The Illinois Springfield men's track and field team opened its weekend at Grand Valley State with three NCAA Division II top-100 performances on Friday. It was the first of two days of competition in Allendale, Mich.
Meet Highlights
- Isaac Cortes led the way for UIS, finishing second in Heat 3 of the 5,000m with a time of 14:33.66, which ranks No. 53 in NCAA DII. Briar Nevills followed closely behind, placing fifth in the same heat at 14:37.33 for a No. 62 national ranking.
- Matt Padilla also broke into the NCAA DII top-100, running 14:49.41 in the 5,000m to place second in Heat 5 and earn a No. 94 ranking at the time of his race.
- Freshman Dom Cantarini approached the UIS indoor 5,000m freshman record, running 15:03.88—shy of Chris Cherry's 14:56.24 from the same meet in 2022.
- Ryan Jones finished 14th overall with a personal best of 4:14.58, while Aidan Donohue set a personal best of 4:16.98 to place 29th.
| RESULTS | ||
| Men's 5,000m | ||
| 2nd (Heat 3) | Isaac Cortes | 14:33.66 |
| 5th (Heat 3) | Briar Nevills | 14:37.33 |
| 2nd (Heat 5) | Matt Padilla | 14:49.41 |
| 3rd (Heat 5) | Joey Karlesky | 14:51.52 |
| 5th (Heat 6) | Brock Loftus | 15:00.84 |
| 9th (Heat 6) | Dom Cantarini | 15:03.88 |
| 23rd (Heat 3) | Noah Tegeler | 15:15.70 |
| 17th (Heat 4) | Gabe Martinez | 15:22.68 |
| 14th (Heat 7) | Brendan Cairney | 15:22.87 |
| 9th (Heat 9) | Finn Loken | 15:30.77 |
| 20th (Heat 7) | Nathan DeMarb | 15:30.99 |
| 8th (Heat 8) | Daniel Giacomini | 15:31.93 |
| 16th (Heat 8) | Lucas Baronello | 15:42.99 |
| 9th (Heat 10) | Garrett Wagoner | 15:50.19 |
| 11th (Heat 10) | Charlie Serrahn | 15:57.16 |
| 25th (Heat 10) | Carson Cowling | 17:08.42 |
| 26th (Heat 10) | Cole Kaether | 17:19.35 |
| Men's 600m | ||
| 17th | Ayden Groves | 1:27.42 |
| 19th | Lucas Naugle | 1:30.24 |
| Men's Mile | ||
| 14th | Ryan Jones | 4:14.58 |
| 29th | Aidan Donohue | 4:16.98 |
Up Next
The Prairie Stars return to competition tomorrow at the GVSU Big Meet (Saturday), beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET. The meet is streamed on FloTrack, and live results are available on AthleticLive.