WHEATON, Ill. / TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The UIC men's and women's Track and Field teams had another strong showing this past weekend, with notable performances at the Don Church Invitational hosted by Wheaton College on Thursday, April 17, and the Gibson Invitational at Indiana State University on Saturday, April 19.

At the Don Church Invitational, Nolan Rogers claimed victory in the 10,000m race, clocking in at 32:48.12, ranking 11th in the MVC Outdoor Rankings, just ahead of teammate Orlando Hernandez, who finished second with a time of 32:48.14, placing 12th in the MVC Outdoor Rankings.

At the Gibson Invitational, the men's team placed 20th out of 27 teams, while the women's team finished 13th of 29 teams. The meet saw 11 new personal best performances and one new school record, with Alessia Sarussi setting a new school record in the women's 1500m with a time of 4:26.59.

MEN'S TEAM

• 10,000m:

  • Nolan Rogers – 1st Place with a time of 32:48.12

  • Orlando Hernandez – 2nd Place with a time of 32:48.14

• Triple Jump:

  • Olukolajo Sodipe – 5th Place with a new personal best of 13.57m

• 1500m:

  • Jose Lozano – 18th Place with a new personal best of 4:01.35

• 4x400m Relay:

  • Amare Harris, Paul Sackman, Shmouel Sackman, Hugo Rincon – 7th Place with a new season's best of 3:26.16

WOMEN'S TEAM

• 1500m:

  • Alessia Sarussi – 1st Place with a new school record of 4:26.59

• Triple Jump:

  • Ava Maglaya – 4th Place with a mark of 11.31m

• High Jump:

  • Hannah Oluwatomi Oloro – 12th Place with a jump of 1.60m

MEET NOTES

• Team Scoring:

  • Men's Team – 20th of 27 teams

  • Women's Team – 13th of 29 teams

• 11 new personal best performances

• 1 new school record (Women's 1500m, previously from 2013)

• Severe weather conditions including heavy rains and winds during competition

COACH'S COMMENTS
"We had to compete under some difficult weather conditions this past weekend, but overall our team put together strong performances in each of their competitions," commented head coach Paul Zavala "I'm proud of the team's effort throughout the day. It is also exciting to see Alessia break the 1500m school record. She is on her way to having one of the best competitive seasons in school history and should be in for a great championship portion of our outdoor season."

UP NEXT
The men's and women's track and field teams will compete in the regionally famous Drake Relays this week, with competition set to begin on Thursday, April 24.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information on UIC's cross country and track & field programs, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_XCTF or @UICFlames) and Instagram (@UIC_XCTF or @uicflames).