The Billiken indoor-track-and-field squad had a busy two weeks. On Friday, Jan. 23, and Sat. January 24, SLU competed as a split squad in the Gladstein Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana, and in the Eastern Illinois University John Craft Invite in Charleston, Illinois.  More recently, the team competed in the Indiana University Relays in Bloomington, Indiana, on Jan. 30.

“We had some nice results this weekend,” said SLU coach Jon Bell, about the Gladstein Invitational and the John Craft Invite. According to Bell, the team’s performances in those competitions will help them prepare for the A-10 Championships. Bell also added that because the Billikens are a young team, their performances at the meets will help the coaches determine the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Bell is also hoping for improvement as the weeks go on.

There were many strong performances at both of the meets. In the Gladstein Invitational, sophomore Hannah Rohde finished second in the 200 meters with a time of 25.24 seconds, and fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 57.62 seconds.  Senior Madie Alexander placed fifth in the 1,500 meters with a personal record of 5:08.98 minutes. Sophomore Neal Fitzpatrick was also fifth in the 5,000 meters, with a personal record (PR) of 14:47.76.

Senior Michael Scolarici and sophomore Nina Razavi both set PRs in the men’s and women’s 3,000 meters, respectively. Scolarici ran the race in 8:23.27, while Razavi ran it in 10:16.24.

In the John Craft Invite, the women finished third out of five teams, while the men finished fourth of five. Junior Stephanie Uhrich, who cleared 11 feet and 5.25 inches in the pole vault, set a new school record.

Senior Todd Johnson and junior Robert Tosie registered PRs in the men’s weight throw with marks of 48-3.25 and 45-6.25, respectively. Johnson also set a PR in the shot put with a distance of 46-10. In the women’s weight throw, Kamaria Gage and Jasmine Jefko set PRs with throws of 35-3 and 33-4.5, respectively. Jefko also set a shot put personal record with a throw of 37-10.75 in the shot put.

Jonathan Goodwin ran the 60-meter dash in 7.16 seconds, while Mackenzie Bonk ran it in 8.09 seconds; PRs for both athletes. Lauren Anderson ran the 1,500 meters in 5:11.09, which was a personal record, and Jeff Orf ran the mile in 4:25.69, a new personal best.

The Indiana Relays also produced several outstanding Billiken performances. The men’s 4×800-meter relay team of Andrew Sloan, Patrick Sheil, Albert Marban, and Ryan Noonan finished with a school record time of 7:45.72.

The school record was a great accomplishment for Sloan, Sheil, Marban, and Noonan. “Sometimes track gets a reputation as an individual sport,” said Sloan. “But its times like this, breaking a record with some of your closest friends, that brings out the true meaning of teamwork in any sport. That’s why we go to work smiling every day. I love my team.”

The 5,000-meter women’s race went very well for the Billikens, too. Annika Gomell won the race with a time of 16:51.53. Isabel Leibfried came in second place, with a time of 17:08.70, and Jessica Hoefert came in fourth place with a time of 17:29.62.

Emma Kidd placed fourth in the 600 meters with a time of 1:36.30. Orf finished fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.28. Scolarici ran a PR in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:36.22 seconds.

Next week, the Billikens will be in action this upcoming weekend for the Frank Sevigne Invitational in Nebraska. The Frank Sevigne International will be the final meet for the Billikens before the A-10 Championships that will take place on February 21st and February 22nd at Rhode Island.