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LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Juniors Ellie Hall and Micah Peals posted top-five finishes Friday to lead University of Southern Indiana Track & Field at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic.

Hall was third in the 800 meters with a time of two minutes, 21.97 seconds, while Peals finished fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:38.19. Hall’s 800-meter time puts her sixth on the Ohio Valley Conference performance list and is the third event that she has posted a top-10 time in this season—she also ranks second in the OVC in the 3,000 meters and fourth in the mile this season.

Freshman Hadessah Austin was seventh in the 800 meters, while sophomores Sara Livingston and Zoe Seward were sixth and seventh, respectively in the mile.

Senior Katie Winkler and sophomore Ahmira Pickett rounded out USI’s top-10 finishers. Winkler was sixth in the 3,000 meters while Pickett carded a 10th-place showing in the mile.

The Screaming Eagles return to Louisville and the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center next week when they compete in the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational January 31-February 1.

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Men’s Track & Field 1/24/2025 8:08:00 PM Dan McDonnell, USI Athletic Communications

Zimmerman highlights USI men’s efforts at Bellarmine

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Evansville track and field team broke two program records while having four podium finishes at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic.

After over a month away from competition the Purple Aces returned to action in the Bluegrass State at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic. Sophomore sprinter Raymond Felton III (Houston / Clear Brook HS) and sophomore runner Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain) broke program records set in 2024 on Friday. Along with the two new records, UE had 12 PRs through 18 events at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center.

Evansville had a big day in sprint events as the team began the meet with a PR from Felton III in the 60m dash. With a time of 6.88 seconds in both his qualifying heat and the final, Felton picked up the Aces’ first podium finish of the day in second place. UE continued its strong sprints day with a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter race for sophomore Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) with a time of 58.22 seconds. Freshman Clara Kelty (Louisville, Ky. / Presentation Academy) also competed in the 400-meter race with a time of 1:10.53.

Evansville’s final individual sprint event of the day was the men’s and women’s 200 meters. Felton III had the Aces only first-place finish in the 200-meter race with a program record time of 21.55 seconds. Along with setting a program record, Felton’s time was the 100th fastest in Division I this season. Freshman sprinter Myles Terry (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) also placed in the top 10 in the 200 meters with a time of 22.3 seconds. In the women’s 200-meter race, Johnson placed sixth with a time of 25.51 seconds while Kate Walke (Batesville, Ind. / Oldenburg Academy) had a PR at 28.75 seconds.

UE ended the day on the track with the men’s 4×400 meter relay. Evansville’s relay team set a season-best with a time of 3:27.61 to place fourth. The Aces relay team consisted of Connor Shin, Kaiden McAllister, Woody Burrell, and Jakub Nowicki. Walke had UE’s only hurdle event of the day, running the 60-meter hurdles in 9.63 seconds for a Top 10 finish.

Evansville’s first distance race of the day was a PR for sophomore Avery Stephens (Newburg, Ind. / Castle HS) in the 3,000-meter race. Stephens ran the 3,000 in 10:41.40 for an eighth-place finish. The Aces then ran their first mid-distance event with the men’s and women’s 800-meter race.

On the men’s side sophomore Owen Cuplin (Hampshire, Ill. / Hampshire HS) ran a PR of 1:57.62 for 10th place. Also finishing in the men’s race was freshman Vincent Filipek (Northville, Mich. / Northville HS) in 2:02.25 and sophomore Alejandro Navarrete (Mogadore, Ohio / Mogadore HS) in 2:10.04. In the women’s race sophomore Chase Hayes (Noblesville, Ind. / Western HS) and senior Hannah Bryan (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) both set PRs at 2:26.16 and 2:33.21 for 11th and 27th place. Freshman Rebekah Sachs also finished the 800-meter in 2:35.98.

UE had 10 runners between the men’s and women’s mile on Friday. In the men’s mile, three separate runners set PRs with two Top 10 finishes. Sophomore Tommaso Losma (Lombardia, Italy) had Evansville’s highest finish at third with a time of 4:17.44. Senior Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn. / Central HS) was close behind in sixth with a PR of 4:18.43. Sophomore Woody Burrell (Cedarburg, Wis. / Cedarburg HS) also set a PR in the mile with a time of 4:27.79.

The Aces had four other runners finish the men’s mile freshman Andrew Potter (Warsaw, Ind. / Warsaw Community HS) with a time of 4:33.82, Filipek (4:38.54), freshman Oliver Wilgocki (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton HS) with a time of 4:43.41, and McAllister (4:45.12). In the women’s race sophomore Kyndall Anthis (Pakota, Ind. / Princeton Community HS) had the fastest time at 5:42.32 followed by freshmen Lauren Bradley (Russiaville, Ind. / Western HS) with a time of 5:43.54 and Skylar Dickenson (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg HS) with a time of 5:48.35.

UE’s final distance race was the team’s other program record of the day. Rodriguez broke the record set by teammate Samuel Lea in the 3,000-meter race by over five seconds. Rodriguez placed second in the race setting a new PR of 8:18.50.

