Fort Wayne, Ind. – The IU Kokomo Indoor Track and Field Program kicked off its season at the Strive For Greatness Invitational hosted by Indiana Tech on Saturday, December 14.
Freshman sprinter Jared Quinn started the meet strong, setting three new school records in his debut as a Cougar. Quinn placed 30th in the men's 60-meter dash prelims with a time of 7.56, finished 34th in the 200-meter dash posting a time of 24.41, and placed 30th once again in the 400-meters with a time of 55.65.
Fellow freshman sprinters Kara Funk and Shannon Isenberg also began their IU Kokomo careers breaking school records, with Funk finishing 19th in the women's 60-meter dash with a time of 8.19 and 26th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.88. Isenberg placed 22nd in the women's 60-meter hurdles posting a record time of 10.44 for the Cougars.
"These sprinters have obviously been putting in some hard work this fall on strength and conditioning, which paid off in a big way on Saturday," said Head Coach Jason VanAlstine. "I wanted to give a special congratulations to our freshmen who ran well in their first college meet. They have a bright future if they keep up this hard work."
Assistant Coach Kayla Harlow also stated, "I feel very encouraged by the times all of our sprinters ran. Most of them have been fighting nagging injuries for the past few weeks, but you couldn't tell when they were out there competing. It was very clear that a long semester of training paid off. I am looking forward to the spring semester when our season kicks into full gear. These kids have worked really hard and have great things in store for them."
Sophomore runner Lexi Jackson has officially transitioned into the track and field season by representing IU Kokomo at the Santa Hustle Half Marathon in Indianapolis. Jackson finished 11th of 503 total runners and second of 305 female runners with a time of 1:24.02 setting a 6:25 pace. This allowed her to receive an automatic bid to the 2020 NAIA National Track and Field Championships Marathon in May. Junior Jeremy Jakes also competed in the Santa Hustle placing 10th overall and ninth of 198 male runners with a time of 1:22.47 setting a pace of 6:20.
"Lexi continued her very successful fall semester with a huge PR in the half marathon, which earns her an automatic qualification for the marathon at the NAIA Track Championships in May. We will wait and see if she qualifies in any other events before we decide which race she will focus on there, but it is great to have her qualified in one event already!", said VanAlstine. "Jeremy had his best race as a Cougar. He is a testament to the idea that hard work can pay off in distance running no matter where you start. We may have discovered that he is a true distance guy and that 10Ks, half marathons, or even marathons may be his best distance."
Final Results – Strive For Greatness Invite: Click Here
Final Results – Santa Hustle Half Marathon: Click Here
Next Up:
The IU Kokomo Indoor Track and Field Program will travel to the University of Indianapolis to compete in the two-day Tom Hathaway Distance Classic on January 24-25. Please click the following link for more information on the event: Click Here
For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo track teams, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Cougar track news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
