Redbirds Leaving a Mark

BLOOMINGTON, IND., - Illinois State Track and Field closed out competition at both Indiana and Michigan on Friday, as seven Redbirds and two relay squads captured first place wins, one Redbird broke the school record, and another etched herself into program history. 

HOOSIER HILLS INVITE

The Redbirds had a great day in Bloomington, Indiana where they competed in the Hoosier Hills Invite. 

Melissa Parrella etched her name into program history with a mark of 5.99m in long jump. "She is a true example of what being resilient is," said Assistant Coach D'Nara Jones, "This is just the beginning." The 5.99m mark placed her fifth on ISU's top-10 list. 

The women's relay squads showed up ready to compete today both finishing first. 

In the 4x400, Nnenna Okapara, Destiny White, Seven Hicks and Arianna Walker clocked a time of 3:53.40. 

In the distance-medley relay, Mattie Lieb, Claire Fuhlhage, Lauren Schulze and Viviana SanFilippo ran a time of 12:17.94.

In the women's mile, Maddi Exline improved her personal-best time to 4:49.04. Claire Fuhlhage also ran a personal-best time of 4:54.69. 

Event Winners

• Brandon Ratliff, 60-meter hurdles
• Joe Boyer, shot put
• Lindsey Miller, 60-meter dash
• Seven Hicks, 200-meter dash
• San'Toria Harris, 400-meter dash
• Bri Buggs, 400-meter dash
• Viviana SanFilippo, 800-meter run

GVSU MEET

Six Redbirds traveled to Allendale, Michigan to compete in their 5k events. 

Mackenzie Brownrigg improved her personal-best time clocking a time of 17:47.18. 

"I'm really proud of the efforts that were shown by our 5k runners today," said Assistant Coach Mollie Dalton, "They took risks to put themselves out there."

5k Results:

• Charlie Wetzel, 6^th, 14:29.67
• Zack Loomis, 10^th, 14:32.02
• Caroline Meyers, 11^th, 16:57.25
• Mackenzie Brownrigg, 8^th, 17:47.18
• Ailey Mitchell, 13^th, 17:25.07
• Kaitlin Skeate, 26^th, 18:47.00

VALENTINE INVITE

Rachel Hickey and Riley Wells traveled to Boston, Massachusetts to compete in the Valentine Invite. 

Today, Rachel Hickey competed in the 800m run, breaking the Illinois State record time. Hickey clocked a time of 2:06.63. 

The indoor 800m will be the third ISU record Hickey owns for the Redbirds. She also owns the outdoor 800m and indoor 1000m run.

Riley Wells is set to compete tomorrow at 10:25 am CT in the 800m. Follow along with the link here. 

UP NEXT

Following this weekend's meets, the Redbirds will compete in Eastern Illinois' Friday Night Special in Charleston, Illinois and Notre Dame's Alex Wilson Invite in South Bend, Indiana. 

To keep up with the latest news on Redbird track & field and cross country, follow us on Facebook at @Illinois State Track & Field/Cross Country, Twitter at @RedbirdTFXC, and Instagram at @redbirdtfxc. 

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