women's 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:42.40. On Saturday, McShea won the women's mile run, while posting a time of 4:51.27. McShea is undefeated as she has won all four of her events this season.
"Kelly is continuing a great streak now going four-for-four in wins, and that's what we really have been focusing on with her," Bovee said. "She really is coming into her own with learning how to race different types of races, and I am really happy for her right now and how she is racing."
Sophomore Elise Anderson had an outstanding performance in the 60-meter dash as she posted a personal-best time of 7.61, and is currently ranked sixth on the Missouri Valley Conference performance list.
"Elise had a 0.1 second improvement, which is quite a bit in the 60-meter dash," Bovee continues. "She is really starting to make fantastic improves, and a big part of that is her hard work. She went home over Christmas break and really put in the work, which is certainly showing now."
Another strong performance came from senior Kimi Sanden, as she broke five minutes in the mile run for the first time in her career with a time of 4:57.90. Sanden also competed on Friday night at the Praire Wolf Indoor Invitational, where she posted a 3,000-meter time of 10:10.12.
Jackie Mink went on winning the 1,000-meter run at the Praire Wolf Indoor Invitational with a time of 2:53.39. She placed second in the 800-meter run at the Mark Colligan Memorial with a time of 2:14.74.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Mattes captured an event titles in the men's 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:33.75, which is currently the second-best time in the Valley.
"Kyle Mattes is starting to find his form again, which he had in cross country," said Bovee. "He is going to be a young man to watch this year and we are very excited to see what he does in the future."
The Redbirds had solid performances in the 200-meter dash, with several personal-best performances. On the men's side, Anderson Devonish's season-debut in the 200-meter posted a second-place finish with a time of 21.66, and is currently leading the Valley. Freshman Dion Hooker posted a personal-best with a time of 22.21. Jalen Lewis earned a personal-best with a time of 22.35.
On the women's side, freshman Kaitlyn Pearson placed second in the 200-meter dash, while posting a personal-best with a time of 24.99. Emily Cowan clocked a time of 25.08, while earning third place. Amanda McClain earned a personal-best with a time of 25.38.
Rayanne Wright and Ashleigh Wilson earned spots on the Illinois State all-time best list in the women's 600-meter as they posted time of 1:34.86 and 1:34.99, respectively.
The women's 4x400-meter relay placed second with DeAsia Garrett, Amanda McClain, Ashleigh Wilson and Sarah Mussallem posting a time of 3:45.34, while beating Missouri Valley foe Wichita State (3:47.31).
The men's 4x400-meter relay placed third with Jalen Lewis, Michael Jopes, Ben Montgomery, and Anderson Devonish with a time of 3:16.98.
The men's and women's teams both finished in fourth place with 96 points for the women and 95 points for the men, respectively. Both Nebraska men (195) and women (164) finished in first place, followed by Wichita State's men (123) and women (132) in second.
The Redbirds will compete next weekend at Illinois Wesleyan Titan Open on Saturday, Jan. 30.
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