Junior Skye Ellis etched her name into Northwestern history with a record-breaking performance in the 800-meter race, leading a dominant day at the Blue Demon Alumni Classic hosted by DePaul.
Ellis shaved four seconds off her previous personal best to post a time of 2:10.23, securing the top spot in Wildcat annals and edging out UIC’s Alessia Sarussi by less than 0.3 seconds for the victory.
Ellis’ record-breaking 800 was the pinnacle of a stellar outing that began with a near-record run in the mile. The junior finished first in 4:40.80, just four one-hundredths of a second off the program record.
Senior Ava Earl and junior Maddy Whitman both competed unattached in the competition — meaning they raced without NU affiliation —- and finished in the top 10.
Earl placed third with a time of 4:45.36, while Whitman came in seventh at 4:53.32.
In the 3,000-meter race, sophomore Jackie Holman led the way for the ’Cats, running unattached and clocking in at 9:25.05 for a runner-up finish — 26 seconds faster than her previous collegiate best.
Graduate student Katherine Hessler shaved 14 seconds off her personal record to finish sixth in 9:34.54, moving to seventh on NU’s all-time list.
Freshman Cary Drake, also competing unattached, finished eighth in 9:38.15, while sophomore Kailey Zagst knocked nearly 20 seconds off her personal best, coming in 15th with a time of 9:59.83.
NU’s indoor track season will conclude Friday at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston.
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