Redbirds to Close Regular Season at Illini Tune-Up, Billy Hayes Invitational

THIS WEEK

The Illinois State track and field squad splits up on Friday between the Illini Tune-Up in Champaign, Ill., and the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.

Grace Erb, Pauline Schedler, Julian Baker, Cayde de Waal and Logan Scott will head to Indiana, while 33 other athletes will compete at the University of Illinois. Competition at both meets begins with field events at 11 a.m. CT.

This is the final weekend of the regular season before the Redbirds head to the Missouri Valley Conference Championships hosted by Indiana State University on May 16-17 in Terre Haute, Ind.

LAST TIME OUT

The Redbirds finished up the Badger Challenge last Friday with five event winners and three moves in the program's top-10 list.  

• Cole Stevens improved his eighth-place mark in school history in the hammer throw with a launch of 61.27m.

• Becca Heitzig moved into 10th-all time in program history in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:32.87.

• Nora Brady took over ninth in school history in the 5000m run with a time of 16:49.18.

• The Redbirds' first event winner was Brody Rigdon, who took gold in the long jump with a mark of 7.07m.

• Jamarion Bardwell won the high jump with a mark of 2.06m.

• Aidan Wyzard came out on top in the 100m dash with a time of 10.72.

• Megan Clark won the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.61m, while Victor Byaundaombe won the men's triple jump with a mark of 14.65m.

FRESH SCHOOL RECORDS

Four outdoor school records have been tied or broken so far this season, including three at the Badger Challenge last weekend.

• Zach Paul finished runner-up and shattered the school record in the 100m dash with a wind-aided time of 10.19.

• The men's 4x400m relay squad of Paul, Enyinnaya Nwagwu Jr., Jake Welch and Evan Watson broke the school record, which was set earlier this season, by over a second with a time of 3:05.27.

• Seth Nelson broke his own school record in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 5.30m.

• Becca Heitzig broke the women's 1500m school record by nearly two seconds with a time of 4:14.79 at the Pepsi Florida Relays on April 4 and then broke her own record with a time of 4:14.76 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 17.

USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its sixth checkpoint of #EventSquad rankings for the 2026 outdoor season on May 5, and multiple Redbird event groups were featured among the nation's best.

• The men's shot put group, with Zach Cowper, Jo Atkins, Jacob Klink and Garrett Taylor, is ranked 10th in the nation (69.74m, 17.44m avg).

• The men's high jump group, including Kaden Stewart, Voldy Makabu, Jamarion Bardwell and Trey Thomas, is 11th in the country (8.24m, 2.06m avg).

• The men's 100m dash squad of Zach Paul, Reece Curtis, Enyinnaya Nwagwu Jr. and Jaiden Reed is 35th in the NCAA (41.70, 10.43 avg).

• The women's 1500m group, with Becca Heitzig, Pauline Schedler, Mattison Plummer and Astrid Van Breedam sits 35th in the country (17:25.48, 4:21.37 avg).

• The women's hammer throw group, comprised of Adison Scott, Morgan Foes, Brianna Brodie and Hannah Gibson ranks 35th in the nation (201.72m, 50.43m avg).

• The women's 800m squad, comprised of Heitzig, Schedler, and Colleen and Brooke Zeibert sits 43rd in the country (8:34.42, 2:08.61 avg).

For the latest updates on Illinois State Track & Field, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (@RedbirdTFXC) and Instagram (isuredbirdtfxc) and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Track & Field/Cross Country).

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