Oilers turn in record-setting, PR-filled weekend at SIU Carbondale Indoor Invitational
East Alton-Wood River’s boys and girls track and field teams used a massive 30-plus team field at the SIU Carbondale Indoor Invitational to showcase depth and momentum, piling up personal records across nearly every event and adding a school record in the boys triple jump. The girls competed Friday and the boys followed Saturday in Carbondale, with the Oilers exiting the two-day meet with a long list of breakthrough performances and encouraging early-season marks.
The girls meet set the tone as every East Alton-Wood River athlete posted a personal record in her event. In the shot put, the Oilers were led by Kylah Wreath at 26 feet, 6 inches, followed by Averi Gilliam at 25-2 and Emalyn Murphy at 22-4, as all three marked significant improvements in the ring. In the long jump, Brooklyn Rexford delivered a standout night with a leap of 13-4 to pace the horizontal jumps crew and cap a strong all-around performance.
On the track, the Oiler sprinters and hurdlers continued the PR trend. In the 60 meters, Rexford clocked 8.85 seconds, with Ami Parsons at 9.18 and Emma Gray at 10.83 as all three moved their times forward. Senior hurdler Gina Truax added one of the night’s top efforts, racing to a personal-best 10.8 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Rexford and Gray also notched PRs in the 200 meters, with Rexford running 31.14 and Gray 37.03 in what coaches described as fun, encouraging races to watch.
The Oilers’ middle-distance group closed out the girls’ individual events with more time drops. Parsons improved to 1:14.5 in the 400 meters, while Braelyn Hartkopf turned in a 1:19.6. In the 800, MaKenzie Minner produced one of the meet’s most notable efforts, running 2:44 despite being tripped and falling flat to the track mid-race; she immediately got back up and still finished 13th in a field of 58 runners. Freshman Eleanor Brame added a strong 2:58 in the same event, giving East Alton-Wood River a promising 1-2 punch moving into future meets.
The girls wrapped up their night with an impressive 4x400 relay performance, as Minner, Truax, Brame and Parsons combined for a strong closing effort that reflected the team’s rising confidence. Coaches noted that the collective PR haul and relay finish appeared to give the Oilers a visible boost, setting up expectations for continued accomplishments as the indoor and outdoor seasons progress.
The boys followed that template with a big day of their own, highlighted by a school-record performance in the triple jump. Junior Jasiah Brown finished third overall in the event with a 42-0 mark, breaking the East Alton-Wood River indoor school record despite having been cleared to practice only days earlier after a basketball injury. Brown had jumped only twice in practice — without a full approach — before the meet, underscoring the potential for even bigger marks as his training volume increases.
Freshman jumper Wyatt Schneider added another major highlight with a 19-5 long jump, placing 14th in a field of more than 50 athletes and giving the Oilers an additional threat in the horizontal jumps. On the track, freshmen sprinters Deiontre Breaziel and Isaiah Carman recorded encouraging debuts in the 60 meters at 8.53 and 8.73, respectively. Schneider returned in the 200 meters with a 26.44, while Breaziel finished the race running roughly 190 meters with one shoe after losing it out of the blocks, still managing to complete his first indoor 200.
The boys’ quarter-milers and middle-distance runners continued the steady production. In the 400, LeBron Reed led the way in 56.8, followed by Carson LeMond in 58.0 and Bennett McCormick in 59.3 as all three dipped under a minute indoors. The 800 meters produced two more personal records, with Taven Wardein clocking 2:33 and Noah Willeford 2:36. The Oilers capped their day with a significant drop in the 4x200 relay, as Reed, LeMond, McCormick and freshman Peyton Shaw combined for a four-second PR from their previous meet, signaling rapid early-season progress in the relays.
With both the girls and boys squads trending upward and key athletes already breaking records and reshaping their personal bests, East Alton-Wood River now turns its attention to the next indoor test in two weeks in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Oilers are also set to open the outdoor season at home the following week, aiming to build on the confidence and momentum gained from a productive weekend in Carbondale.
