CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois State Track & Field opened up competition at the Illini Invitational and Indiana Invitational on Friday, as seven Redbirds recorded ISU all-time top-10 marks on the first day of competition.
STRONG DAY FOR DISTANCE CREW IN INDIANA
Of the 11 Redbirds competing at the Indiana Invitational, nine student-athletes set personal bests in their respective events, led by redshirt sophomore Rachel Hickey.
Competing in the women's 1500m, Hickey clocked a time of 4:21.54 to finish 12th overall. Hickey's time was a three-second personal best and now ranks No. 1 in the MVC, No. 2 in school history and No. 53 in the NCAA West Region.
Finishing behind her teammate, junior Maddi Exline checked in at 4:24.86. She continues to hold the sixth-fastest time in school history and ranks No. 2 in the Valley with that time.
Senior Jake Gillum, running in the men's 1500m, finished ninth overall with a personal best time of 3:45.22. His time checks in at No. 4 in the MVC and No. 6 in school history.
In the women's 5000m, junior Caroline Meyers cut nearly 15 seconds off her personal best time in the event, clocking a 16:51.89. Meyers' time sits at No. 8 in ISU history.
Competing in just her second-ever 10,000m race, sophomore Ailey Mitchell ran the eight-fastest time in school history at 36:04.01 to place fifth. Her mark also ranks No. 2 in the MVC.
Three Redbirds set personal bests in the 3000m steeplechase. On the men's side junior Matt Blanco and sophomore Tyler Polak ran times of 9:17.79 and 9:18.22, respectively. Blanco's time was an 18-second personal best, while Polak cut off four seconds of his PR. Both now rank in the top-5 in the MVC.
On the women's side, junior Claire Fuhlhage posted her first sub-11 performance in the steeplechase at 10:54.57, nearly an eight second personal best.
ACTION FROM THE ILLINI INVITATIONAL
In the 'Birds lone event win from the day, junior Max Schweitzer captured first in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 5.03m (16-6 ft.). With his mark, Schweitzer now ranks No. 9 in school history, as he knocked Brian Schweitzer, his father, off the Redbird top-10 list. Schweitzer also holds the third-best MVC mark on the season.
The final Redbird to notch a program top-10 mark was junior Zach Fiser. In the men's javelin, Fiser threw a personal best of 56.35m (184-10 ft.) to finish second. He now sits at No. 10 in school history and ranks No. 4 in the MVC.
Senior Logan Calvin finished as the top collegian in the men's hammer throw, tossing 58.44m (191-8 ft.) to finish second overall.
QUOTES
Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Jeff Bovee
On the performance at Indiana:
"We had many personal bests set today as well as all-time top 10 performances. I think many are fairly pleased but still feel hungry to reach the next level. We came here looking for NCAA qualifying performances and we put some strong times up on the board that may hold up."
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