The suspect in Monday’s mass shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven dead and injured more than two dozen, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
During the past 186 days, more than 300 mass shootings have happened in the US, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit tracking such incidents.
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women’s and men’s track and field teams saw success across the board, highlighted by nine event champions, as they competed at home in the Illini Classic on Saturday (April 9) at Gary R. Wieneke Track and Demirjian Park.
“First of all, our staff did an outstanding job of working through a lot of issues this week with weather,” said head coach Mike Turk. “It was less than ideal all leading up to the meet and we just kept preparing like we were going to put our best foot forward and we got a little break in the weather and it ended up being a beautiful day at Demirjian Park and Wieneke Track.”
“We got a opportunity to compete and some people really stepped forward and took advantage of that. DeVontae Ford is certainly one of those that jumps way out and these are the kind of meets that breakthrough performances you maybe are not expecting them and we are starting to see those kind of performances from a lot of our younger student-athletes. I am very pleased with the efforts we put forward and we have got a big trip coming up this week out to Mt. SAC.”
In the field events, the Orange and Blue saw multiple top three finishes, with redshirt-junior Brian Keyes finishing in third in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 54.67m to begin the meet. Later in the day, Keyes registered another third-place finish, this time in the discus throw, with a mark of 48.86m. Junior Tyler Sudduth finished second in the same event with a mark of 50.92m. In the final field event, Sudduth grabbed a shot put championship with a 17.97m mark.
Both the women’s and men’s teams saw excellent performances in the vertical events, with freshman Collin Kao winning the men’s pole vault with a mark of 4.75m. On the women’s side, sophomore Kelsey Rothas, junior Noor Abdellatif, and junior Jess Streepy swept the women’s pole vault, with Rothas winning the event with a 3.75m vault, Abdellatif behind her with a 3.50m mark, and Streepy rounding out the sweep with a 3.35m climb. Freshman Tacoria Humphrey and graduate student Kristin Higgins replicated their teammates success in the women’s high jump, combining for a one-two finish, both leaping to a 1.70m mark. Humphrey won the event after using only one attempt to lift herself over the bar, while Higgins used all three of her attempts.
The women’s 4×100 team of juniors Nicole Nguyen, Danni Stoughton and Jeanea Epps and freshman Logan Neely cruised to victory to begin the running events for the Illini, crossing the finish line at 47.78. Shorty after, senior Bret Dannis won the 110m hurdles, setting a personal best along the way, with a time of 13.90. Freshman CJ Shoaf placed third in the same event with a time of 14.80.
Freshman Edwin Siuda (9:17.83) and sophomore Anthony Maida (9:22.52) finished third and fourth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, while freshman Maggie Gamboa won the women’s 3000m steeplechase in a time of 11:02.01 and junior Katie Hohe finished third with a time of 11:18.10.
Freshman DeVontae Ford earned a runner-up finish in the 400m dash with a time of 47.52, while on the women’s side, Stoughton finished third with a time of 56.08. Senior Jaden Jackson won the 400m hurdles for the second-straight meet with a time of 53.53, with junior Mason Barr finishing third with a time of 56.02. In the women’s 400m hurdles, Neely won the event in a time of 1:01.69, while senior Kionnah Weaver finished right behind Neely, recording a 1:04.04 mark. In the 1,500m, redshirt-junior Colin Yandel finished second with a time of 3:52.98 and senior Emma Milburn set a new personal-best while finishing third, marking a 4:25.48.
Illinois Event Champions
Women’s High Jump: Tacoria Humphrey // 1.70m
Men’s Pole Vault: Collin Kao // 4.75m
Women’s Pole Vault: Kelsey Rothas // 3.75m
Men’s Shot Put: Tyler Sudduth // 17.97m
Men’s 110m Hurdles: Bret Dannis // 13.90
Women’s 3000m Steeplechase: Maggie Gamboa // 11:02.01
Women’s 4x100m Relay: Nicole Nguyen, Danni Stoughton, Jeanea Epps, Logan Neely // 47.78
Men’s 400m Hurdles: Jaden Jackson // 53.53
Women’s 400m Hurdles: Logan Neely // 1:01.69
Personal Bests
Men’s 110m Hurdles
Bret Dannis »13.90
Women’s 1,500m
Emma Milburn » 4:25.48
Up Next
Illinois travels to Walnut, Calif. for the Mt. Sac Relays next Thursday through Saturday (April 14-16).
For more Fighting Illini Track & Field news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniTrackXC on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois State Track & Field program wrapped up competition at the Illini Classic, winning eight events, setting three program top-10 marks and notching 24 personal bests on Saturday.
