Sangamon Sun

Deja Anderson was recognized as the Newcomer of the Year at the Midwest Conference Indoor Championships, which concluded on Saturday at The Field House in Ripon. Anderson contributed to her team's success by participating in the conference title-winning 4x200 meter relay team and achieving notable finishes in several events: second in the long jump, and third in both the 60 and 200 meter dashes.

The Lady Blues secured a fourth-place finish with a total of 96 points, while Ripon clinched the title with 135.5 points. Noteworthy performances included Mattie Brown's second place in the 60 meter dash, clocking in at 7.92 seconds, and Aleese Trimingham's runner-up position in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.40 seconds.

In addition to Anderson's achievements, Haley Garrett placed seventh in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.13 seconds. The Lady Blues showed strong representation in the 200 meter dash with Anderson placing third (26.54 seconds), Garrett fourth (26.63), and Fynesse Jones sixth (27.07).

Maddie Benson took sixth place in the 400 meter dash at 1:03.13, while Maddison Dortch finished eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:32.73.

Sydney Kuper delivered a commendable performance by finishing third in the weight throw (14.71 meters) and seventh in shot put (10.82 meters).

IC achieved fifth place finishes in two relays: The team comprising Apiphany Patterson, Benson, Trimingham, and Brooke Oakley completed the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:14.82; meanwhile, Morgan Carrino, Patterson, Kairy Mercado-Ramos, and Dortch ran their distance medley relay to finish at 13:48.10.