CHARLESTON, Ill. - In their final tuneup before next week's Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, the University of Evansville men's and women's track and field teams saw success at the EIU Friday Night Special in Charleston, Ill. hosted by Eastern Illinois.
For the second-straight meet, the Aces saw a program record that had stood for 30-or-more years fall. In the men's 400 meter dash, senior Everett Plocek surpassed Willie Morris' record of 55.07 as Plocek finished third in the race with a time of 55.04.
In the women's 60 meter dash, junior Taylor Williams was the lone Ace in the field, finishing ninth in a time of 9.00 seconds. On the men's side, freshman Aaron Straight came across the line in 16th with a time of 7.59 seconds.
Straight continued his full day of events in the men's 200 meter dash. The freshman broke his own school record by three-tenths of a second running a 25.43 and finishing in 11th.
Senior Tess Hupe continued to show her strength for the Aces as she broke her own school record in the women's 400 meter dash with a time of 1:05.03 and finishing in eighth. Also in the women's 400 meter dash, freshman Lizzy Walston finished in 10th with a time of 1:06.20, while senior JBess Ruby crossed the line in 1:08.33 in 13th place.
In the men's 600 meter dash, freshman Alton Hoops led the way for the Aces with a 13th place finish in a time of 1:36.93, while freshman Kalen Ochs crossed the line in 15th with a time of 1:37.49.The women's 600 meter run featured a strong performance from junior Sienna Crews. In the 11-runner field, Crews finished fifth with a time of 1:42.97, while her teammate, freshman Kylie Hasenour finished in 1:53.31 in 10th.
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Meet Results
A trio of Aces freshmen competed in the women's 800 meter run as Izzy Dawson led the UE contingent in 14th (2:34.15), while Sarah Poltrack crossed the line in 15th (2:38.81), and Lexi Sutherland finished in 18th (2:55.19). Four Aces' men competed in the men's 800 meter run with freshman Stanley Chepchieng leading the charge finishing in second with a time of 2:02.02. Freshman Ricky Hendrix earned a seventh place finish (2:10.65), while freshman Tucker Dawson crossed the line in eighth (2:15.36), and freshman Jonathan Newby finished in ninth (2:26.19).
For the Aces' men in the mile run, freshman Ethan Price led the way for Evansville. Price finished the race in 4:29.81 earning him a ninth place finish while fellow freshman Grant Mangan finished in 16th with a time of 5:20.05. The Aces lone competitor in the women's mile run was freshman Lauren Meyer who finished in 14th with a time of 5:51.49.
In the women's 3,000 meters, freshman Anna Lowry set a program record as the first Ace to compete in the event in program history. Lowry crossed the line in 16th with a time of 11:07.01, less than 10 seconds off a top 12 finish.
The night concluded with the men's and women's 4x400 meter relays. Evansville's women's relay team featuring Hasenour, Walston, Hupe, and Ruby finished fourth in 4:27.82, less than three seconds off the program record set by Walston, Lauren Meyer, Crews, and Lowry at the Don DeNoon Invitational. The Aces' men's relay team of freshman Ian Alberts, Price, Plocek, and Hendrix earned a fourth place finish in a time of 3:42.53.
Included in Walston's busy day was an appearance in the women's long jump, an event in which she owns the Aces' program record. Walston ended the competition in 17th with a distance of 4.34 meters. Also competing in the women's long jump was junior Hayley Elliot who did not record a distance.
Alberts was the lone Ace to compete in the men's pole vault competition on Friday night. The freshman finished ninth, topping out with a height of 3.94 meters.
In the throwing events, Evansville's women were represented by freshman Brittany Corley. In the women's shot put, Corley finished 18th with a distance of 8.61 meters, while Corley set a program record in the women's weight throw with a distance of 9.19 meters and a 17th place finish. On the men's side, freshman Chris Zapata recorded the furthest distance by an Ace on the day with a throw of 10.93 meters for a 19th place finish, while senior Clay Doty finished 22nd with a distance of 10.33 meters. Junior Ryan Freeman and Doty represented the first Aces to compete in the weight throw as Freeman led the way for Evansville, finishing 14th with a throw of 10.98 meters, while Doty picked up a 16th place finish with a throw of 9.50 meters.
Evansville heads to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, February 24 and Sunday, February 25.
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