On Saturday, January 18, the men’s and women’s track and field teams returned to the Shirk Center to host the I-55 Invitational meet. In their first meet since December, the Titans brought home 12 first place finishes and set school records in the process.
On the field side, seniors Carlyssa King and CJ Ladewig led the weight-throw competition. King threw 15.72 meters, over six feet past her closest competitor from Webster, who threw 13.88 meters. Ladewig bested his closest competitor from Millikin with 15.85 meters. In the shot put competition, senior Matthew Wagner tied his career best with a throw of 14.06, and sophomore Lauryn Moore produced a season best 10.86 meter, breaking into the program’s top ten highest scores.
Titans also claimed the top two spots in men’s high jump. First-year Nick Walker took the second place spot after jumping 1.95 meters. Walker is currently ranked 22nd in the nation, and tied with Drew Tatlock, ‘24, for seventh in school history. Sophomore Matt Lindberg claimed first place with a personal best of 2.01 meters, ranking fifth best in school history. Lindberg is currently tied for fifth in all of Division III high jump.
The triple jump competition was also led by Illinois Wesleyan, with sophomore Imani Ogunribido taking first place with an 11.94 meter jump. Senior Sam Okewole took second in the men’s competition with a 13.23 meter jump.
On the track, runners took home both personal bests and program records by the handful. Seniors Nick Fisch and Annalese Chudy took first place in the men’s and women’s 3000 meter races. Fisch ran a personal best of 8:58.49 and Chudy won in 10:38.72, followed by senior Abby Quinn in second with a personal best of 11:44.65.
Sophomore Alex Reinhart secured the top spot in the women’s 800 meter with a time of 2:20.74, finishing three seconds before her closest opponent from Millikin.
In the women’s 1200 meter, junior Adriana Crabtree and senior Emma McGrath finished in the top two spots, setting new program records for Illinois Wesleyan. Crabtree set the new record at 3:49.47, with McGrath close behind at 3:49.88, setting the second highest record. Crabtree shattered the previous record of 3:52.63 set by Amanda Maciuba in 2016. The Normal, IL native has earned All-CCIW awards for the track team the past two years.
Crabtree also found success in the women’s 4×400 relay with Reinhart, Crabtree, and seniors Bella Gonzalez and Jordyn Griffin turned in a first-place time of 4:10.08.
In the men’s 1200 meter, senior Ernie Waterson finished in first with a time of 3:09.91, the third fastest time in Titan history. Waterson was followed by junior Seth Hamerski in third and sophomore Aidan Nishimura in fifth, both setting personal bests at 3:13.23 and 3:25.29 respectively. Hamerski and Nishimura are ranked seventh and tenth in program history.
Ten athletes finished with personal best performances, and the team saw many other placements in the top three spots. First-year Caroline Hill took second place in the 400 meter with a time of 1:08.54 in her first race with the Titans. In long jump, sophomore Cole Marshall placed second with a 6.43 meter jump. Junior Bobby Mogged finished third in the men’s 60 meter hurdles. Senior Alex Harvey, first-year Jacob Pinkston and junior Zach Marquardt also came in third in the men’s 400 meter, 800 meter and mile races. First-year pole-vaulter Sophia Baczak claimed third as well.
The next race for the Titans will be February 7-8, at the Shirk Center. Illinois Wesleyan will host the Keck Division III Select meet, at 4pm on Friday and 11am on Saturday.