“Today was a day of tremendous breakthroughs for Joe Boyer and several distance runners,” Director of Track & Field/XC said. “The wind died down late in the day, and it allowed our 1500m women and 5000m men and women to push the gas pedal and chase some quality marks.”
The Redbirds went for a 1-2 punch in the women’s 1500m, led by redshirt sophomore Rachel Hickey, who clocked a time of 4:24.72 to win the event for the second week in a row. Junior Maddi Exline finished second in a time of 4:24.96. With their performances, Hickey and Exline now rank fourth and sixth, respectively, on the ISU all-time top-10 list and lead the MVC.
It was an Illinois State sweep of the discus competition, as sophomores Joe Boyer and Macy Byer won the event for the Redbirds. With a throw of 51.70m (169-7 ft.), Boyer now ranks eighth in school history in the event. In addition to winning the discus, Boyer also threw his farthest shot put mark since the 2021 outdoor season at 16.83m (55-2.75) to finish second. Byer tossed a season best of 48.19m (158-1 ft.) to win for the women.
On the track, sophomore Riley Wells won the men’s 800m, clocking a time of 1:50.18, which currently ranks No. 1 in the Valley and No. 18 in the NCAA West Region.
The Redbirds also swept the 5000m races, as sophomore Charlie Wetzel and Ailey Mitchell each notched personal bests in their victories. Closing strong on his final lap, Wetzel ran a time of 14.24.14 for the win, a 43-second personal best. His time currently ranks No. 4 in the MVC.
Mitchell set a 42-second personal best on her way to clocking her first sub-17 5000m race at 16:58.07. Her time ranks ninth in the MVC. Redshirt sophomore Caroline Meyers also ran a personal best in the 5000m at 17:05.87 to finish third.
In the short sprints, Illinois State won both the men’s and women’s 200m dashes. On the men’s side, freshman Edward Watkins captured his first individual event win in a Redbird uniform, as he clocked a 22.08 to place first.
On the women’s side, junior Bri Buggs ran a personal best time of 24.75. In addition to her win in the 200m, Buggs also clocks a wind-legal personal best at 12.24 to finish third in the 100m dash
Making her Illinois State debut in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, sophomore Claire Fuhlhage knocked 28 seconds off her personal best, finishing in a time of 11:02.24 to place second. Sophomore Tyler Polak was the top Redbird finisher on the men’s side, as he set a 26-second personal best to finish fifth at 9:22.74.
“Overall, I am really pleased with how the entire team competed today,” Bovee said. “We competed with a limited squad but all that were here showed up. I was really happy for Joe to get his groove back. The 5000m was a highlight, as well, with several personal bests and also a 1-2 punch with Hickey and Exline was a fun race to watch.”
UP NEXT
The Redbirds are set to return home to host the Redbird Challenge, its final home meet of the season, from April 15-16. Illinois State will honor its graduating seniors at the meet.
For all the latest news on Redbird track & field and cross country, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With a smaller squad than usual, the Illinois State track & field program netted eight event wins at the Titan Open on Saturday afternoon, sweeping all four throwing events, the pole vaults and 3000m races.
Sophomore Payton Taylor won two events on the day, placing first in both the men’s shot put and weight throw. In the shot put, Taylor tossed a throw of 15.71m (51-6.5 ft.), just shy of his season best. Taylor also set a big personal best in the weight throw with a mark of 16.35m (53-7.75 ft.), improving his previous best by over five feet.
Competing in the shot put for the second day in a row, sophomore Mye’Joi Williams claimed first for the women with a toss of 14.75m (48-4.75 ft.). With the win, Williams has now won the event three times on the season.
In the women’s weight throw, senior Hannah Johnson tossed her second-best mark of the season at 17.30m (56-9.25 ft.) to win the event. Freshman Taylor Kesner finished in second with a personal best throw of 16.24m (53-3.5 ft.).
Fifth-year senior Sam Peschke set a season best with his win in the men’s pole vault, clearing 4.55m (14-11 ft.). The mark was Peshke’s highest indoor clearance since the 2021 MVC Championships.
Securing her first event win of the season, senior Ali Cranston placed first in the women’s pole vault, matching her season-best clearance of 3.50m (11-5.75 ft.), which she has achieved at two other meets.
To finish off the day, juniors Kendy Ummel and Tyler Polak swept the women’s and men’s 3000m races, respectively. Ummel won in a time of 10:31.06, while Polak clocked an 8:47.63.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will be back in action next weekend for its final regular season tune up at the Illini Classic in Champaign, Illinois on Friday, Feb. 18. A small group of Redbirds will also travel to South Bend, Indiana for the Alex Wilson Invite on Saturday, Feb. 19.
For all the latest news on Redbird track & field and cross country, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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