CHICAGO – The UIC track and field programs were in full swing this weekend, with runners in action in three meets spanning two states.
 
A small group of Flames made the trip out to California to compete in the Bryan Clay Invite Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before making their way to the Beach Invitational Saturday for some more racing. Meanwhile, there was a second squad that made the quick trip down to Illinois State for the Redbird Challenge Saturday afternoon.
 
California Recap
Carlos Cabrera opened the Flames' stay in California in stunning fashion late Wednesday evening at the Bryan Clay Invitational, shattering the school record in the men's 10k. Cabrera finished the race in 29:45.82 to set the school record, breaking the previous record, held since 1981, by over 18 seconds.
 
"For the most part we came out here and accomplished what we set out to do," said head coach Ashley Lucas. "A new school record for Carlos, big PRs and new additions to the top-10 list is always something to be excited about. The Flames took care of business and we are excited to rejoin the rest of the team and get more work done."
 
Mark Lemke followed early Thursday morning competing in a different heat of the 10k. Lemke finished his heat in 7^th place with a time of 30:42.73 to set a PR by 37 seconds and move into third place on the UIC top-10 list.
 
Teresea Mejia added her name to the list of Flames to set new PRs as she improved upon her time in the women's 1500m. Mejia finished her heat with a time of 4:40.66 to set her new PR and move into fourth place in the UIC record book.
 
Olivia Dumas, who already held the #3 time in the women's 200m at 25.29, set a new PR with a time of 25.25.
 
Jesse Casas moved into UIC's top-10 list in the men's 400m as he finished in 49.04 to rank eighth all-time.
 
Four of the Flames, Dumas, Casas, Tousana and Moran, competed at the Beach Invitational Saturday afternoon as well.
 
Illinois Recap
A contingent of over 15 competitors made the trip down to the Redbird Challenge, hosted by Illinois State. The Flames received eight top-10 finishes on the afternoon.
 
"The wind definitely wasn't on our side today, but I think the group, as a whole, handled the conditions really well," said assistant coach Will Crocker. "We walked away from today with a lot of season best and even a few lifetime best performances. There are a lot of positives that we will take away from the day and carry on into next week as we prepare for Illinois."
 
Dalton Burk qualified for the men's 100m dash in seventh position before improving with a finals time of 10.84 to finish fifth overall. In the women's 100m, Nyarai Terry qualified in fourth place and maintained her position with a time of 15.55 in the finals.
 
A trio of Flames finished in the top 10 of the men's 200m. Sacrad Michelin was the first UIC runner to cross the line, posting a time of 22.29. Burk had his second top-10 performance of the day, finishing eighth in a time of 22.37. Max Rivera rounded out the event with a ninth-place showing (22.39).
 
Haley Dahl excelled in the women's 400m hurdles, finishing fifth overall with a time of 1:10.19. In the men's 800m, Tre Rivers used a time of 1:56.38 to finish in sixth place.
 
The final top-10 of the day came in the men's 4x100 relay, as the quartet of Burk, Austin Beckon, Michelin and Rivera finished third overall with a combined time of 42.09.
 
UIC will be back in action April 22-23 at the Illini Invite.