Senior jumper Antuwan Powell (Ringgold, Ga. / Heritage HS) made his return to jumps after a year focused on the track in 2024. In his season debut, Powell set a new PR in the long jump at 5.94 meters. Powell’s first indoor long jump was good for ninth place in the event.

Freshman thrower Emma Bertel (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community HS) had Evansville’s best result in the field, placing eight in the women’s shot put at 10.50 meters. One Aces thrower had a PR as freshman Beau Baldwin (Mt. Vernon HS) threw 11.18 meters in the men’s weight throw. Senior Kaitlyn Sansone (Fairfield, Ohio / Mercy McAuley HS) had a season-best on Friday in the women’s shot put at 8.77 meters.

UE will have its first out-of-state meet when the team travels to Birmingham, Alabama. Evansville will compete in two meets over the weekend while in the Magic City in early March. The Aces will first compete in the UAB Vulcan Invite on Friday, February 7 followed by the UAB Green and Gold Invite on Saturday, February 8.

NASHVILLE – Despite a strong second half on the floor the University of Evansville women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome the red-hot Belmont Bruins.

A cold first half on offense kept the Purple Aces behind in their 90-65 loss to Belmont on Friday night. UE improved its scoring by over 20% in the second half against the Bruins, pouring in 24 points in the final 10 minutes. Sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Prairie HS) led Evansville on offense with her first 20-point performance in over a month.

The Aces had their first basket of the night just over a minute into the game. But it’d be three minutes before UE scored again as Belmont lept out to an early nine-point lead. Evansville put together a brief four-point run to get within five points. That would be the closest the Aces would get to the Bruins as Belmont ended the first quarter on a 15-2 run.

UE’s offensive woes continued in the second quarter as they didn’t find the basket until two minutes in. Evansville traded baskets with the Bruins for two minutes early in the quarter. But another big run to end the half from Belmont had the Aces facing a 28-point deficit after 20 minutes of action.

The Bruins pushed their lead out to 32 points early in the third quarter. UE was able to work inside the lane in the third quarter with three field goals in the first four minutes. Belmont responded with an eight-point run to take its largest lead of the game at 40. Evansville’s defense went to work keeping the Bruins scoreless from the floor for the next two minutes as the offense added eight points. In the final minute of the third, the Aces added five straight points to make it a 71-41 game.

UE had its best quarter of the night in the fourth, making seven field goals and six free throws. Evansville got to the line early as Hartwig added two within the first 15 seconds of the quarter. Belmont matched with free throws and a layup of their own. But the Aces were able to respond with a four-point run as senior guard Júlia Palomo (La Seu d’Urgell, Spain) hit her first three of the game.

The two teams went basket for basket over the next minute and a half. UE put together its best run of the game with seven straight points halfway into the fourth to bring the deficit down to 22. But Evansville was unable to string another run in the final five minutes of the game, falling to the Bruins 90-65.

Four Aces were in double figures on Friday including Hartwig (20), Palomo (11), and freshman guards Avery Kelley (13) and Camryn Runner (10). On defense, Hartwig and freshman Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Penn. / Greater Latrobe HS) had six rebounds apiece while Palomo recorded UE’s only block.

Evansville continues its road trip to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference on Sunday. The Aces will play one of the top five offenses in the country in the Murray State Racers. Tip-off from CFSB Arena on Sunday, January 26 is set for 2 p.m.

Evansville, In.:  Behind outstanding goaltending from Cole Ceci and two clutch goals from Vili Vesalainen, the Thunderbolts secured a 2-1 win over the Pensacola Ice Flyers in front of over 4,100 fans at Ford Center on Friday night. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, January 25th against the Pensacola Ice Flyers at 7:05pm CT.

                The first period featured no goals or power plays, but did feature a solid middleweight fight at center ice between Evansville’s Bronson Adams and Pensacola’s Sam Dabrowski.  The Thunderbolts did put the puck in the net late in the period as Vesalainen stormed the crease, however the goal was waived off due to incidental contact with Pensacola goaltender Brody Claeys.  Vesalainen found the back of the net once again in the second period, with a power play goal from Matthew Hobbs at 3:01 to put Evansville ahead officially, 1-0.  Despite facing a barrage of 15 shots on goal and several high quality opportunities in the second period, Ceci continued to stand tall to keep Pensacola at bay.  4:16 into the third period, Vesalainen struck again to extend the Thunderbolts lead to 2-0, tucking the puck around Claeys and inside the post, assisted by Nolan McElhaney and Cameron MacPhee.  With only 2 seconds remaining, Houston Wilson scored for Pensacola to spoil Ceci’s shutout, resulting in a 2-1 final, a victory regardless.

                Vesalainen scored both Evansville goals while Cole Ceci finished with 37 saves on 38 shots on goal for his 8th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Flyers meet again on Saturday, January 25th at Ford Center, face-off set for 7:05pm CT.

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now.  Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area’s only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL.  The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com