DES MOINES, Iowa – Redshirt sophomore Rachel Hickey highlighted day two of the 112th Drake Relays as she won the women's 800m to capture the coveted white flag as Illinois State Track & Field continues competition in both Des Moines and Louisville.
SUCCESS AT DRAKE
Hickey was the lone Redbird to capture an event win in Drake on day two, as she clocked 2:08.32. With the win, Hickey is the first Illinois State athlete to capture a white flag at the Drake Relays since 2013, when Elise Sigg won the women's 3000m steeplechase and Tim Glover won the javelin.
"Big time performance by Rachel today," Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "Her confidence has never been higher coming into this race with a great double last week in Indiana. She was just really hungry to go out and get that title today. It turned into a tactical race, but she times everything perfectly throughout that second lap, the way she moved through the field. She had an extra gear coming down the home stretch to seal the win. She's definitely going to go deep in the postseason if she can keep racing like this."
In the men's 800m, sophomore Riley Wells ran a new personal best time of 1:49.44 to finish fifth overall. Wells' time currently ranks No. 1 in the MVC, No. 6 in school history and No. 35 in the West Region.
"Riley Wells had his all-time best today in pretty strong wind coming down the homestretch," Bovee said. "He battled well in the field all the way to the end and ran really well against an All-American athlete from Western Illinois. That time should be good enough to get him to the NCAA Regional Championship."
The women's 4x100m relay team of Sa'Mone Winters, Bri Buggs, Madison Saunders and Arianna Walker ran a qualifying time of 45.69 to advance to tomorrow's final. They are set to race at 2:13 p.m. CT.
"The women's 4x1, making the final was fantastic," Bovee said. "Tomorrow, being able to line up against some of the best teams in the country is going to be a huge opportunity for them. We have a lot of young sprinters in that group and the kind of experience they are getting here this weekend is going to prove to be very beneficial in their overall development. Coach Jordan has done a really good job with that group."
After running a leg of the 4x100m relay, Walker turned in a season best in the women's 200m dash, clocking 24.20 seconds. Her time ranks No. 2 in the MVC on the season.
Unique to relay events, the Redbird women competed in the 4x1600m relay. The team of Lucie Grandjean, Claire Fuhlhage, Viviana Sanfilippo and Ashley Heagy clocked a time of 20:08.05 to finish 9th in the relay. The time also ranks as the sixth-fastest time in school history.
In the throwing events, senior Logan Calvin finished as the top Redbird in the men's shot put while sophomore Macy Byer led the women in the discus. Calvin tossed a mark of 18.73m (61-5.50) to finish sixth overall. Byer threw just short of her season best at 48.15m (157-11).
REDBIRDS START COMPETITION IN LOUISVILLE
To highlight the day at the Clark Wood Invitational, senior Cole Maguire cut nearly a second off his personal best in the men's 400m Hurdles at 51.48 seconds. That time ranks No. 1 in the MVC, No. 3 in school history and No. 24 in the West Region.
"Cole had a big one down in Louisville today," Bovee said. "Fantastic win for him, dropping almost a full second off his personal best and securing his spot for the NCAA Regional Championship. Really happy for Cole after he came off an injury this past year. To be rounding into form like he is, it's hard to do after missing so much training time."
Senior thrower Hannah Johnson set a season best in the women's hammer throw, tossing 52.00m (170-7) to finish seventh overall. It was Johnson's farthest throw since she threw 52.26m (171-5) at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational, last outdoor season.
For all the latest news on Redbird track & field and cross country, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
