June 9, 2010
Results
Championship Central | Meet Schedule | Live Results
EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 24 Illinois women's track and field competed in a pair of semifinal events on a rainy Wednesday at the NCAA Championships. The 4x100m relay recorded a 13th-place finish with a time of 44.79 at Hayward Field, and sophomore Latoya Griffith placed 16th in the 400m hurdles with a mark of 58.95.
"The 4x100m relay did well, and we have the same team coming back next year, so we can still build on this," head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said. "Latoya did not have one of her best races, but I expect her to come back and run a strong leg tomorrow on the 4x400m relay."
The Illini quartet of junior Tamika Robinson, sophomore Ashley Kelly, freshman Kayla Smith and junior Melissa Bates placed fifth in its heat and 13th overall with a time of 44.79. That mark was the fourth-quickest by the Orange and Blue this season but did not qualify the relay team to the event final. The top eight times from the semifinal advanced to Saturday's final.
In the 400m hurdles, Griffith placed fifth in her heat and missed advancing to Friday's event final.
Illinois will compete in three semifinal events on Thursday, with Bates in the 200m, Robinson in the 100m hurdles and the foursome Ryisha Boyd, Kelly, Griffith and Bates in the 4x400m relay. Live results along with a full recap can be found on fightingillini.com while live updates will be made at twitter.com/IlliniTrackXC.
Illinois Wednesday Results at the NCAA Championships
4x100m Relay (Semifinal)
13. Illinois 44.79
(Tamika Robinson, Ashley Kelly, Kayla Smith, Melissa Bates)
400m Hurdles (Semifinal)
16. Latoya Griffith 58.95
Illinois Remaining Schedule at the NCAA Championships
(All times Central)
Thursday, June 10
6:30 p.m. 200m Semifinal (Melissa Bates)
7:55 p.m. 100m Hurdles Semifinal (Tamika Robinson)
9:05 p.m. 4x400m Relay Semifinal (Ryisha Boyd, Ashley Kelly, Latoya Griffith, Melissa Bates)
Friday, June 11
6:45 p.m. Shot Put Trials and Finals (Aja Evans)
8:40 p.m. 5,000m Final (Angela Bizzarri)
Saturday, June 12
12:41 p.m. 200m Final
1:09 p.m. 100m Hurdles Final
1:40 p.m. 4x400m Relay Final
