Women Earn Second, Nolan Named Most Outstanding Performer at BIG EAST Indoor Championships

Friday, February 22

Geneva, Ohio

All Day

DePaul University

BIG EAST Indoor Conference Championships

Women Earn Second, Nolan Named Most Outstanding Performer at BIG EAST Indoor Championships

2/23/2019 5:09:00 PM | TRACK AND FIELD

2019 BE ITF Winners BE ITF Day Two Results 2019

Seniors Kyle Hedge and Kyle Decker defend titles for third, fourth time

GENEVA, Ohio – It was a day of celebration for the DePaul track and field squads at the 2019 BIG EAST Indoor Championships. Five Blue Demons took home individual championships and the women's team earned runner-up at the conference event hosted at the Spire Institute.

Senior Jade Nolan dominated in the field events, kicking off the successful meet. Her impressive 5.67-meter long jump was good for gold and claiming 10 points. Her 12.36-meter triple jump performance set a program record and added to her 20-point total. Nolan was unanimously named the Women's Most Outstanding Performer in Field Events and her points earned her the Women's High Point Co-Performer of the Meet title, which she shares with Villanova's Trudy-Ann Williamson.

"Jade [Nolan] had an outstanding weekend, we are very proud of all she accomplished," said track & field head coach Dave

Adding to the success on the women's squad, fellow senior Alexia Brooks defended her 2018 title in the 60-meter hurdles. She clocked in a time of 8.30 to earn the top spot on the podium after she set a school record in the preliminary round of the event. Newcomer Isabel Ingram nabbed a third-place finish to join Brooks on the podium.

Alongside her on the track, sophomore Kiersten Walker took home her first individual championship title in the 400-meter dash. The Milwaukee, Wis. native clocked in a 54.49 performance, knocking out Leah Anderson from St. John's (54.51) and setting a new program record. She was joined in the event by Laura Edwards in seventh and Rutendo Chimbaru in eighth.

Walker added a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash and a second-place finish alongside teammates Isabel Ingram, Edwards and Chimbaru in the 4x400-meter relay.

Senior standout Caroline Muller took home silver in the women's high jump when she cleared a 1.74 mark. Also on the field, throwers Emily Eller and Jade Gates placed second and fourth respectively in the shot put competition.

The women earned the second place slot on the leader board earning 118 points. Villanova took home first with a total point count of 194. The men's squad took home the fifth-place spot of the 18 events scored.

"These young women came out to compete this weekend," Dopek said. "They were focused, driven and highly-supportive of one another. We couldn't be prouder of how the women represented our university and themselves this weekend. It was great to see them fight to secure the runner-up finish."

Senior Kyle Hedge led the men's field team while fellow senior Kyle Decker led the Blue Demons and conference rivals on the track. Hedge defended his 2016, 2017 and 2018 titles in the shot put competition. His 16.14-meter throw was followed by his teammates Isaac Jimenez (15.63 meters) and Alex Murray (15.59 meters) taking home the second and third place finishes to sweep the podium.

Claiming the four-peat in the 60-meter hurdles, Decker ran a career best 8.12 finish to end out his indoor career and set a program record. The St. Charles, Ill. native is only the eighth person to claim an individual championship all four years in BIG EAST history, the first to do so since 1997. He was joined in the event by fellow Blue Demon BJ Bamgbose who finished seventh and a set a new personal record of 8.46, shaving off over .2 seconds.

Also on the track, Henry Larkin set a new personal record in the 400-meter dash to claim second in the event with a time of 47.58. In the same event, sophomore Brendan Van Voorhis earned a top-five spot with a 48.46 time, also earning him a new personal best.

Rounding out the performances for the men, junior Adam Nelson took home silver in the 60-meter dash with a 6.93 performance, joined by teammate Tony Pavloski who clocked in a 7.09 run to take eighth.

"The men's team showed a lot of heart this weekend," Dopek said." We will use our day-two performances and attitude as a springboard for the outdoor season."