Redbirds Complete Day Two of The Joe Walker Invite

OXFORD, Miss. - The Illinois State track & field squads had ten personal best and nine season-best marks and times to close out the final day at the Joe Walker Invite, hosted by Ole Miss.

Joe Walker Invite 

On the men's side freshman Garrett Taylor finished fifth in the discus with a personal-best throw of 49.75m (163-02), as his teammate and brother senior Payton Taylor took ninth with a seasons-best toss of 47.84m (156-11), and senior Joe Boyer placed 15th with a throw of 42.84m (140-06). In the men's shot put, all three Redbird throwers placed in the top-10 led by senior Amiri Buchanan finishing third with a throw of 18.53m (60-9.50), freshman Garett Taylor took sixth with a personal-best mark of 16.89m (55-5.0), while Payton Taylor placed behind in seventh with a seasons-best toss of 16.08m (52-9.25).

Freshman Ryan Scheafer won the decathlon with 6,251 total points, which puts him in eighth in ISU history, while junior Cade Ward cracked the program top-10 with his third place finish as he accumulated 5,830 total points. Sophomore Rob Pulliam finished fifth in the high jump as he cleared a seasons-best height of 1.99m (6-6.25). 

In the 1,500m run, freshman Ethan Reynoso placed fifth with a time of 3:52.81, as senior Tyler Polak crossed the finish line in 15th with a time of 4:00.11. Sophomore Dewyane Johnson won the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.13 seconds, and senior Jaden Johnson came in fifth with a time of 14.43 seconds, while senior Brandon Ratliff finished tenth with a time of 14.68. Junior Micheal Marrs ran a personal-best time of 49.00 in the 400m as he finished eighth.

The Redbirds had four runners compete in the 100m dash, led by junior Sean Hopkins as he finished fourth with a time of 10.74 seconds, with sophomore Enyinnaya Nwagwu (fifth, 10.79 seconds), freshman Jaiden Reed (sixth, 10.80 seconds), and junior Devin Turner (14th, 10.94 seconds, all finishing inside the individual top-15.. In the 800m run, sophomore Julian Head ran to a season-best time of 1:55.78, as he finished 13th, while freshman Ethan Reynoso took 18th as he crossed the finish line in 1:57.90. 

On the women's side, senior Kiley Sanders led the Redbird multis as she came away with fourth with 4,571 total points. Sophomore Gracie Jessup finished fifth with 4,491 total points, as Caleigh O'Flaherty took seventh with 4,333 total points. Bayta Butler finished 15th in the shot put with a toss of 13.27m (43-6.50). 

In the high jump, senior Carly Tucker finished fourth as she cleared a season's-best height of 1.65m (5-5.00). Freshman Ava Lawless took fifth in the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 11.48m (37-8.00). In the discus throw, senior Macy Byer hit a season's-best mark of 50.66m (166-02) while taking second, as Bayta Butler finished ninth with a toss of 42.35m (138-11), while senior Morgan Wrublik took 19th with a mark of 12.30m (40-4.25).

The 4x100 relay squad took second with a season-best time of 45.97 seconds. Viviana Sanfilippo finished second with a personal-best time of 4:34.03 in the 1,500m run, as sophomore Maggie Reed clocked in with a personal-best time of 4:40.89 as she took 11th. 

 The Redbirds had five runners compete in the 100m hurdles, led by sophomore Macee Rivers as she finished fifth with a time of 14.15 seconds. Senior Hassy Fashina-Bombata (sixth, 14.16 seconds), junior Corinna Courser (seventh, 14.19 seconds). Senior Emelia Ness (ninth, 14.28 seconds) and freshman Cambria Geyer (tenth, 14.14), all finishing inside of the top-10 in the event.

In the 400m dash, sophomore Nnenna Okpara finished second with a time of 55.40 seconds, while freshman Chavi Flowers ran to a personal-best time of 57.88 seconds as she placed ninth. Lindsey Miller took sixth in the 100m dash with a time of 12.00 seconds and senior Mattie Lieb finished 16th with a time of 12.64 seconds. Cambria Geyer took sixth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.95

Up Next 

The Redbirds will send two separate groups to California to compete in the Mt. Sac Relays and the Bryan Clay Invitational, while the majority will head to Champaign, Illinois to compete in the Gary Wieneke Memorial on April 11 through 13. 

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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