Chicago, Ill. - The Scarlet Hawks were all together and back competing at the world class Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center on Saturday, January 31st.
On the women's side, the Scarlet Hawks turned in several strong performances across the track and field events. In the sprints, Annaelle Mukash placed fifth in the 60 meters with a time of 8.17, while Isabelle Pullen followed with a fifth-place finish in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 1:04.93. Zoe Turner ran a 25.95 to place fifth and moved into the NCAA Division III top 100 with a new personal record and school record in the women's indoor 200m. The women's 4x400 relay with Annaelle Mukash, Isabelle Pullen, Brianna Sorrillo, and Zoe Turner continued the momentum, finishing second overall in 4:14.79, a mark that puts them 95th in Division III.
In the middle distances, Rachel Brettin ran a season-best 2:26.29 in the 800 meters to place sixth, while Sophia Halama followed up with a 2:38.28 performance. The field events saw standout performances, highlighted by Annika McKown's first-place finish in the high jump with a season-best jump of 1.55m. Olivia McMath captured first place in the pole vault, clearing 2.85m for a season best. Kailey Nicholas placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 10.22m, and Maria Plencer finished seventh in the shot put at 9.19m.
On the men's side, Carson Owens led the way on the track, finishing fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 49.72, a performance that places him 69th in Division III, and established a new school men's indoor record. Lane Regan ran a season-best 2:08.41 in the 800 meters, while JD Lopez posted a personal record of 2:20.44. Benjamin Gaeta competed in the mile, finishing in 4:50.06, and Jonathan Garcia-Hernandez closed out the track events with a 9:58.74 in the 3,000 meters.
The men's field events also produced solid results. Finnick Poulin placed 11th in the long jump with a leap of 5.59m and added a mark of 9.26m in the shot put. Hunter Urbano recorded a personal best of 10.72m in the shot put. While D'Andre De La Fuente competed in both the shot put and weight throw, landing a 9.15m and 10.14m respectively. Isaiah John rounded out the throws team with an 11.81m mark in the weight throw.
Looking back on the meet, the coaching staff highlighted the Scarlet Hawks' continued growth.
"Another step forward for our team as we continue our march toward the indoor conference championships," said head coach Tyler McQuality. "This is the time of year when performances start slowly coming together."
Jumps coach Sai Valluri echoed that sentiment, adding, "The fundamentals are in place. Now it's all about refining technique and dialing in our approaches so big jumps start turning into legal jumps."
Sprints coach Brendan Batliner emphasized the team atmosphere surrounding the day's performances. "It was an exciting day on the track with twelve athletes competing in our first 4x400 relays of the season. It's days like these that remind us that we're stronger together as a team."
Distance coach Valerie Lending also praised her group's development. "We had lots of athletes competing in an event for the first time this season or for the first time collegiately. That experience is helping us build racing confidence heading into next week."
Scarlet Hawks Results Summary
Women
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4x400 Relay — 2nd: Mukash, Pullen, Sorrillo, Turner, 4:14.79
Men
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will head back on the road next weekend for the Keck Select Invitational at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, as the team continues to dial in performances heading into the closing stretch of the indoor season.
