ST. LOUIS – Illinois State track & field seniors Brandon Gage and Sydney Laufenberg garnered Missouri Valley Conference Athlete of the Week honors for their performances at the Jack Jennett Open over the weekend, as announced by the league office this morning.
Gage, who was named the MVC Male Track Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career, opened his senior season with a win in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.62* seconds, which is currently the fastest 400m time in the Missouri Valley Conference. He is the only MVC student-athlete to run a sub-49 second converted time and is among the top-100 fastest 400m runners in the NCAA, coming in with 89th fastest time so far this season.