By: A second-place finish by the Illinois College men’s track & field team matched the team’s best finish since taking second in 2009.
Meet Results
MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Illinois College track & field teams capped a successful weekend at the Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday with the Blueboys in second place and the Lady Blues in sixth place. The IC men scored 136 points and matched the best finish since taking second back in 2009. The Lady Blues closed with 64 points for the weekend.
At the conclusion of the meet,
Brett Peifer of the Blueboys and
Andrea Hyde of the Lady Blues were awarded the Male and Female Track Performer of the Year awards for their dominance over the two days of competition.
Sean Kisch was the men's winner of the Elite 20 Award, given to each of the top scholar-athletes in the conference's 20 sports.
After breezing to the top spot in both races during Friday's prelims, Hyde came back and won both the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash finals on Saturday. Hyde recorded a time of 12.08 seconds in the 100 and 25.41 seconds in the 200.
Bailey Leitschuh took sixth in the 100 Meter Dash in 12.66 seconds. She also was seventh in the 200 in 26.39 seconds, while
Joselynn Allen finished fourth in the 200 in 25.93 seconds. Those three runners also contributed to IC's winning 4 x 100 Meter Relay. Allen, Leitschuh,
Olivia Molette and Hyde combined to run a 48.61 in the race, edging Knox for the title. The other point that the Lady Blues earned on the track came in the 4 x 400 Meter Relay, where
Ali Pankey,
Emily Woods, Leitschuh and
Madison Klanke were eighth in 4:16.97.
Peifer made his mark in four different events on Saturday. The junior won the 200 Meter Dash and 400 Meter Dash, ran a leg of IC's winning 4 x 100 Meter Relay, and also helped the Blueboys take second in the 4 x 400 Meter Relay. Peifer's time of 21.56 seconds in the 200 bettered his PR that he set yesterday and ranks as the third-best time in school history and the 21st-best time in Division III this season. He also dropped nearly half-a-second off his personal best in the 400 Meter Dash with a time of 48.26 seconds, the second-best time in program history and the 26th-best time in Division III. In the 4 x 100 Meter Relay,
Nifesimi Williams, Peifer,
Chris Moore and
Greg Cross won in 41.69 seconds, easily outpacing the field. In the 4 x 400 Meter Relay, Peifer,
Jaxon Rieke,
Dominic Aiello and Moore finished second in 3:19.04.
The Blueboys had plenty of other top finishers on the track. Cross was the winner of the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 10.76 seconds. Moore was fifth in 11.13 and Williams took sixth in 11.20 seconds. Behind Peifer's winning time in the 200 Meter Dash, Cross took fourth in 21.78 seconds and Moore was sixth in 22.16 seconds. Aiello also added a sixth-place showing in the 400 Meter Dash, crossing the line in 50.34 seconds. After a trio of Blueboys qualified yesterday for the finals of the 110 Meter Hurdles,
Nick Mucciante finished sixth (16.09 seconds), Kisch finished seventh (16.22 seconds) and
Dakota Stevens finished eighth (16.30 seconds) on Saturday.
In Saturday's field events,
Brant Bess claimed yet another MWC title in the men's javelin throw with a heave of 190-5 (58.04 meters). The Blueboys had three of the top eight in the triple jump, with
Levon Hendricks earning all-conference honors in third place (44-3.25, 13.49 meters).
Anthony Hand was sixth at 42-2.75 (12.87 meters) and
Michael Nolte was eighth with a leap of 41-8.75 (12.72 meters).
For the Lady Blues,
MacKenzie Heinz took sixth in the hammer throw with a distance of 140-1 (42.69 meters), the fifth-best throw in school history.
Jenna Kennedy was close behind in seventh at 136-9 (41.69 meters). Kennedy added a seventh-place finish in the discus with a throw of 113-9 (34.68 meters). Pankey had a sixth-place finish in the high jump, clearing a height of 4-10.50 (1.49 meters). Finally, Leitschuh added onto her busy day with an eighth-place finish in the triple jump at 33-10 (10.31 meters).
With the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships starting in less than two weeks, select members of the Blueboys and Lady Blues will look to lock up qualifying spots when they take part in North Central College's Gregory Invitational on May 16 and 17 in Naperville, Ill.
