SOUTH BEND, Ind., and CHICAGO -- UIC continued to build positive momentum with an eye on the Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championships at the end of the month by splitting its squads and sending Flames to the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Feb. 1-2 and the Windy City Rumble at the University of Chicago on Saturday.
Meyo Invitational Highlights
- UIC put together a strong showing in the men's distance medley relay on Friday night. The team of Martin Skucas, Michael Meskill, Josh English and Alex Bashqawi came together to edge out Illinois State and run second in 10:03.36. Skucas ran 1,200 in 3:07, Meeskill went 400 in 48.8, English covered 800 meters in in 1:54 and Bashqawi closed with 1,600 meters in 4:12. Horizon League foe Milwaukee claimed the top spot.
- Also on Friday, redshirt senior Shaun Wollenweber continued to compile top marks as he advanced to the finals of the triple jump. Wollenweber finished fifth at 14.76 meters, his best mark of this indoor season.
- Ai Kaisho notched a PR in the 5K on Friday, crossing the line in 17:39.69. The sophomore topped her previous top time by eight seconds.
- Saturday saw more success for the Flames. Allison Hansen set a five-second PR in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:03.67. It was the second-fastest time in the program's indoor history as she topped he own second-place mark of 10:08.65 from 2018.
- Kayla Isom of UIC also set a PR Saturday, hers coming in the 800-meter run. She clocked a time of 2:18.18.
"I think we competed very well at Notre Dame," said UIC head coach
Ashley Lucas. "It can always be somewhat intimidating going up against some large ACC and Big Ten programs, but I felt like our UIC student-athletes didn't care what school was across anyone else's chest. They were there to compete and to come away with season bests. We walked away with a handful of lifetime bests and lot of gained confidence."
Windy City Rumble Highlights
- Janine Fajardo had a stellar Saturday in the 60-meter hurdles. In a preliminary heat, she set a lifetime PR of 9.21 seconds. She finished second in the final heat and picked up eight points for the Flames with a time of 9.35.
- Freshman Destiny Tomlin had her best time of the season in the 400-meter dash. Tomlin finished 10th overall in 1:04.00, just ahead of junior Rachel McKenzie (1:04.36).
- On the men's side, two Flames earned points for the squad with top-eight finishes in the 400-meter dash. Freshman Gabriel Reed finished seventh in 54.07, his season best, and Sean Barber was just behind in 54.09.
- Another newcomer, freshman Joseph Otchere tied for third place in the 60-meter dash. The Romeoville, Ill., native posted a PR of 7.01 on Saturday. Otchere also ran second overall in the 200-meter dash, posting a mark of 23.19 in his heat. Reed had the fourth-fastest time in the event at 23.77.
- Peyton Wade picked up another high jump victory, her third in four meets this season. The graduate student's mark of 1.75 meters was her best of the season.
- The Flames had two top-eight placements in the men's long jump. Bryan Keubeng was second at 6.62 meters, a PR, and Chris Purdy tied for eighth at 6.08 meters, his best of the young season.
- Genora Garcia finished second in the women's weight throw with a mark of 14.50 meters. She was third in the shot put at 11.92 meters to collect six team points.
- Both Ann Mikulecky and Maddie Kelly showed well in the women's pole vault. Mikulecky was tied for fourth overall Saturday and set a PR for the second consecutive week at 3.21 meters. Kelly was in a group that tied for seventh at 3.06.
"With a lot of young athletes I think we competed at a very high level today," said UIC assistant coach
Neil Houlihan. "The team had great energy and going into conference championships, we are taking big steps in the right direction."
Up Next
- The Flames will travel to North Central College in Naperville, Ill., on Friday, Feb. 8 for the Pat Heenan Invitational.
