Hawks Set Three Records at F. Lee Slick Invite

Naperville, IL: The Hawks men's track and field team put on a strong showing at the F. Lee Slick Invite, hosted at North Central's Al B. Carius Track in Naperville. The Hawks broke three indoor program records while several athletes hit national qualifying marks and entered the program's all-time top 10 lists.

Prince Ellington set a new school record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.35 seconds, besting his own time by .12s. Alek Ledezma followed suit in the 200m, clocking 27.72, besting his own time by .03s, while the 1600m relay team of Lucas McMillan, Joel Jones, Dakota White, and Andrew Rashad set a new program best at 3:28.79 breaking 3:30 for the first time. Jose Morales also raced in the 5k with a time of 16:11.19, earning him Athlete of the Week honors for the Hawks. His time is currently the top NJCAA DIII time.

Six more Hawks hit national qualifying standards:
- Ivan Rodriguez (200m – 23.16)
- McMillan (200m – 23.28)
- Jaylen Calhoun (200m – 23.36)
- Connor Ariunbat (800m – 2:01.46)
- Jerome Graessle (5k – 16:22.66)

Rodriguez, McMillan, and Calhoun's 200m times also earned them spots on the Hawks' all-time top 10 indoor list, as did Ariunbat in the 800m and Morales in the 5k.

The Hawks' sprinters recorded several personal bests. Rodriguez and McMillan both ran 7.32 in the 60m, joined by Gianluca Manuel (7.40) and Justin Brown (7.45) in setting new PRs. In the 200m, Brown (23.52), Anthony LoBue (23.66), Fortis Variano (23.80), Ellington (24.08), and Manuel (24.46) all notched personal bests. Tyler Anderson also raced in both the 60m and 200m while Jones and Rashad raced in the 400m.

In mid-distance events, Ryan Golden ran a season-best 4:39.24 in the mile, while White ran a PR of 4:43.19, closing his final 200m in under 29 seconds. Owen Whelan, Zach Sheehan, and RJ Moniri joined. In the distance events, Michael Johnson set a personal best in the 3k with a time of 9:33.37.

In field events, Rodolfo Martinez threw a personal best of 35' 10.75" in the shot put, with Vladyslav Nakim also competing in both shot and weight throw. The Hawks' jumpers included Calhoun, Ellington, and Seth Cohen in the long jump, while Calhoun and Rashad competed in the high jump.

The Hawks will take a break from competition before closing out the indoor season at the Firebird Finale in Kenosha, WI, on March 7th.

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Anderson: Sprints; Sophomore

Alek Ledezma: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Gianluca Manuel: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Lucas McMillan: Sophomore; Pole Vault, 100m, 200m, 400m

Fortis Variano: Sophomore; 200m, 400m, Relays

Owen Whelan: Sophomore; 1500m, 5k

Dakota White: Sophomore; 800m, 1500m

Connor Ariunbat: Mid Dist.; Freshman

Jerome Graessle: Dist.; Freshman

Michael Johnson: Mid Dist.; Freshman

RJ Moniri: Freshman; 1500m, 5k

Ryan Golden: Mid Dist.; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tyler Anderson
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Alek Ledezma
: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Gianluca Manuel
: Sophomore; 100m, 200m

Lucas McMillan
: Sophomore; Pole Vault, 100m, 200m, 400m

Fortis Variano
: Sophomore; 200m, 400m, Relays

Owen Whelan
: Sophomore; 1500m, 5k

Dakota White
: Sophomore; 800m, 1500m

Connor Ariunbat
: Freshman
: Mid Dist.

Jerome Graessle
: Freshman
: Dist.

Michael Johnson
: Freshman
: Mid Dist.

RJ Moniri
: Freshman; 1500m, 5k

Ryan Golden
: Freshman
: Mid Dist.