April 17, 2012

CHICAGO - UIC tracksters Ariel Kirby and Matt Zaluckyj have both been invited to compete in the prestigious Musco Twlight Meet on the Iowa University campus this Saturday. The duo owns the Horizon League's current top mark in the respective men's and women's 800-meter runs.

Kirby ran a Horizon League-best 2:11.73 in the 800-meter at the Raleigh Relays (3/30/12), a mark that is more than one second ahead (2:12.85) of the rest of the field. She captured the individual title in the race at last Saturday's Eagle Invitational (2:12.11), and also claimed medalist honors in the 400-meter the week prior (April 6) at the Chicagoland Championships.

Zaluckyj, the current Horizon League Male Runner of the Week, finished second and broke the outdoor school record in the 800-meter run at last Saturday's Eagle Invitational, crossing the finishing line in 1:49.51. It marked the first time in his career that Zaluckyj broke the 1:50 plateau, and represents the top time in the Horizon League this season.

Kirby has also served as one of the anchors on both the 4x800 and 4x400 relay teams. She and her teammates have claimed first-place honors in each of the past two weeks, including shattering the prior school record in the 4x800 relay (9:27.45) at the Chicagoland Championships.

The 13th Annual Musco Twilight will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City. The meet was named for Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, Iowa, which has supplied mobile lighting equipment throughout the event's 12-year history. The event has gone on each year since with the exception of 2009, when the track was resurfaced.

The rest of UIC's men's and women's teams will take part in the DePaul Invitational, Friday and Saturday in Lincoln Park.