McLean County Times

The Illinois State Track & Field program is preparing to host the Redbird Tune-Up this Friday at Horton Field House, starting at 3 p.m. This marks the second consecutive year that the Redbirds have organized this event before participating in the Missouri Valley Indoor Conference meet. Last year, 26 athletes achieved personal bests, and senior Windsor Roberts set a new pole vault record at Horton Field House with a leap of 3.89 meters.

In conjunction with Friday's meet, Illinois State Athletics has announced the first-ever Reggie's Kids Club Day at a Redbird Track & Field Event. Members of Reggie's Kids Club can register to participate in a kids' 60-meter dash during the event.

The Redbirds are returning home after a successful weekend at the Music City Challenge held on February 14-15 at Vanderbilt University. During this event, 15 athletes either entered or improved their positions on the program's top-10 list for their respective events.

A highlight from the two-day challenge was when the men's 4x400 meter relay team, consisting of Nwagwu, Paul, Ward, and Welch, broke their school record with a time of 3:10.44. This achievement places them at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference and fifth in the Midwest Region.

Sophomore Grace Erb made her first career entry into a top-10 list for the women's mile with a time of 4:50.50, tying for ninth fastest in Illinois State history. Junior Star Mpama improved her position in the 600-meter dash with a time of 1:32.41, now ranking fifth in Redbird history.

Juniors Erin Starks and Lindsey Miller recorded top-10 marks in the women's 200-meter dash with times of 24.03 and 24.17 respectively, placing them fourth and fifth in Illinois State track & field history.

Sophomore Brody Squires achieved a top-10 mark in men's long jump with a distance of 7.29 meters (23 feet, 11 inches), moving him to seventh all-time within the program.

On Saturday, freshman Reece Curtis earned a top-10 time in men's 60-meter dash with a time of 6.73 seconds, joining fellow freshmen Zach Paul, Julian Baker, and Braeden Brown as newcomers entering top-10 lists this season.

Erin Starks and senior Corrina Courser improved their standings in the women's 60-meter hurdles with times of 8.33 and 8.41 seconds respectively; they now hold third and fourth positions in Illinois State history.

Junior Jake Welch enhanced his standing on the top-10 list for men's 400 meters by achieving a time of 47.42 seconds, moving him to seventh all-time.

In women's middle-distance events, Grace Erb and junior Mattison Plummer each secured top-10 times in the women's 800-meter run with times of 2:10.98 and Plummer's personal best of 2:08.82—her third top-10 placement this season across different distances including mile and three kilometers.

Junior Maggie Reed also recorded her first career top-10 mark by finishing with a time of 9:41.95 minutes in women's three kilometers race.