McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University track and field teams hosted the first Jason Dennis Memorial Track Meet at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill., on January 24, 2025. The event saw three top-20 national performances and a total of 37 top-two finishes for IWU.

Sophomore Imani Ogunribido from Hanover Park, Ill., and senior Carlyssa King from Decatur, Ill., were standout performers with some of the best marks in Division III this season. Ogunribido achieved two victories: a mark of 12.28m (40'3.5") in the triple jump, setting a new program record and ranking second nationally, and winning the 60m race with a time of 7.98 seconds.

King excelled in the weight throw with a season-best toss of 17.01m (55'9.75"), placing her twelfth nationally and improving her third-ranked throw in IWU history.

In the women's 4x400m relay, juniors Bella Gonzalez and Adriana Crabtree, sophomore Alex Reinhart, and senior Jordynn Griffin clocked a time of 4:05.11 to edge out Division II McKendree by nearly three seconds.

Crabtree also won the women's 800m race with a time of 2:22.41, narrowly beating senior Emma McGrath who finished at 2:22.84.

The men's team concluded with a strong performance in their own 4x400m relay as senior Alex Harvey teamed up with sophomores Reece Dusek and Noah Sadowski, along with junior Evan Lowder to finish at 3:24.46—a time that ranks nineteenth nationally.

Senior Ernie Waterson claimed victory in the men's 800m event with a time of 1:57.65 while fellow senior Sam Okewole placed second in the triple jump.

Other notable individual wins included Olivia Skibinski's triumph in the women's 200m race at 26.88 seconds and Zack Daniel's victory in the men's mile run at 4:31.38 minutes.

The meet was marked by personal-best performances across various events as athletes competed fiercely throughout the evening.