TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (May 13, 2024) – The UIC men's and women's track & field programs saw their 2024 outdoor seasons come to an end following last weekend's Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Freshman
Praise Oyebanji (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) made strides at the three-day meet, becoming the first UIC runner in the program's two seasons as an MVC member to post a top-eight time during qualifying and advance to the finals in a running event. Oyebanji and her classmates,
Hannah Oloro (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and
Ava Maglaya (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville), also set freshmen school records in their respective events.
COACH'S COMMENT
"Our coaching staff is proud of the effort and toughness our team showed throughout the highly-competitive MVC Championships," said head coach
Paul Zavala. "We missed several opportunities to score points in a few events by narrowly missing the event final, which could have helped us in the team standings. However, it was the first time at a conference meet for nearly half of our roster and they all gained valuable experience to help further advance our program's success. We look forward to keep building and elevating our standard of excellence at UIC."
TOP FINISHERS
Women
- Oyebanji set a freshman school record and ranked No. 3 in the school history with her 800-meter qualifying time of 2:10.99. She would go on to finish seventh in the finals with a time of 2:15.29.
- Oloro set a freshman school record in the high jump (1.60m), coming in 11th place overall.
- In the triple jump, Maglaya established a Flames' freshman record (11.09m), which also gave her an 11th-place finish.
- Senior Daniela Martinez (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) represented the Flames in the 1,500 meters, an event which now she ranks second all-time in UIC record book with a time of 4:34.81, good for 16th place at the MVC meet.
Men
- The UIC 4 x 100-meter relay team of freshman Amare Harris (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington), junior Paul Sackman (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West), senior Sacrad Michelin (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) and junior Max Rivera (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) crossed the finish line fifth (41.17).
- The other Flames' relay squad, the 4 x 400 unit that consisted of Harris, freshman Jackson Irby (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North), sophomore Marv Quinones (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and Michelin clocked in at a season-best 3:20.23 to finish seventh.
- Freshman Stephen Kapumba III (Bloomingdale, Ill.) earned points for the Flames with an eighth-place showing in the triple jump at 12.95 meters.
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