Bloomington, Ill. - At the halfway point of the indoor season, the Scarlet Hawks Track and Field team took a trip down to Bloomington, IL for the Keck DIII Invitational. The two-day meet kicked off on Friday with the Multis competition followed by the remainder of the events on Saturday.
In a competitive meet with over 850 athletes, the Scarlet Hawks rose to the occasion: 3 school records fell along with 14 personal bests and 4 season bests.
The talk of the meet happened around 1 PM on Saturday when junior Olivia Jameson broke her own school record in the high jump with a height of 1.72 meters (5'8), beating out all 20 other competitors by 5 inches. That is the 2nd highest jump in the NCAA Division III this year, likely qualifying her for the National Championship meet for the fourth time in her career. More importantly, it means she can jump over 49% of the Track and Field team.
Said Olivia about her achievement: "I knew going into the meet that I'd see some strong competition, so my main focus was staying calm and being as consistent as possible. It then paid off and turned into a great moment where all that we've been working on for the past couple months came together."
Other Scarlet Hawk Standouts:
Senior Amelia Moseman ran a time of 2:19.21 in the 800-meter run, breaking a 13-year-old school record and placing 11th out of 54 competitors. Teammate Rachel Brettin ran a personal best in the same event with a time of 2:29.26, putting her 6th all-time.
Heptathlete Finn Poulin scored 2957 points between Friday and Saturday's events, setting a personal and school record. During the event, he also set personal records in both the 60m hurdles and the high jump.
Junior Zoe Turner ran a season best 26.86 in the 200-meter dash and jumped to 3rd all-time in the 60m dash with a time of 8.34. Senior Ajibola Claudius-Akinyemi ran a 22.98 in the 200m dash, a faster converted time than his PR at the Aurora Grand Prix a few weeks ago.
Women's All-Time Updates:
Olivia Jameson – High Jump – 1.72m – School Record
Amelia Moseman – 800 Meter Run – 2:19.21 – School Record
Rachel Brettin– 800 Meter Run – 2:29.26 – 6th All-Time
Zoe Turner – 60 Meter Dash – 8.34 – 3rd All-Time
Sophia Halama – 3000 Meter Run – 11:27.45 – 9th All-Time
Kailey Nicholas – Long Jump – 4.86m – 5th All-Time
Sona Perry – Triple Jump – 8.85m – 5th All-Time
Men's All-Time Updates:
Finn Poulin – Heptathlon – 2957 Points – School Record
Finn Poulin – 60 Meter Hurdles – 10.98 – 4th All-time
Gabe Durazo – 5000 Meter Run – 16:45.48 – 10th All-time
Isaiah John – Weight Throw – 12.79m – 4th All-time
Head Coach Tyler McQuality's Comments from the Keck Invitational:
"What a meet for our team. We keep seeing the growth as a result of the work we have been putting in at practice. I am very excited for another big week ahead at the Chicagolands Championships."
Assistant Coach Brendan Batliner's Comments from the Keck Invitational:
"Our sprinters, jumpers, and hurdlers continue to demonstrate progress and determination. I'm proud of our athletes and their performances and have great optimism as we enter the next few critical weeks of our season."
Assistant Coach Lucas Taylor's Comments from the Keck Invitational:
"The throwers had another good meet for building foundations for future PRs, with multiple throwers starting to solidify their new techniques that showed in their distances being consistently close to PRs and another throwing a new PR."
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will be back in the Chicagoland area for the Chicagoland Championships hosted by North Central College. The women will compete on Friday, 2/14 beginning at 3:00 PM while the men are scheduled to compete Saturday, 2/15.
