McLean County Times

The Illinois State Redbirds track and field team is preparing for the final pre-Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet of the outdoor season. The event, known as the Badger Challenge, will take place this Friday in Madison, Wisconsin, hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

In their recent outing at the 114th Drake Relays, Charles Cruse set a new school record in the pole vault with a personal-best height of 5.27 meters (17-3.5). This performance places him second in the Missouri Valley Conference rankings. The women's shuttle relay team also achieved a school record with a time of 55.72 seconds.

Other notable performances included the men's distance medley team finishing fourth with a time of 9:50.69 and the men's 4x400m relay team taking third place with a time of 3:08.10, marking it as the fourth best time in program history. Sophomore Dewayne Johnson recorded a personal-best in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.87 seconds, also ranking fourth in school history.

The women's 4x100m relay squad secured fourth place with a time of 45.21 seconds, while their distance medley relay counterparts finished eleventh with a time of 11:47.98. In field events, senior Morgan Wrublik placed fourteenth in the hammer throw at 53.56 meters (175-9), and junior Olivia Birge finished eleventh in javelin with a mark of 36.86 meters (120-11).

Several Redbird athletes rank within the top-48 in the Midwest Region across various events:

For men:

- Amiri Buchanan ranks eleventh in shot put.

- Charles Cruse is twenty-third in pole vault.

- The men's 4x400m relay team is thirty-first.

- Devin Turner holds thirty-second place in long jump.

- Dewayne Johnson is thirty-third for his performance in the 110m hurdles.

- Jacob Klink ranks thirty-eighth in shot put.

- Mathis Chavand stands forty-first in the 5,000m run.

- Raydoffa Braziel is forty-seventh for his effort in the 400m.

For women:

- Mattison Plummer ranks seventeenth in the 3,000m steeplechase.

- Claire Fuhlhage holds thirty-third place also for her performance in steeplechase.

- Macy Byer stands thirty-seventh in discus throw.

- Hassy Fashina-Bombata ranks fortieth for her efforts in the 400m hurdles.

Following their participation at Madison's Badger Challenge, Illinois State's athletes will head to Terre Haute, Indiana from May 10 to May 12 for competing at the Outdoor Missouri Valley Conference Championships hosted by Indiana State University.

For more updates on Redbird track & field and cross country activities follow them on social media or visit GoRedbirds.com and use their app for tickets and merchandise information.