The University of Illinois Springfield indoor track and field program was in action on Saturday afternoon at the Herschel Neil Invitational in Maryville, Mo. Alexa Thomsen took home first-place honors to lead the Prairie Stars on the day.
 
Thomsen competed in the women's 5,000m and held the lead going into the final lap. She received a late challenge, but held on to win the race by just 0.61 seconds. Thomsen had a final time of 18:41.13, including a mark of 1:04.13 for the final lap.
 
Also in that women's 5,000m race, Jade Anderson came in fourth (18:55.20), Jordan Serrahn was sixth (19:25.85), and Morgan Suttles was seventh (19:28.64).
 
In the men's 5,000m, Ryan Stark was the runner-up in the race. His time of 15:59.21 was the fastest among NCAA student-athletes at the meet. Isaiah McCune was fifth overall after finishing in 16:12.21
 
UIS also had runners in the two 800m races. Gloria Esarco had a bronze finish in the women's race with a mark of 2:16.56, and Libby Price was fifth with a time of 2:25.17. In the men's race, Cayden Kirkham was 12th with a mark of 1:58.87, and Jacob Landon was 17th in a time of 2:02.30.
 
UIS will take a full roster next week to the Grand Valley State University Big Meets.