TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Two more program records fell over the weekend for the University of Evansville track and field teams at the 2025 Gibson Invitational.

The Purple Aces men's team finished seventh of 27 teams at the meet hosted by Missouri Valley Conference opponent Indiana State. UE's women's team didn't record a team score over the weekend, but sophomore Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) reset the 400-meter record by more than two tenths of a second on Saturday along with her 200 meter record. Overall, Evansville picked up three podium finishes in Terre Haute across 23 events.

SPRINTS, HURDLES & RELAYS
The Aces began the final day of the Gibson Invitational with the 100-meter hurdles, where junior Kate Walke (Batesville, Ind. / Oldenburg Academy) ran a 15.65. UE then switched to the relays, where the men's 4x100-meter team placed sixth out of 14 total teams. The team of junior José Ocampo (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico), sophomore Connor Shin (Bloomington, Ind. / Bloomington North HS), freshman Myles Terry (Evansville, Ind. / North HS), and sophomore Raymond Felton III (Houston / Clear Brook HS) ran the event in 41.27 seconds at .17 seconds off their program record.

The first individual sprint events of the day for Evansville were the 400-meter race. Johnson finished 12th on the women's side with a PR of 57.02 seconds to reset her program record. On the men's side, freshman Kadin McAllister (Lilburn, Ga. / Parkview HS) had the best time at 53.06 seconds and was followed by sophomore Alejandro Navarette (Mogadore, Ohio / Mogadore HS) with a time of 54.64 seconds.

The Aces sprinters stayed on the track for the 100-meter dash, where Felton III earned the men's team a point by placing eighth with a time of 10.91 seconds. Ocampo set a new season best in the event at 11.16 seconds and was followed by Shin with a time of 11.30 seconds. UE's second hurdle event of the day came midway through Saturday as freshman Zander Pickens (Poseyville, Ind. / North Posey HS) finished the men's 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.42.

The final sprint event of the meet for Evansville was both 200-meter dashes. Johnson set a season best to place 11th with a time of 25.21 seconds and reset the program record from earlier in the season. In the men's race, Felton III set a new PR finishing the 200-meter dash in 21.36 seconds to take fifth place. Also setting a PR in the men's 200-meter dash was Terry with a time of 22.23 seconds. Rounding out the race for the Aces was Shin, right behind Terry with a time of 22.32 seconds.

UE ended the weekend with the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays. Evansville had two men's teams compete, finishing in fourth and 12th. The relay team of Terry, Shin, Felton III, and Flipo placed fourth with a time of 3:18.93 to break the Aces program record that was set back in 1979. The second team of Ocampo, Nowicki, Cuplin, and McAllister finished the relay in 3:31.42 in the earlier heat.

MID-DISTANCE
UE's first mid-distance event of the meet was the 1500-meter races. On the women's side, Evansville had three runners finish in freshman Lauren Bradley (Russiaville, Ind. / Western HS), Rebekah Sachs (Milwaukee / Milwaukee School of Languages), and sophomore Kyndall Anthis (Patoka, Ind. / Princeton Community HS). Bradley had the best finish at 5:11.93, followed just behind by Sachs with a time of 5:12.13 and Anthis at 5:18.41.

On the men's side, sophomore Tomasso Losma (Lombardia, Italy) ran a season best to finish ninth in the 1500-meter race at 3:54.98. Sophomore Jakub Nowicki (Poznan, Poland) and freshman Oliver Wilgocki (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton HS) also ran the event as both set PRs. Nowicki ran the 1500 in 4:06.83 while Wilgocki ran the event in 4:30.17.

The Aces had one other mid-distance event at the Gibson Invitational in the men's and women's 800-meter race. For the third meet this season, sophomore Cedrik Flipo (Beloeil, Quebec) earned the top spot in the race with a time of 1:52.03 among 57 runners. He was followed by senior Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn. / Central HS) in second with a time of 1:52.70. Sophomore Owen Cuplin (Hampshire, Ill. / Hampshire HS) was UE's third finisher in the event at 1:58.91.

In the women's race, sophomore Chase Hayes (Noblesville, Ind. / Western HS) had the best finish at 14th with a time of 2:20.01. Senior Hannah Bryan (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) set a PR in the 800 meter,s finishing in 2:30.10. While freshman Skylar Dickenson (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg HS) rounded out the mid-distance runners for Evansville with a time of 2:32.53.

DISTANCE
The Aces only track events on Friday night were the men's and women's 5K race. Sophomore Samuel Lea (Worcester, England) took first place among 52 runners with a time of 14:52.04, just 11 seconds over his program record. It was the second time in 2024-25 that Lea earned first place in the 5K, as he was also the top runner in the event at the Indiana Early Bird indoor meet in December. Freshman Andrew Potter (Warsaw, Ind. / Warsaw Community HS) also ran the 5K, setting a PR of 15:54.65.

On the women's side, sophomore Avery Stephens (Newburg, Ind. / Castle HS) was the lone 5K runner for UE. Stephens finished 12th in the event with a time of 18:26.15, only seven seconds off her PR at the Big Blue Invitational to end Evansville's night on Friday.

THROWS
The Aces' first events of the meet were out in the field on Friday afternoon. UE began with the men's and women's discus throw, where sophomore Tyler Cherne (Boardsman, Ohio / Boardsman HS) set a new PR with a throw of 42.28 meters for 16th. Sophomore Cole Johnson (Salem, Ill. / Salem Community HS) finished just behind him with a throw of 41.95 meters. Johnson also threw in the men's javelin for Evansville, placing seventh with a PR of 46.56 meters.

On the women's side on Friday, freshman Emma Bertel (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community HS) had a throw of 36.88 meters while junior Holland Morris (Florence, Ky. / Randall K. Cooper HS) had a throw of 23.78 meters. In the javelin throw, senior Kaitlyn Sansone (Fairfield, Ohio / Mercy McAuley HS) and Bertel set season bests. Sansone had a throw of 31.10 meters while Bertel had a throw of 22.31 meters.

On Saturday, the Aces began their day with the women's shot put. Bertel again led the pack for UE with a throw of 9.57 meters, followed by senior Kate Howard (Clarksville, Tenn. / Clarksville HS) with a throw of 6.80 meters. On the men's side, freshman Beau Baldwin (Mount Vernon, Ind. / Mt. Vernon HS) threw the shot put for 9.62 meters.

Evansville's final throws event of the weekend was the men's hammer, where Cherne threw just three meters under his season best at an even 45.00 meters. Cherne placed 15th and was followed by freshman Beau Baldwin (Mount Vernon, Ind. / Mt. Vernon HS) at 40.47 meters while Johnson rounded out the event with a throw of 32.83 meters.

UP NEXT
The Aces return to action in two weeks at the Outdoor Music City Challenge hosted by the Vanderbilt Commodores. UE will participate in both days of the meet on Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, in the Music City.