April 2, 2011
Results
BATON ROUGE, La. - A group of Illini sprinters and field event athletes competed at the LSU Invitational on Saturday, which was highlighted by a solid performance in the 4x400m relay at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium. The tandem of junior Ryisha Boyd, senior Melissa Bates and juniors Ashley Kelly and Latoya Griffith timed 3:36.33 and placed third in a loaded field, featuring relays from No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 3 LSU.
"I was happy with how our 4x400m relay ran today," head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said. "They ran really well for this early in the season against tough competition."
The Orange and Blue received two other top-three finishes during the meet from senior Tamika Robinson, who clocked a 13.32 in the 100m hurdles, and from freshman Stephanie Richartz, who cleared 12-6 ¾ (3.83m) in the pole vault. Robinson also led off the 4x100m relay of Kelly, senior Cheria Morgan and sophomore Kayla Smith that placed fourth with a time of 45.13.
In the 800m, freshmen Amanda Duvendack (2:09.50) and Samantha Murphy (2:09.83) finished back-to-back in fifth and sixth, respectively. The Illini also scored with an eighth-place finish in each sprinting event, with Robinson in the 100m (11.91), Bates in the 200m (24.38) and Kelly in the 400m (54.33).
The Illini posted a pair of sixth-place showings in the horizontal jumps, as senior Kelly Washington turned in a mark of 17-7 ½ (5.37m) in the long jump and junior Alexandria Smith tallied a triple jump mark 38-6 ¼ (11.74m).
A group of distance runners were also in action on Saturday at Purdue's Mike Poehlein Invitational, which included a top-10 finish in the 5,000m by senior Maggie Mulchrone following a time of 18:34.68.
Up Next: The Illini will be off next weekend before heading to Knoxville, Tenn., in two weeks for the Sea Ray Relays from April 14-16.
Illinois Results at the LSU Invitational
100m
8. Tamika Robinson 11.91; 1 team point
200m
8. Melissa Bates 24.38; 1 team point
9. Cheria Morgan 24.51
11. Kayla Smith 24.63
400m
8. Ashley Kelly 54.33; 1 team point
9. Ryisha Boyd 54.68
13. Marissa Golliday 56.40
800m
5. Amanda Duvendack 2:09.50; 4 team points
6. Samantha Murphy 2:09.83; 3 team points
100m Hurdles
3. Tamika Robinson 13.32; 6 team points
8. Kelly Washington 15.23; 1 team point
4x100m Relay
4. Illinois 45.13; 6 team points
(Tamika Robinson, Ashley Kelly, Cheria Morgan, Kayla Smith)
4x400m Relay
3. Illinois 3:36.33; 6 team points
(Ryisha Boyd, Melissa Bates, Ashley Kelly, Latoya Griffith)
Long Jump
6. Kelly Washington 17-7 ½ (5.37m); 3 team points
Triple Jump
6. Alexandria Smith 38-6 ¼ (11.74m); 3 team points
Pole Vault
3. Stephanie Richartz 12-6 ¾ (3.83m); 6 team points
T7. Elizabeth Eitzen 10-11 (3.33m); 1.5 team points
Discus
8. Tiffany Wallick 137-6 (41.90m); 1 team point
Javelin
12. Tiffany Wallick 107-10 (32.86m)
13. Kelly Washington 96-2 (29.32m)
