NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Illinois Tech track & field competed at the F. Lee Slick Invitational at North Central College this past Friday, highlighted by some great performances by the sprints team and team preparation leading up to conference.
Sprints
Zoe Turner secured 2nd place in the Women's 400 Meters with a time of 58.32. Annaelle Mukash finished 4th in the Women's 200 Meters, clocking 26.02.
Middle Distance
In the Men's 800 Meters, Michael Cruz placed 22nd with a time of 2:09.96.
Distance
The Women's 4000m DMR team of Sophia Halama, Isabelle Pullen, Rachel Brettin, and Brianna Sorrillo claimed 1st place, finishing in 13:52.53.
Hurdles
Finnick Poulin placed 13th in the Men's 60m Hurdles with a time of 10.08.
Jumps
Annika McKown achieved 3rd place in the Women's High Jump, clearing 1.55m. In the Women's Triple Jump, Kailey Nicholas finished 8th with a mark of 10.44m.
Throws
Isaiah John ranked 12th in the Men's Weight Throw with a distance of 12.88m.
Head Coach Tyler McQuality emphasized the importance of the meet as a final tune-up before the conference competition.
"Our distance group got exactly what we needed, a solid final tune-up," said McQuality. "A majority of the group dropped down in distance, helping us work on our speed, stay sharp, and build confidence without overdoing it after a big week of training. The focus wasn't on time, but on racing smart and competing. Now we rest, recover, and get ready for the NACC Championships."
Sprints Coach Brendan Batliner praised the team's effort coming off a demanding training week.
"Coming off a week of hard training, our Hawks put in great effort that will pay off at our conference championships next week," said Batliner. "I'm especially proud of our hurdlers Finn and Annika for both achieving PRs in the 60-meter hurdles. We're looking forward to bringing our best next week across all events."
Assistant Coach Evan Balizado highlighted progress in the pole vault group.
"The vaulters had another great meet with a college PR from Evan and great attempts at the highest bar seen this season from Olivia," said Balizado. "There has been a lot of work put in by our vaulters in their technique the past few weeks that will pay big dividends next week and Outdoors."
Throws Coach Lucas Taylor noted continued development from his group heading into championship competition.
"The throwers had a meet for learning and continuing to work out the kinks prior to conference," Taylor said. "We have an exciting week ahead to prepare for conference and put forward our best effort."
Podium Finishes
- Women's 4000m DMR — Sophia Halama, Isabelle Pullen, Rachel Brettin, Brianna Sorrillo 13:52.53.
- Men's 4 x 400m Relay — Michael Cruz, Peter Mayer, Ian Novak, Carson Owens 3:31.54.
- Women's High Jump — Annika McKown, 1.55m.
Illinois Tech Results Summary
- Men's 3000 Meters — Lane Regan, 20th, 9:49.75; Jonathan Garcia-Hernandez, 22nd, 9:54.44
- Women's 60m Hurdles — Annika McKown, 25th, 10.89
- Men's Long Jump — Finnick Poulin, 18th, 5.57m
- Women's Long Jump — Kailey Nicholas, 11th, 4.87m; Annika McKown, 12th, 4.87m
Up Next
Looking ahead, Illinois Tech will compete at the NACC Indoor Championship on Friday and Saturday, February 27–28, in Ripon, Wisconsin. The Scarlet Hawks will aim to build on this momentum as they take on conference rivals in their final indoor meet of the season.
