Hyde Takes Top Female Athlete, Klein Takes Best Male Newcomer At Midwest Conference Indoor Championships

By Benjamin Cox on March 1, 2020 at 9:25am

Senior Andrea Hyde coasts in after another top 60m performance. (Courtesy Illinois College Athletics)

Illinois College Senior Sprinter Andrea Hyde continued her dominance at the Midwest Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships yesterday. Hyde broke the meet’s all-time record in the Women’s 60m Dash set last year by St. Norbert’s Junior Audrey Makope at 7.77. Hyde’s time was one-hundredth of a second better at 7.76. Makope finished second yesterday with 7.82.

Hyde also took first in the 200m Dash with a time of 25.86, just 5 tenths of a second shy of that record. It’s the fourth meet in a row that Hyde has won both the 60m and 200m. Hyde would be awarded the Outstanding Female Track Athlete for her performance.

The IC women’s 4x200m relay took home 3rd with Hyde anchoring a squad of Junior Olivia Molette, Sophomore Jessie Hempen, and Freshman Kayla Hearon with a time of 1:45.84. Ripon took the top spot in the relay with a time of 1:44.35. Sophomore Renee Hartman finished 2nd in the women’s shot put with a best throw of 12.82m. Sophomore Elizabeth Bowns was the only other top 3 finisher in field events with a 3rd place finish in weight throw with a toss of 15.01m.

The St. Norbert College women dominated the meet on their way to their 6th Midwest Conference title in a row and 12th overall.

On the men’s side, Monmouth continued to dominate the Midwest Conference with their 21st title in a row and 27th overall.

Illinois College freshman sprinter Cody Klein provides a bright future for the Blueboys. He finished 3rd in the 60m Dash, 2nd in the 200m Dash, and 4th in the Long Jump. Klein would be honored for Best Newcomer to the MWC for his overall performance as a freshman.

Senior Nicklas Mucciante finished 3rd in the 60m Hurdles, and the men’s 4x200m relay squad of Mucciante, Klein, and sophomores Marshall Brown and Eugene Williba finished 2nd. Freshman Gavin Raines hauled in 3rd in the High Jump, freshman Ju’Qui Womack landed 3rd in Long Jump, and Senior Anthony Flores took 3rd in Weight Throw to round out the men’s only Top 3 finishers on the day.