Sangamon Sun

For the first time in its history, the Illinois College Women's Track and Field team claimed the Midwest Conference championship. The victory was secured at the Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Huff Athletic Center on Saturday.

The Lady Blues achieved a total of 137 points, narrowly surpassing Monmouth's 135.5 points in the final event of the competition. This win interrupted Ripon's streak of three consecutive titles.

Haley Garrett initiated IC's success by winning the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.90 seconds. Her teammates Deja Anderson, Fynesse Jones, and McKenzie Murray also contributed to this event by finishing third, fifth, and sixth respectively.

In the 200-meter dash, Garrett earned her second individual title with a time of 25.94 seconds. Murray finished second, Jones third, and Aleese Trimingham sixth in this event.

Trimingham also excelled in the 60-meter hurdles with a notable time of 9.16 seconds.

The Lady Blues' relay teams were pivotal to their victory. The 4x200-meter relay team consisting of Garrett, Brooke Oakley, Jones, and Anderson won their race with a time of 1:47.0.

The championship hinged on the final event where IC's team comprising Kami Rhoades, Murray, Jones, and Oakley clinched victory in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:04.16.

Beyond individual performances on track and field events, Illinois College's coaching staff received recognition as Coaching Staff of the Year.

Additional contributions came from Maddie Benson who placed second in pole vault clearing 3.40 meters; Oakley who was runner-up in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:01.32 and third in high jump clearing 1.53 meters; Natalie Hastings placed fifth in weight throw reaching a mark of 14.60 meters while Kevlynn DeJaynes secured seventh place with a mark of 13.50 meters.