May 7, 2006

Madison, Wis. - The UIC men's and women's track and field team prepped for the upcoming Horizon League Championships by competing in the Wisconsin Twilight on Saturday.

Sophomore Idara Essien tallied the Flames' lone event title of the day, winning the triple jump with a leap of 11.66m.

Senior Sara O'Mara broke her own school record in the hammer toss with a distance of 52.90m en route to a second place finish in the event.

Junior Laura Macias had a strong showing in the 5,000-meter race, taking third in 18:00.56. Juniors Susie Martinez and Renee Koziol placed fourth and fifth respectively in the 1,500-meter race for UIC.

Senior Brandon Cook gave the men's team its highest individual finish by placing fourth in the 100-meter dash in 11.02.

The Flames' 4x100 relay team took third in 42.11 for the men's squads highest overall standing on the day.

Erik Hernandez also took fifth in shot put while Sam Watson placed sixth in the 1,500-meter race.

UIC will be back in action on Thursday as they open competition at the 2006 Horizon League Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.