Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College women's track and field team had a successful first day at the 2024 Midwest Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at The Field House on the Ripon Campus. The Lady Blues secured a relay title and two second-place finishes, positioning them in third place with 40 points.

The highlight of the day was the victory of the IC 4x200 meter relay team, consisting of Mattie Brown, Haley Garrett, Fynesse Jones, and Deja Anderson. They won the league title with a time of 1:45.63, setting a new school record in the process.

In individual events, Deja Anderson achieved second place in the long jump with a distance of 5.41 meters. Paige Nowak also earned a second-place finish in the pole vault by clearing 3.19 meters.

Additional performances included Haley Garrett's ninth-place finish in the long jump (4.84 meters), Madeline Benson's fifth-place result in the pole vault (3.04 meters), and Caron Beyers' seventh place (2.59 meters). The 1,600 meter sprint medley relay team—comprising Mady Salisbury, Brooke Oakley, Apiphany Patterson, and Maddison Dortch—finished third with a time of 4:25.73.

In preliminary rounds, Aleese Trimingham recorded the fastest time in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.67 seconds and will advance to Saturday's final along with three teammates competing in the 60-meter dash: Mattie Brown (third place with 7.92 seconds), Deja Anderson (fourth place with 7.95 seconds), and Haley Garrett (eighth place with 8.17 seconds).

The championships are set to conclude tomorrow.