McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University track and field teams are preparing for their final home meet of the indoor season, the Friday Night Tri. The event will take place on February 14 at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois. Field events are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by track events at 5 p.m.

The teams aim to fine-tune their performances ahead of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships, which will occur on February 23-24. At last Saturday's Titan Open, Illinois Wesleyan athletes achieved 24 personal-best performances, seven event wins, and six top-10 all-time performances for the university.

Freshman Adam Beasley from Bloomington won the high jump with a personal best of 1.98 meters, placing him fourth on the program's all-time list. Freshman Reece Dusek claimed victory in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.89 seconds. Sophomore Isaac Whitaker also excelled by winning the pole vault with a mark of 4.56 meters.

Junior CJ Ladewig improved his personal best in the weight throw with a toss of 15.97 meters, ranking sixth all-time for IWU and second at the Titan Open. Junior Alex Harvey secured a runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdles with an 8.61-second run, tying for ninth in program history.

On the women's side, seniors Avery Smith and Amanda Wilson secured wins in their respective events—the 60-meter dash and the 5,000-meter run—while sophomore Jordynn Griffin won the 200-meter dash. Smith and Griffin later teamed up with Bella Gonzalez and Peyton Pollman to win the women's 4-by-400-meter relay.

In addition to these victories, junior Carlyssa King achieved a second-place finish in the women's weight throw with a toss measuring fifth-furthest in IWU history. Freshman Loreal Tucker also placed eighth in this event with her performance ranking eighth all-time for IWU.

The Friday Night Tri promises to be an exciting event as athletes continue to prepare for upcoming championships. Results will be available on IWUsports.com after completion of the meet.

To keep updated on IWU track and field activities, follow @IWU_XCTF on Twitter and @IllinoisWesleyanXCTF on Instagram.