Women’s Track & Field

The University of Illinois Springfield track and field program competed at the GLVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Kirksville, Mo. from Thursday to Saturday. Three athletes earned All-GLVC honors by finishing top-three in their respective events.

Team Results
UIS men’s track and field scored 27 points from three All-GLVC athletes to place 10th. Maddie Miller and Jade Aubrey combined for the seven points that allowed women’s track and field to finish 12th.

All-GLVC
Ryan Jones was the first medalist of the weekend for UIS. He raced to second place in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, chasing leader Gavin Jenkins from Lewis wire to wire. Jones finished five seconds behind Jenkins, and eight seconds ahead of the third-place finisher from Indianapolis.

Jacob Hanna became a GLVC champion by jumping 2.05m in the men’s high jump. He was the only athlete to clear the 2.02m mark, and hit the NCAA DII provisional standard by jumping 2.05 afterwards. Hanna went on to attempt 2.07m, only just tipping the bar on his descent on his second try. He led the GLVC for the final month of the regular season as he was the only GLVC athlete to clear 2.00m ahead of the championship.

Cort Ross closed out the meet for UIS by finishing third in the men’s 5,000m run. The race was set up to be tough as four athletes with NCAA provisional standards toed the starting line. Most of the field was in contention through two miles before the pace quickened. Indoor 5,000m champion and regular season leader Evan Horgan of Lewis University earned his first outdoor title and was closely followed by Henry Born of Missouri S&T. Ross finished within two seconds of Born for his third all-conference award in outdoor track and field.

Additional Scorers
Madelyn Miller was the sixth-place finisher in both the 10,000m run and 5,000m run, adding six points to the team’s score.

Jade Aubrey was just under one minute behind Miller in the 10,000 meters, running 36:16.91 for 8th place and one point.

Briar Nevills scored one point for UIS in his GLVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships debut, running 31:32.46 for 8th place.

Complete Results (By Day)
THURSDAY
Women’s 10,000m
Madelyn Miller– 37:17.37, 6th Place (3 Points)
Jade Aubrey– 38:16.91, 8th Place (1 Point)
Jordan Serrahn– 39:22.24

Men’s 10,000m
Briar Nevills– 31:32.46, 8th Place (1 Point)
Joey Karlesky– 31:38.98, 9th Place
Noah Tegeler– 31:39.53, 10th Place
Nathan DeMarb– 32:10.06
Daniel Giacomini– 32:36.47

FRIDAY
Men’s 100m Semi
Daniel Amponsah– 11.09

Women’s 400m Semi
Khaniya Higginbotham– 61.39

Women’s 800m Semi
Kali Gaden– 2:25.60

Men’s 800m Semi
Finn Loken– 1:58.07

Men’s 200m Semi
Daniel Amponsah– 23.36

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
Ryan Jones– 9:12.87, 2nd Place (8 Points)

SATURDAY
Women’s Javelin Throw
Ellie Shonkwiler– 27.81m

Women’s Shot Put
Ellie Shonkwiler– 9.13m

Men’s High Jump
Jacob Hanna– 2.05m. 1st Place (10 Points)

Women’s 1500m Run
Emma Leahy– 4:55.20
Marissa Roggensack– 4:56.65
Lillian Buzani– 4:57.71

Men’s 1500m Run
Cort Ross– 3:53.50, 7th Place (2 Points)
Ryan Jones– 4:08.05

Women’s 5,000m Run
Madelyn Miller– 17:51.01, 6th Place (3 points)
Jordan Serrahn– 18:32.12
Emma Leahy– 18:37.15

Men’s 5,000m Run
Cort Ross– 14:38, 3rd Place (6 Points)
Briar Nevills– 15:06.85
Noah Tegeler– 15:08.80
Joey Karlesky– 15:20.03

Sportsmanship
The James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honorees for UIS were Jordan Serrahn and Daniel Giacomini. They will be in the running for the overall UIS male and female James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award selections at the end of the school year.

Looking Forward
Cort Ross remains the No. 19-ranked NCAA DII athlete in the men’s 10,000 meter run. He awaits a possible selection for the NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be announced on NCAA.com on Tuesday, May 14 via press release.