McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University track and field teams are preparing for the Huntsman Family Track and Field Invitational at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on April 6. This follows a successful series of local meets where the team achieved several top national rankings.

Sophomore Evan Lowder's performance in the 400-meter dash has placed him 11th nationally with a time of 48.14 seconds, making it the leading mark in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Freshman Reece Dusek also made an impressive showing with a time of 48.80 seconds, placing him 20th nationally and fourth on IWU's all-time list.

In men's high jump, freshman Adam Beasley holds the top spot in CCIW with a clearance of 1.95 meters, ranking him 15th nationally. Sophomore Isaac Whitaker matched his personal best in pole vault at 4.71 meters, placing him second in CCIW and 13th nationally.

Junior Alex Harvey achieved the top CCIW time for men's 400-meter hurdles at last week's Big Blue Invite with a time of 55.49 seconds, currently ranking him 29th nationally.

On the women's side, junior Annalese Chudy set a personal best at Washington University's Distance Carnival with a time of 36:36.18, leading CCIW this season and ranking her 22nd nationally. Senior Lauren Wong's triple jump mark places her within the nation's top-30 spots, while junior Carlyssa King ranks sixth in conference for hammer throw.

Other notable performances include freshman Matt Lindberg in men's high jump and sophomore Jahari Scott in men's long jump. The men's relay teams have also secured positions within the nation's top-35 rankings.

The upcoming meet will feature seven other teams competing alongside IWU starting with field events at 10:30 a.m., followed by track events at 1 p.m. A live stream provided by Wabash will cover most events throughout Saturday.