CHICAGO – UIC's men's and women's track and field teams returned to action for their first meet of the 2023 indoor season, competing in the Blue Demon Alumni Classic. They didn't travel far for the competition, as the meet was held at Gately Park, on Chicago's south side.

There were 12 schools participating at the Blue Demon Alumni Classic, including nearby schools like Chicago State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, and Northwestern. Rounding out the competition were Marquette, Grand Valley State, Millikin, Saint Louis University, St. Thomas (Minnesota), Valparaiso and Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

The Flames finished the meet with a new school record, 13 new personal best, one event winner. That lone winner for the Flames is Kate Wojcikiewicz. She finished the 1000m with a time of 2:57.59, which is a personal best. Emma Creviston and Cailyn Persinger ran their personal best in the same race, coming in fourth and seventh place.

Dathan Maton marked a new school record for the 3000 meter run. His time of 8:23 put him in second place.

"We had a great start to the new year with several performance with top event group finishes and new personal best," said Interim Head Coach Paul Zavala. "To have a new school record and several Top-10 All-Time performances this early in the season is a great sign for our program."

In the 60 meter race, both Olivia Dumas and Max Rivera finished fifth, both running their personal best. Trevor Tousana came in third for the men's 300m. Xion Russell and Will Stout weren't too far behind, coming in sixth and seventh.

It was a good day in the pit for Anthony Gordon. He placed second, jumping 6.68m, a personal best. Georgios Siomos placed eighth in the long jump. In the women's long jump, Natalie Kowalczuk came in seventh place.

The Flames' next meet is the Bill Clinger Classic at Grand Valley State University on Friday, Jan. 27.