SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Redshirt senior thrower Logan Calvin and senior middle-distance runner Rachel Hickey highlighted day two of the Meyo Invite for the Illinois State track & field program, each improving upon their personal bests in their respective events to move up on the ISU top-10 all-time list.
Back in Bloomington-Normal, at the Keck Select, 12 Redbirds captured 14 event wins on the day.
MEYO INVITE
In the throwing circle, Calvin was the runner-up in the men's shot put, as he set an indoor personal best with a throw of 19.01m (62-4.5 ft.). The mark is the second best in school history and currently ranks No. 2 in the MVC and No. 23 in the NCAA. Calvin's toss was also his furthest since he threw 19.13m (62-9.25 ft.) at the Illinois State Invite during the 2021 outdoor season.
On the track, Hickey finished seventh in the deep women's mile field, crossing the finish line in a time of 4:45.52. Her time was a five-second personal best and currently leads the Valley. Hickey also moved up in the Illinois State record book, passing six former Redbirds to earn the third fastest time in school history.
In the unseeded 400m dash, San'Toria Harris clocked a season best in the event at 55.84 seconds. It was also her fastest time since she ran 54.98 competing in the SEC Championships for Mississippi State.
Competing in just his second race as a Redbird, Joseph Morrison ran a personal best time of 1:51.31 in the 800m to finish 15th overall. His time ranks No. 2 in the MVC.
KECK SELECT
First-year transfer Chase Knoblett was victorious in the men's heptathlon at the Keck Select, finishing ahead of three of his fellow teammates. With a personal-best total score of 4,473 points, Knoblett now holds the ninth-best performance in school history. Knoblett also set a personal best in the pole vault, clearing 3.65m (11-11.75 ft.)
In the mid-distance circuit, fifth-year senior Jake Gillum had a strong performance in the men's 800m run, finishing first in an indoor personal-best time of 1:52.58, which ranks fourth in the Valley.
The women's high jump winner at the Keck Select was Bloomington-Normal native Kenzie Klink. Klink set a personal best with a clearance of 1.70m (5-7 ft.) in the event.
QUOTES
Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Jeff Bovee
On the overall performance:
"With two squads in two different locations, we had to split up our coaching staff and our team. It served us well to give everybody enough repetitions in the jumps, throws and other events. Some of the younger, developing athletes really took advantage of the opportunity and competed hard. We're definitely making progress, but next week is going to be an important week for us going to Grand Valley."
On the women's team performance:
"Over at Notre Dame, we had a lot of really good things happen. Audrey Harrod ran great in both the 600m [on Friday] and 400m, setting a personal best in both. Rachel Hickey had the best indoor performance of her career. San'Toria Harris was a standout in the 400m and made a really big jump there. Bri Buggs had a great double win in the 60m and 200m at Wesleyan."
On the men's team performance:
"On the men's side, I was pleased with Riley Wells, who ran the mile for the first time in college and won his heat by a couple of seconds with a 4:10 time. Nick Swartzendruber able to drop below 1:20 again [in the 600m] was also great on the track. It was also good to see Joe [Morrison] who had a slight improvement in the 800m. At Wesleyan, it was great to see Jake Gillum out there competing again after a little break. He ran a 1:52 on a flat track, so it's good to see him bouncing back.
On the Logan Calvin's performance:
"Logan has been on a roll this whole indoor season, throwing another indoor personal best. He's really close to getting to that NCAA meet, so we hope over the next few weeks he's able to secure his spot."
UP NEXT
Illinois State will split squads between a trio of meets next weekend. One group will head to Allendale, Michigan for the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 11. Another will travel to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic from Feb. 11-12. A final group of student-athletes will remain in Bloomington-Normal to compete at the Titan Open, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan, on Feb. 12.
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