By: The Blueboy 4 x 100 Meter Relay team posted one of the two school records at the Gregory Invitational on Thursday and guaranteed themselves a spot in the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College track & field team took its final steps towards the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday with the final day of North Central College's Gregory Invitational. While the men's 4 x 100 Meter Relay team booked a place in the national meet, other individuals will have to wait and see if they have done enough to qualify.
The team of
Nifesimi Williams,
Brett Peifer,
Chris Moore and
Greg Cross blazed to a time of 41.18 seconds in the 4 x 100 Meter Relays, slicing over four-tenths of a second off of their previous school record. The Blueboys are now up to sixth nationally in the event and assured themselves a spot at the NCAA Championships.
Though it wasn't enough to qualify, the men's 4 x 400 Meter Relay team of Peifer,
Jaxon Rieke,
Dominic Aiello and Moore also set a school record on Thursday with a time of 3:17.51.
In men's field events,
Brant Bess ended up in second place in the javelin throw with a distance of 190-10 (58.18 meters) on his best effort of the day. Bess' top throw in 2018 was 195-10, which places him at 22nd nationally. He will wait to see if he has done enough to qualify when the start list is released in a few days.
Levon Hendricks also competed for the Blueboys, finishing sixth in triple jump with a distance of 43-9.25 (13.34 meters) and ninth in long jump with a leap of 19-9.75 (6.04 meters).
In the men's 100 Meter Dash, Cross and Williams each qualified for the finals of the race. Williams then crossed the line in third place with a PR of 10.96 seconds, tying the fifth-best time in program history. Cross ended in seventh place with a time of 11.32 seconds.
Rylan Hynek also competed for the Blueboys, ending with a time of 11.81 seconds.
In the 200 Meter Dash, Peifer posted a winning time of 21.97 seconds. His personal best from this season of 21.56 seconds is tied for 24th nationally, so he will join Bess in waiting to see if his name is called for the national meet. Hynek posted a 16th place finish in the 200 at 23.47 seconds.
On the women's side,
Andrea Hyde finished first in both the prelims (12.30 seconds) and finals (12.24 seconds) of the 100 Meter Dash. Her time of 12.05 seconds this season has her tied for 12th nationally and should be enough to book her a second straight trip to nationals. Hyde also finished second in the 200 Meter Dash with a time of 25.39 seconds.
Joselynn Allen was 14th in 26.96 seconds.
By the end of this weekend, the picture should be clearer as to which relays and individuals Illinois College will be sending to the NCAA Division III Championships. All qualifiers will be posted when it becomes official.
The NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held in La Crosse, Wis. on the campus of UW-La Crosse from May 24-26. Action begins each day at 11 a.m.
