May 15, 2011
Complete Results
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Illinois women's track and field team wrapped up the 2011 Big Ten Outdoor Championships with 90 points and finished fourth for the third time in the past four years. The Illini were just six points away from reaching the podium, as Indiana (96) took third followed by runner-up Penn State (122) and team champion Ohio State (135). Junior Ashley Kelly was the Big Ten runner-up in the 200m, 400m and as part of the 4x100m relay.
"I was really proud of our whole team's mentality and the way they competed," head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said. "We came really close to third, so we just need to clean up a few more things. We really started out strong by putting a lot of people in the finals, which was just the beginning of things. If we continue to have a better day three, we will be up in the top three."
Kelly picked up a pair of silver medals on the afternoon, earning a runner-up finish in the 200m and 400m, which came down to a photo finish. The Big Ten indoor 400m champion missed duplicating the feat outdoors by .002 seconds, as she finished with a time of 53.638 and just behind Ohio State's Shaniqua McGinnis (53.636). Kelly also turned in the ninth-fastest 200m time in school history with a personal-best mark of 23.49.
"Ashley ran her heart out today and was so close in the 400m," Buford-Bailey said. "She ran four events this weekend and was a real trooper for the team. I couldn't be more proud of the way she performed."
In the first event on the track, the Illini 4x100m relay of senior Cheria Morgan, Kelly, sophomore Kayla Smith and senior Tamika Robinson clocked its second-fastest time (44.59) of the season and crossed the line in second behind Ohio State (43.94), who broke the Cretzmeyer Track facility record. The Orange and Blue ran the same four legs as last season and grabbed the runner-up spot in the event for the second year in a row.
Robinson clocked a season-best mark of 13.27 in the 100m hurdles and finished fourth before timing 11.68 in the 100m dash and placing sixth. The Chicago, Ill., native tied senior Melissa Bates for the second-most individual points on the team with eight. In the 200m, Smith (24.00) and Bates (24.03) finished right after one another in fifth and sixth with season-best times. Bates also finished fourth in the 400m with a season-best mark of 54.48 along with leading off the 4x400m relay of juniors Latoya Griffith, Ryisha Boyd and Kelly to fourth-place showing with a time of 3:38.34.
"Melissa and Tamika really stepped up for the team by running three events," Buford-Bailey said. "We love to have kids like that who will do anything for the team."
Sophomore Stephanie Morgan added five points with a fourth-place finish in the 1,500m. The top-four finishers in the race were separated by just over a second, as the Barnesville, Ohio, native timed 4:27.84 and came in behind Michigan's Rebecca Addison (4:26.59), Minnesota's Nikki Swenson (4:27.43) and Michigan's Jillian Smith (4:27.68).
In the high jump, junior Kendall McCaugherty scored for the first time in her career, matching a personal-best height of 5-9 1/4 (1.76m) and leaping to a fifth-place finish. The Illini received three more points in the 400m hurdles, as junior Latoya Griffith placed sixth with a season-best time of 59.00. Senior Elizabeth Boyle scored for the second time, as she clocked a 5,000m time of 16:37.20 in her seventh-place finish.
"Those extra points were big for us," Buford-Bailey said. "Kendall has been so close to scoring and finally was able to in her third year. Elizabeth stepped up and scored for the second time after also running the 10,000m. Latoya is still coming back from an injury but had a nice race today with a season best."
Up Next: The Illinois women's track and field will head to Eugene, Ore., in two weeks for the NCAA West Preliminary Round of Championship from May 26-28 at the University of Oregon. The Illini athletes who qualify for the opening round of competition will be announced later this week.
Illinois Sunday Results at Big Ten Outdoor Championships
100m (FINAL)
6. Tamika Robinson 11.68; 3 team points
200m (FINAL)
2. Ashley Kelly 23.49; 8 team points
5. Kayla Smith 24.00; 4 team points
6. Melissa Bates 24.03; 3 team points
400m (FINAL)
2. Ashley Kelly 53.64 [53.638]; 8 team points
4. Melissa Bates 54.48; 5 team points
8. Marissa Golliday 56.44; 1 team point
1,500m (FINAL)
4. Stephanie Morgan 4:27.84; 5 team points
5,000m (FINAL)
7. Elizabeth Boyle 16:37.20; 2 team points
17. Chantelle Groenewoud 16:59.34
27. Meghan Frigo 17:54.88
100m Hurdles (FINAL)
4. Tamika Robinson 13.27; 5 team points
400m Hurdles (FINAL)
6. Latoya Griffith 59.00; 3 team points
4x100m Relay (FINAL)
2. Illinois 44.59; 8 team points
(Cheria Morgan, Ashley Kelly, Kayla Smith, Tamika Robinson)
4x400m Relay (FINAL)
4. Illinois 3:38.34; 5 team points
(Melissa Bates, Latoya Griffith, Ryisha Boyd, Ashley Kelly)
High Jump (FINAL)
5. Kendall McCaugherty 5-9 1/4 (1.76m); 4 team points
Triple Jump (FINAL)
10. Kawanna Brooks 39-7 (12.06m)
12. Alexandria Smith 38-3 ½ (11.67m)
Final Team Results
1. Ohio State - 135
2. Penn State - 122
3. Indiana - 96
4. Illinois - 90
5. Michigan State - 74.5
6. Wisconsin - 74
7. Minnesota - 63.5
8. Iowa - 59
9. Purdue - 56
10. Michigan - 49
