The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams competed in the Iowa State Classic and Grand Valley State University Big Meet on Friday. Multiple ISU all-time top-10 performances and numerous personal-bests were captured at each meet.
AMES, Iowa – At the first day of the Iowa State Classic, hurdlers Jaylan McConico and Kentre Patterson continued to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with. Competing in the 60-meter hurdles, McConico and Patterson finished second and third, respectively.
Competing for the first time in three weeks, McConico picked up right where he left off, tying his personal-best of 7.84. He currently ranks first in the Valley and 22nd in the nation. Patterson, who continues to cut time each week, posted a new personal-record of 7.86. Not only is this mark good for second in the Valley and 26th in all of Division I, but it is a 0.09 second improvement from last week.
D'Jenne Egharevba and Derrius Rodgers captured personal-bests as well in the 200-meter dash. Egharevba finished second with a Valley-leading time of 24.03. Her mark is second all-time in ISU history and trails the Illinois State school record by only 0.03 seconds. Rodgers placed fourth with a Valley-best time of 21.39.
The Redbirds also came away with a victory on Friday, as Demetria Anderson recorded a time of 8.45 to take the win in the 60-meter hurdles. She currently sits atop the MVC in the event.
"Considering that we posted three personal-records and one win today, I thought we competed very well," said Associate Head Coach Brenton Emanuel. "With MVCs approaching in a couple of weeks, we are in a great spot."
Action will resume at the Iowa State Classic tomorrow at 12 p.m. CT, when Egharevba and Rodgers compete in the 60-meter dash. Later in the day, Anderson Devonish, Ben Montgomery, and Ashleigh Wilson will compete in the 400-meter dash at 2:20 p.m. CT.
ALLENDALE, Mich. – At the GVSU Big Meet, the distance runners stole the show. Hattie Plumb ran a magnificent race in the 800-meter run, finishing second in a field of 50 runners with a personal-best time of 2:10.33. With the mark, she improves to third in the Valley and sixth on ISU's top-10 list.
"Our distance group came out and performed extremely well," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee. "Today was an opportunity to capture quality marks and secure spots in the fast heats for the conference meet, and I think that we accomplished that. All around, we showed depth across the board, and we will need to utilize this balanced attack when we go after an MVC title in the next two weeks."
The men's 800-meter squad, led by Jack Anstey's third place finish, placed four runners in the top-15. Anstey's time of 1:51.16 is not only a personal-record, but ranks him second in the Valley. After Anstey, J.D. LaFayette (1:52.34) finished ninth, Kyle Hatton (1:52.95) placed 13th, and Tye Sutherland (1:53.03) claimed 15th.
In the women's mile run, Molly Krawczykowski reached a milestone, breaking the five-minute barrier for the first time in her career. Her time of 4:58.96 was good for 12th among 53 runners. Annie Moore also ran a solid race in the mile run, winning her heat in a personal-best time of 5:05.16.
The 'Birds posted several memorable performances in the field as well. Logan Calvin recorded a huge personal-best in the shot put for the second weekend in a row. After cracking ISU's top-10 list in the event at last week's Meyo Invite, Calvin heaved a throw of 17.52m (57-05.75) this week to improve to eighth in the Valley standings.
Anthony McRoberts performed well in the long jump and high jump, posting season-bests and finishing second in both events. In the long jump, McRoberts leaped into fifth in the MVC rankings with a distance of 7.05m (23-01.75). He then followed this performance by clearing a Valley-best 2.12m (6-11.50) in the high jump.
On the women's side, Victoria Gruszka and Charde Golliday claimed the top-two spots in the triple jump. Gruzska won the event with a season-best distance of 11.83m (38-09.75) and now ranks sixth in the Valley. Golliday's mark of 11.68m (38-04.00) is a new personal-record.
Other Notable Performances
Women's 60-meter dash
2nd - Kelsie Prear (7.59), sixth in the MVC
Women's 200-meter dash
4th - Kelsie Prear (24.78), sixth in the MVC
Women's 400-meter dash
11th - Emily Cowan (56.88), personal-record
Women's 5,000-meter run
33rd - Erica Brown (17:35.10), personal-record
Women's Long Jump
1st - Amanda McClain (5.78m / 18-11.75), previous mark still ranks first in MVC
3rd - Kameesha Smith (5.72m / 18-09.25), previous mark still ranks third in MVC
Women's High Jump
3rd - Kameesha Smith (1.68m / 5-06.00), previous mark still ranks first in MVC
Women's Pole Vault
3rd - Ariana Cranston (3.77m / 12-04.50), personal-record, fourth in ISU history, first in the MVC
Women's Shot Put
4th - Brandy Thomas (14.15 / 46-05.25), sixth in the MVC
Men's 60-meter Hurdles
4th - James Brandenburg (8.09), personal-record, fourth in ISU history, fifth in the MVC
8th - Duane Sleet (8.20 in prelims), personal-record, seventh in ISU history, sixth in the MVC
Men's 3,000-meter
12th - Connor Ehnle (8:23.75), personal-record, sixth in the MVC
14th - Scott Anderson (8:25.31), personal-record
17th - Kevin Koski (8:27.36), personal-record
Men's High Jump
3rd - LaMont Allen (2.07m / 6-09.50), fourth in the MVC
4th - Francis Ehigbai (2.07m / 6-09.50), fifth in the MVC
Men's Pole Vault
4th - Ryan Ashenbremer (5.00m / 16-04.75), previous mark still ranks second in MVC
9th - Sam Peschke (4.70m / 15-05.00), personal-record, eighth in the MVC
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
