INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA- The Bearcats travelled to the University of Indianapolis to finish up a strong indoor season at the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Bearcat Men took home 6^th place at the championship meet led by their captains Johnathan Bumpers (Alton, IL/ Alton) and Brendan Harter (St. Louis, MO/ Desmet Jesuit). Bumpers started the scoring for the Mckendree team off on the right foot taking home a silver medal in the long jump. His jump of 7.02m was a personal record and just off the school indoor record of 7.10m. Bumpers then came back to place second place in the 60m Hurdles with another personal record of 8.31 and help the 4x400 team take home 5^th at the end of the meet securing their overall spot in 6^th for the GLVC championships.

Brendan Harter claimed his first ever GLVC Indoor Championship title. The competition came down to the wire with University of Indianapolis high jumper, Ndubisi Eze. Harter won out on scratches getting to take home both the gold and 10 points for the Bearcats. He was the only Mckendree athlete to be crowned champion this year and capped off his first season of indoor competition for Mckendree.

The Mckendree men also found points in the 60m dash, another scorer in the 60m hurdles, and the 4x400m. In the 60m Dash, freshman, George Safo (Crete, IL/Crete-Monet) placed 5^th improving from his seed ranking of 13^th by taking a full tenth of a second off of his personal best to run 7.14. In the hurdles Kai Toolie (Mascoutah, IL/Mascoutah) placed 5^th setting a personal record both in the preliminary round with a time of 8.54 and the finals with a time of 8.50. The final points of the weekend came from the Bearcats 4x400m squad consisting of Bumpers, Holden Hutchcraft (Pinckneyville, IL/Pinckneyville), Oshawi Burgher (Kingston, Jamaica/ Excelsior), and John Bush (Ballwin, MO/Marquette). The team ran their fastest 4x400m race of the year, finishing in 3:25.89. The fastest leg of the race belonged to Bush, who split a 50.15 to anchor the Bearcat team.

On the women's side the Bearcats also found success led by Ndia Johnson (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) in the weight throw. She earned the bronze medal with a throw of 16.76m. Johnson has earned a medal back-to-back years at the indoor championships in the event. She came back alongside teammate Kira Johnson to compete in the shot put. Kira Johnson (Perham MN/Perham) set a new personal best in the shot put with a throw of 9.01m marking her first time breaking the 9-meter mark.

Other Mckendree Women also stood out at the championships. Tori King (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) made it to the finals of the triple jump as a freshman with a mark of 9.94m. She was the only freshman to make finals in the event. Azia Douglas (Cahokia Heights IL/Altoff Catholic) also had a huge personal record in the 60m hurdles running 10.60 and placing 14^th. She shed nearly a half of a second off of her previous best time and set herself up for even more improvement in the outdoor season.

In the final event of the Championships for the women the Bearcats had one of their strongest 4x400m races of the year. The team consisted of King, Douglas, Sophia Paschal (Godfrey, IL/Alton), and Reagan Lucas (Freeburg, IL/Freeburg). Their time of 4:25.97 was good enough for 9^th place. Lucas had the fastest split of the relay bringing the women's team across the finish line with a time of 1:05.94.

Head Track and Field Coach, Barry Ford, believed this was a great end to indoor competition and said, "This was a good first half of  the 2023 track and field season. We hope to continue to improve on this through the outdoor season. The team finished tenth in 2022 at the indoor championships and improved to sixth this year."

The Bearcats will take some time off of competition before returning for the start of the outdoor season on March 24-25 at the Miner Invitational.

Complete results from the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships

Women's Results
Mile Run
17. Colleen Zinke- 6:11.45
60m Hurdles Preliminaries
14. Douglas- 10.60 (Personal Best)
4x400m Relay
5. King, Douglas, Paschal, Lucas- 4:25.97
Triple Jump
9. King- 9.94m
Shot Put
16. Ndia Johnson- 11.22m
22. Kira Johnson- 9.01m (Personal Best)
Weight Throw
3. Ndia Johnson- 16.76m

Men's Results
60m Dash Preliminaries
7. Safo- 7.14 (Personal Best)
60m Dash Finals
5. Safo- 7.14 (Personal Best)
200m Dash
15. Dorian Foster- 25.24
16. Mason Young- 26.27
400m Dash
16. Hutchcraft- 52.33
19. Julian Juszczyk- 53.96 (Season Best)
60m Hurdles Preliminaries
4. Bumpers- 8.36
7. Kai Toolie- 8.54 (Personal Best)
60m Hurdles Finals
2. Bumpers- 8.31 (Personal Best)
5. Toolie- 8.50 (Personal Best)
Distance Medley Relay
11. Burgher, Seth Kasinger, Bush, Blake Westrater- 11.21.70
4x400m Relay
3. Mckendree A (Bumpers, Hutchcraft, Burgher, Bush)- 3:25.89 (Season Best)
High Jump
1. Harter- 2.01m (Personal Best)
Long Jump
2. Bumpers- 7.02m (Personal Best)