JONESBORO, Ark. (1/21/25) – Arkansas State track and field gears up for the fourth meet of the 2026 indoor campaign with 19 athletes set to participate at the Fighting Illini Challenge and Combined Events on Jan. 22-24 in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
 
FIGHTING ILLINI CHALLENGE AND COMBINED EVENTS LINKS
Day 1 – Thursday, Jan. 22

• Watch (Day 1) | Watch (Day 2) | Watch (Day 3)
• Live Results

 
THREE THINGS TO NOTE:
LAST TIME OUT
The Red Wolves competed at the Samford Invitational on Jan. 15-16 and the Samford Open on Jan. 17 at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama. Three A-State athletes claimed event titles while the team recorded 27 top-five finishes. Menachem Chen and Finja Dziobek swept the men’s and women’s shot put titles on Jan. 16, and Alexis Waller secured the top spot in the women’s triple jump one day later.
 
THE THROWER’S GAME
A-State has claimed five event titles to begin the 2025-26 indoor campaign, and three have been earned by the Red Wolves’ throwers. Junior Menachem Chen recorded his first shot put title of the season at the Commodore Winter Challenge on Dec. 6 with a distance of 17.80m (58-4.75) and added another at the Samford Invitational on Jan. 16, posting a 17.42m (57-2.00) mark to claim the top spot. Freshman Finja Dziobek helped A-State complete a clean sweep of the shot put titles at the Samford Invitational, recording a distance of 13.92m (45-8.00) to claim the top spot on the women’s side.
 
SPEED RACER
Junior sprinter Spencer Taylor stood at eighth all-time in A-State’s indoor history for the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.64 entering the Samford Invitational. The Marshall, Texas, native clocked in at 21.33 on Jan. 16 to finish third in the event, but moved to third place on the Red Wolves’ all-time 200-meter indoor list. Junior Camren Bailey is the only other active Red Wolf on the indoor all-time list for the event, placing sixth with a time of 21.54.