Titans shattered records and set new standards at the Jason Dennis Memorial Track and Field Meet at the Shirk Center on Jan. 24, 2025. Illinois Wesleyan University posted 37 top-two finishes and 12 new personal records between the women’s and men’s divisions.
The Titans competed against the Bearcats of McKendree University, the Hawks of Heartland Community College and the Red Devils of Eureka College.
Sophomore Imani Ogunribido secured two victories in the women’s 60-meter dash and the triple jump. Ogunribido was one of six Titans to qualify for the 60 finals, and she placed first with a time of 7.98 seconds. In the women’s triple jump, she jumped 12.28 meters, earning the second-best mark in Division III and setting a new program record.
The women’s 200-meter dash saw two top-three finishes for the Titans along with two PRs from sophomore Alex Reinhart with a time of 28.06 seconds and first-year Caroline Hill with a time of 28.85 seconds. Reinhart also finished first with a time of 1:01 in the Women’s 400-meter dash.
Senior Alex Harvey set a season record for the men’s 200 with a time of 23.19 seconds. Senior Ernie Waterson set a season record of 1 minute, 57.65 seconds placing first in the men’s 800-meter. Junior Jack Daniel also placed first in the men’s mile with a season record of 4:31.38.
Junior Abby Quinn and senior Annalese Chudy were the only two who placed in the women’s 5000-meter. Quinn placed first and set a new PR of 19:58.65, 20 seconds better than her previous time. Chudy placed second with a time of 19:59.65, setting a season record.
Quinn compared the environment going into this meet compared to that of previous meets. “A lot of people had really good races and did really well in their events. The meet was really low-key, so I think everyone felt like there wasn’t a lot of pressure and they could perform at their best,” Quinn said.
It could have been expected that competing against a Division II school such as McKendree University would have meant more nerves in anticipation of the competition, but the Titans focused on their own team rather than their competitors.
“I think we have a lot of talent. I didn’t even look at it as ‘Oh, this is a division two school.’ I don’t think anybody was overwhelmed by that fact, and we just took it as another opportunity to compete,” Quinn said.
Quinn highlighted several other runners who she thought competed well, including junior Adriana Crabtree, senior Emma McGrath and first-year Maddie Halstead.
“Adriana Crabtree and Emma McGrath had a really awesome race in the 800-meter, working together. And Maddie Halstead, she’s a freshman and she had huge PR in the mile, and she’s kind of on her own during that race, so it’s a big deal,” Quinn said.
Crabtree also competed in the women’s 4×400-meter relay, her team placing first. In the men’s 4×400, senior Alex Harvey, junior Evan Lowder and sophomores Reece Dusek and Noah Sadowski placed first with a time of 3:24.46.
“There was a lot of improvement in team culture. I noticed everyone was cheering, and we were able to watch the throws, which often get neglected because we’re all busy. But, a lot of people are doing better, things are starting to click,” Quinn said.
The next home meet is set for Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. for the Keck DIII Select, held inside the Shirk Center.