The Track & Field teams opened the Outdoor campaign on Saturday, April 4th at the Ted Haydon Invitational, hosted by the University of Chicago. The first meet of the season, scheduled for March 28th, at Saint Joseph's College was cancelled due to weather.
"I'm glad that we had the opportunity to compete today", said Head Coach Calin Hantau. "It was a windy day over in Hyde Park that made its mark on most of today's performances. Some events were affected more than others, but it was about getting back to the meet type situation and trying to perform at our highest level regardless of the conditions" continued Hantau.
Joe Yassin opened his Outdoor season with a 47.75m performance and a 1st place in the Javelin Throw. Due to a nagging injury, Yassin was able to attempt only his first throw, his effort being enough to win the event by almost 3 meters. Yassin returned later in the day and in the Discus, finishing 3rd.
Teva Venet turned in a 4th place finish in the Long Jump, scoring valuable points for the team. In the 400m, Dolapo Ogunsami and Demis Thomas posted personal bests times and finished 6th and 7th in a deep field.
On the women's side, the field events recorded multiple top 8 finishes for the Scarlet Hawks. Taylor Schaub was 3rd in the High Jump with 1.49m but had 3 good attempts at her personal best height. Khadijah Nesbitt and Brianna Koning finished 3rd and 4th in the Shot Put. Koning had another top 8 performance for the day, with a 6th place finish in the Discus Throw. Vanessa Arraiz competed in 2 finals, Javelin and Discus Throw, turning in a top 8 performance in the Discus. The Scarlet Hawks had some great performances in the running events as well. Jaqui Rowell finished 4th in the 400m while Anne Crotteau and Greta Zola recorded personal bests in the 3000m and 1500m.
"We had a 4 week break after the indoor season and we feel better about lot of things after seeing some of today's performances" said Assistant Coach Kristina Jones.
The Illinois Tech Track teams will compete at the Chicagoland Championships hosted by College of DuPage on April 10-11.