CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- UIC continued to test itself against some of the region's best on Saturday as the Flames traveled downstate to compete at the Illini Invitational inside the UI Armory. UIC student-athletes racked up 15 personal-best efforts during the day-long meet.

"Today was a step in the right direction for our program," said UIC head track & field coach Ashley Lucas. "We had 15 personal bests. We will continue to grow and get stronger each and every day as we look ahead to Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championship next month."

Women's Team Highlights

• Ann Mikulecky cleared 3.17m in the pole vault, an indoor PR for the senior.
• Destiny Tomlin collected a top-10 finish for the Flames in the 400-meter race. The freshman posted a time of 1:04.36. Junior Roma Siddiqui and freshman Brenna Peters were just outside the top 10.
• Kayla Isom and Titilayo Hassan advanced to the finals of the 600-meter run for the Flames. Isom, who finished fifth, had a PR of 1:41.14 as she begins her second indoor season. Hassan was sixth on Saturday.
• At a longer distance, Ai Kaisho crossed the line ninth in the 3K, posting a time of 10:34.98. That's a personal best for the sophomore from Irvine, Calif.
• With a pair of high jump titles already under her belt this season, graduate student Payton Wade finished fourth at Illinois.
• After taking fifth in her shot put flight, Genora Garcia finished 16^th overall with a mark of 12.16 meters.

Men's Team Highlights

• Shaun Wollenweber continued to shine for the Flames throughout the day at the Illinois Invitational. On the track, he claimed fourth in the 60-meter dash in 7.00 seconds.
• Connor Kiley and Sean Barber placed in the top 10 in the finals of the 400-meter dash. Kiley, a freshman, went 52.73, while Barber came in at 52.90.
• Newcomer Josh English had the day's best time in the 600-meter run with a mark of 1:23.99. In the same section, teammate Kyle Foley was third in a time of 1:24.62.
• Distance maven Carlos Cabrera, an All-Horizon League performer in cross country, finished eighth in the 3K in 8:44.86.
• Wollenweber was also busy with several field events on his docket. He claimed third in the long jump, traveling 6.67 meters on his sixth and final attempt. Bryan Keubeng was also in the top 10 of the long jump at 6.36 meters.
• The Flames had arguably their greatest success in the triple jump with the top two marks and three of the best four. Wollenweber was the winner at 14.69 meters, while Larnell Brown came in second place at 14.63. Tobi Alabi was fourth overall with a PR at 14.20 meters.

UIC will split its squad next weekend. Select Flames will travel to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 1-2, while the rest of the squad will stay closer to campus with a quick trip down to the University of Chicago on Feb. 2 for the Windy City Invitational.