(LEBANON, IL., Jan. 18) – The McKendree University men's and women's track and field teams competed in the John Craft Invite at Eastern Illinois University on Friday. Six Bearcats placed first in their respective event, five finished in second place, and 10 crossed the finish line in third place.
Action began with the field events where
Tsitsi Mahachi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite Senior School) placed third for the Bearcats in the women's long jump with a 5.21m jump and then went on to place second in the women's triple jump with a 11.62m leap. Torrey Deal placed second in the men's long jump with a 6.51m jump and then went on to earn first place in the men's triple jump at 14.73m.
Michael Adderley (Nassau, BA) came in third in the men's triple jump with a 14.14m leap.
The Bearcats also found success in the men's and women's shot put events.
Zach Llewellyn (Alton, IL/Alton) came in second with a 14.51m throw and then
Aaliah Herron (East Saint Louis, IL) finished first for McKendree with a 13.09m shot put toss.
Good fortune carried on into the pole vault for the Bearcats with
Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland) finishing in first place with a 4.60m vault. After the pole vault came the high jump where McKendree placed third in both the men's and the women's competitions.
Mya Watson-Blake (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township) finished with a 1.63m jump to take third in the women's competition while Torrey Deal managed a 1.93m jump to tie for third place.
McKendree's success didn't stop when the field events ended.
Azlynn Sherrod-Butler (East Moline, IL) placed third in the women's 60m hurdles with a 9.30 time. Then,
Preston Holt (Miami, FL/Miramar) and
Darren Arzu (Chicago, IL/Hillcrest) finished second and third in the men's 60m hurdles, Holt with a 8.54 for second place time and Arzu with a 8.58 finish for third.
Tsitsi Mahachi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite Senior School) and
DeMontez McCray (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) both finished in third place for the Bearcats in the men's and women's 60 meter dash. Mahachi finished her race with a time of 7.91 to take third and McCray finished his in 6.95 to cross the finish line third in the men's race.
The Bearcats ended the Invite victorious in both the men's and women's 400m dash competitions. In the women's race
Quincy McSweeney (Eureka, IL/Eureka) came in first place, finishing the dash with a time of 59.89.
Andrew Gardewine (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) crossed the finish line first in the men's dash with a 51.90 finish time.
Quincy McSweeney (Eureka, IL/Eureka) found more success in the 600m dash, finishing in third place for McKendree with a 1:45.30 finish.
Tyler Johnson (South Holland, IL/St. Rita of Cascia) and
Tyler Manion (Granite City, IL/Granite City) earned second and third place in the men's 600m dash, Johnson finishing at 1:25.91 and Manion crossing the finish line at 1:27.02.
The women continued to earn top place finishes in the distance races with
Shayna Phillips (Effingham, Il/Effingham) and
Madelyn Tepe (Venedy, IL) finishing second and third in the women's 800m run. Phillips crossed the finish line at 2:23.44 to earn second place and Tepe followed close behind, finishing the race at 2:24.44.
The last event where the Bearcats managed a first place finish was the men's 200m dash.
DeMontez McCray (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) picked up the first place accolade with a 21.97 finish time, a little over a full second faster than the athlete who placed second.
McKendree looks to continue its success at the Prin Relays next weekend, Jan. 25 and Jan. 26, in St. Louis, MO., in the full day meet.
