Five Things to Know: Badgers hit the road to Illinois, Indiana

Friday, February 21

Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois

3:00 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Redbird Tune-up

Emma Kruse sprints at the Wisconsin Windy City Invite

Photo by: Dani Savin

Five Things to Know: Badgers hit the road to Illinois, Indiana

February 19, 2025 | Women's Track & Field

Wisconsin preps for two meets ahead of Big Ten Championships

By: Maddox Durst

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women's track and field program is back on the road this weekend to wrap up its indoor regular season campaign, as they will be competing at both the Redbird Tune-up and the Alex Wilson Invite.

The Redbird Tune-up on Friday, Feb. 21 in Normal, Illinois starting at 3:00 p.m. CT and the Alex Wilson Invite kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 10:00 a.m. CT in South Bend, Indiana.

Fans can follow along with live results from Illinois State with the link, here. Others looking to keep up with the meet from Notre Dame can check out the live results from here. The @BadgerTrackXC social pages will be consistently updated on Instagram and X throughout the weekend.

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers are fresh off of hosting the annual Wisconsin Windy City Invite last weekend, winning five separate events en route to a successful showing at Gately Stadium. Emma Kelley moved up at No. 2 in the 800 meters in UW's Indoor Track history with a time of two minutes, 4.36 seconds. Mya Bunke was the second Badger to enter into UW's top-10, as the Slinger native placed at No. 8 all-time in the mile with a sprint of 4:38.64. Kiley Robbins, Chloe Lindeman and Leane Willemse each earned gold in their individual events, too.

2. TOP OF HER CLASS: After her performance this past weekend in Chicago, Chloe Lindeman has emerged as the frontrunner in the Big Ten in the weight throw event. Lindeman holds the farthest mark of the year in the 18-team conference, as the graduate student turned in a heave of 76-3 (23.24m). The Fulton, Illinois native garnered second team All-American honors last year after a top-10 finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships—continuing to maintain her momentum in the 2024-25 campaign.

3. MYA IN THE MIDDLE: Mya Bunke has emerged as one of the top performers in the women's program this season in the middle distance, inserting herself in the record books in the mile, as mentioned previously. Earlier this year, Bunke set the record for the quickest 800 meters in the Hawkeye Invite's with a time of 2:10.67, as she has continued to lower her time as the season has evolved.

4. RETURN TO NOTRE DAME: Wisconsin is making their second trip to the Loftus Sports Center this weekend, coming off a strong outing at the Meyo Invite a couple of weeks ago. Fiona McLoughlin earned a runner-up finish in the 5000 meters, turning in a time of 16:19.47. Emma Kelley and Emma Kruse each followed it up with a top-five finish in the 600 meters. To wrap up the performances, Leane Willemse and Shea Ruhly both placed within the top-10 of the championship section of the 3000 meters at Notre Dame.

5. UP NEXT: The Badgers make a return to Indiana, this time to compete in the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The championships are set to take place on both Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1 to kick off postseason action.