BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With a pair of home meets under its belt, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's track and field teams ready for their first road meets of the indoor season. A limited group from the men's program will head to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis for a two-day meet Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27 while the remaining men's and women's teams will compete at the Spartan Shootout hosted by the University of Dubuque on Saturday. 

The IWU men racked up 88 points in the I-55 Tri meet last Saturday, Jan. 20 to lead the team standings against Washington University in St. Louis (85.5) and Elmhurst University (39). The Titan women totaled 51 points to take third while WashU put together 112 team points for the win followed by Elmhurst's 52 points. 

The men's point total was aided by seven first-place performances led by Evan Lowder's (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) conference-leading time of 49.60 seconds in the 400-meter run. Lowder's 400m banked-track conversion of 48.83# ranks 18th nationally among Division III competitors. Lowder was also a part of the winning 4-by-400m quartet with freshman Reece Dusek, junior Alex Harvey (Galesburg, Ill.-Galesburg), and sophomore Joel Weber (Roanoke, Ill.-Roanoke-Benson), clocking a 3:25.32 time to secure the team win and a top-30 rank in Division III (3:22.10#). IWU men's throwers took over the rings on Saturday as junior Matthew Wagner (Normal, Ill.-Central Catholic) won the shot put (12.81m, 42'0.50") while teammate junior CJ Ladewig (Palos Heights, Ill.-Stagg) turned in a personal best effort to win the weight throw (15.76m, 51'8.50"). A trio of IWU freshmen staked their claims with event wins at the I-55 Tri including Carson Green (Centralia, Ill.-Centralia) in the 60m dash (7.12), Matt Lindberg (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) in the high jump (1.90m, 6'2.75"), and Ethan Godsey (Manteno, Ill.-Manteno) in the triple jump (13.14m, 43'1.50"). 

Junior Carlyssa King (Decatur, Ill. Maroa-Forsyth) picked up the win in the women's weight throw with a personal best effort of 14.94m (49'0.25") a mark good for seventh in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings. Turning in second-place finishes were junior Evelyn Wilson (Geneseo, Ill.-Geneseo) in the high jump (1.55m, 5'1") and freshman Imani Ogunribido (Hanover Park, Ill.-Lake Park) in the triple jump (11.35m, 37'3"), and sophomore Jordynn Griffin (Bloomington, ill.-Normal Community) in the 400m (1:00.96).

The IUPUI meet in Indianapolis will feature teams across all NCAA divisions. The men's 4-by-400m relay team of Lowder, Dusek, Harvey, and Weber will be making the trip to IUPUI alongside freshman Tyrice Bender, sophomores Seth Hamerski (Mount Vernon, Ill.-Webber) and Jahari Scott (Lake Bluff, Ill.-Lake Forest), and junior Ernie Waterson (Bloomington, Ill.-Cornerstone Christian Academy). The Titans will compete in the 60m and 200m on Friday before the 400m, 800m, and 4-by-400m on Saturday. Friday's 60m is set for 4:35 p.m. ET and the 200m goes off at 8:05 p.m. Saturday's schedule is as follows: men's 60m finals at 3:25 p.m., 400m at 4:25 p.m., 800m 4:45 p.m., 4-by-400m 5:55 p.m. All times are ET and will be held inside the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion. Admission into the meet is $10.

The Spartan Shootout's first event in Dubuque, Iowa is set for 10:30 a.m. at the A.Y. McDonald Indoor Track.

Results from the meets will be posted to IWUsports.com upon the conclusion of each meet.

To stay up-to-date on all things IWU track and field, be sure to follow the team on social media @IWU_XCTF on Twitter and @IllinoisWesleyanXCTF on Instagram.