Sangamon Sun

The women's track and field team from Illinois College made a strong showing at the Fighting Scot Invite held in Monmouth, Illinois, with five members claiming titles in their respective events.

In field events, Maddie Benson dominated the pole vault, clearing a height of 3.55 meters. Keyleigh Thomas threw a distance of 40.10 meters to win the javelin competition, while Deja Anderson's 5.68-meter leap secured her the top spot in the long jump.

On the track, Aleese Trimingham claimed victory in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 14.92 seconds. Kami Rhoades also took a title in the 400 meters, completing the race in 1:01.39.

In other performances, Haley Garrett made significant contributions with two second-place finishes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. In the 200 meters, her run was followed by performances from McKenzie Murray, Fynesse Jones, and Aleese Trimingham, who finished third, fourth, and fifth respectively.

Caroline Peters and Patricia Rivera also made the top-five cut with fourth-place finishes in their events. Deja Anderson additionally secured a fifth place in the 100 meters. The field events saw more fourth-place finishes, with Natalie Hasting in the discus, Jones in the long jump, and Elaina Manuel in the javelin.

Moving forward, the Lady Blues are gearing up for the Midwest Conference Outdoor Championships in Appleton, Wisconsin, happening next weekend.###