CHICAGO, Ill. – The Illinois State track & field program capped off day one of the MVC Indoor Track & Field Championships, Sunday evening at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center.
Senior Windsor Roberts claimed the women's pole vault championship after clearing the bar at 3.79m (13-0.25). Roberts successfully defended her indoor title from last year to go back-to-back.
Senior Corrina Courser secured victory in the women's 60m hurdles prelims and qualified for Monday's finals with a time of 8.26. Her mark is now the fastest time in Redbird history and 56th in the country. Along with Courser, Junior Macee Rivers also set a top-10 time with a time of 8.58. Junior Erin Starks joined Courser and Rivers as the three Redbirds for the finals on Monday.
In the distance medley relay, the men's and women's teams finished with top-10 marks. The women's team of Erb, Flowers, Zeibert, and Plummer ran a time of 11:35.60 to finish in second place as they now sit third all-time in Illinois State program history. The men's team of Baker, Lerus, Shields, and Baig recorded a mark of 9:57.08 to finish runner-up and currently sit as the seventh-fastest mark in Illinois State history.
In the women's 200m, Erin Starks and Junior Lindsey Miller qualified for the final on Monday with top-10 list entry times of 23.94 and 23.97. Sophomore Immaculate Daniel ran a personal best time of 24.49 to join Starks and Miller in qualifying for Monday's final
Junior Mattison Plummer and Freshman Astrid Van Breedam qualified for the women's mile final on Monday with fifth and sixth-place finishes. Plummer finished with a time of 4:51.95, and Van Breedam ran a mark of 4:52.16.
In the men's 400m prelims, Junior Jake Welch and Freshman Evan Watson qualified for Monday's final with times of 47.80 and 48.66.
Lindsey Miller and Immaculate Daniel finished 1-2 and qualified for the women's 60m final with times of 7.389 and 7.390. On the men's side, four Redbirds qualified for the final as Sophomore Jaiden Reed (6.75), Freshman Reece Curtis (6.76), Freshman Zach Paul (6.77), and Junior Enyinnaya Nwagwu Jr. finished in qualifying positions.
Sophomore Grace Erb qualified for Monday's 800m final with a time of 2:11.46 in a seventh-place effort.
Nwagwu also qualified for the men's 200m with a time of 21.31. His mark is now the fourth-fastest time in Illinois State history. Zach Paul joined Nwagwu in qualifying with a mark of 21.68.
In the men's 5000m, Senior Zack Loomis scored four points for the Redbirds with a fifth-place finish after he ran a time of 14:28.11. On the women's side, Junior Maggie Reed recorded a 10th-place finish after running a time of 17:22.53.
Junior Charles Cruse tallied five points for the Redbirds after finishing fourth in men's pole vault with a clearance of 4.90m (16-0.75). Freshman Heath Hawkins joined Cruse, adding 2.5 points for Illinois State as he placed fifth, clearing the bar at a personal best mark of 4.75m (15-7).
Sophomore Adi Scott added a point to the Redbirds' tally after recording a personal best throw of 16.53m (54-2.75) in the women's weight throw. Sophomore Cole Stevens joined Scott as point scorers in the weight throw events after he finished fifth with a throw of 17.93m (58-6.75).
In the women's long jump, the Redbirds had three jumpers record points after top-8 finishes. Senior Atleigh Hamilton earned a third-place finish with a jump of 5.70m (18-8.5), adding six points to the Illinois State point total. Sophomore Ava Lawless tallied four additional points in her fifth-place effort after she recorded a jump of 5.67m (18-7.25). Junior Abby Millot notched two points for the Redbirds in her seventh-place effort after she recorded a jump of 5.57m (18-3.25).
In the men's long jump, Senior Devin Turner finished sixth and scored three points for the Redbirds after he recorded a mark of 7.10m.Â
Senior Kiley Sanders earned a fourth-place finish in the women's pentathlon after she scored 3650 points. Senior Gracie Jessup and Freshman Sydney Skarich each finished with 3255 points to tie for ninth-place.
In the men's heptathlon through four events, Senior Ariel Atias currently sits in second-place with 3077 points. Sophomore Ryan Schaefer stands in fifth-place with 2844 and Freshman Braeden Brown sits in 12th-place with 2537 points. The men's heptathlon will resume at 9:30 a.m. Monday with the 60m hurdles.
At the end of day one the men's team currently sits in fourth with 26.5 points and the women sit in second with 37 points.
