April 29, 2003
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
Illinois Track Teams Travel to Key Iowa Twilight
The Iowa Twilight may be the biggest meet of the season for several Illinois individuals trying to get qualified for the May 30-31 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Good weather, good competition and individual focus should be the order of business for the Illini who have several athletes on the cusp of Regional qualification.
"The next meet after the Iowa Twilight is the Big Ten Championships and there you have prelims and tactics to deal with," head coach Gary Wieneke said. "This won't be their last chance to get qualified, but it should be their best one. Barring bad weather, I think this could be an ideal place to qualify for a lot of these runners. The competition should be good and they have progressed as they season has gone along."
In all, 15 men's and women's athletes have turned in performances close to the NCAA standard in their specialty event, but will need season-best performances on Saturday to get over the hump. Below is a list of athletes who have already qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships and those who are on the bubble.
NCAA Regional Qualifiers
The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams will have plenty of representation at this year's inaugural NCAA Regional Championships as 11 Illinois competitors have already qualified for the meet and several others are approaching qualifying marks.
Men's Qualifiers
Athlete Event Best Performance
Charles Burton Triple Jump 52'03.50"
Andre English 110m H 14.22
Bernard Grady Shot Put 56'11.50"
Marty Keifer Pole Vault 17'01.00"
Peter Knaus Javelin 204'07.00"
Charley Kurlinkus High Jump 6'09.00"
Adam Pierson Pole Vault 16'06.75"
Who Could Be Next?
Athlete Event Best Performance Performance Needed
Illinois "A" 400m Relay 41.09 40.70
Jamaal Folks Triple Jump 48'03.25" 49'00.00"
Kurt Glesne Discus 162'08.00" 165'00.00"
Bernard Grady Discus 162'09.00" 165'00.00"
Aaron King 800 meters 1:51.37 1:51.15
Tre` Smith 800 meters 1:51.91 1:51.15
Aaron Wahls 1,500 meters 3:51.00 3:50.00
Women's Qualifiers
Athlete Event Best Performance
Chequetta Bearfield 100m 11.60
Perdita Felicien 100m H 13.00
Marie Hilmersson Hammer 177'08.00"
Crystal Riley Long Jump 19'10.25"
Nicole Whitman Triple Jump 43'01.50"
Who Could Be Next?
Athlete Event Best Performance Performance Needed
Chequetta Bearfield Long Jump 19'02.00" 19'04.50"
Audrey Lickhart 800m 2:12.53 2:10.30
Tracy Moss Discus 147'11" 150'00"
Shanna Pickett 200m 24.13 24.00
Crystal Riley 100m H 14.30 14.10
Nicole Whitman 200m 24.29 24.00
Natalie Young 400m H 1:01.92 1:01.50
800m 2:12.78 2:10.30
National list representatives
A number of season-best performances have several Illini ranked among the nation's best in their respective events. Below is a list of Illini who rank on the national list in their events and where they rank in the Mideast Region.
Athlete Event Performance National Regional
Charles Burton Triple Jump 52'03.50" 10th 5th
Andre English 110m H 14.22 54th 20th
Bernard Grady Shot Put 56'11.50" 32nd 7th
Marty Keifer Pole Vault 17'01.00" 20th 4th
Adam Pierson Pole Vault 16'06.75" 45th 13th
Athlete Event Performance National Regional
Illinois "A" 4x100m Relay 44.56 13th 4th
Chequetta Bearfield 100m 11.60 37th 10th
Perdita Felicien 100m H 52'03.50" 2nd 2nd
Marie Hilmersson Hammer 177'08" 53rd 11th
Crystal Riley 100m H 19'10.25" 36th 8th
Nicole Whitman 100m H 43'01.50" 10th 3rd
Felicien Becoming Fan Favorite at Drake Relays
Illinois senior Perdita Felicien has saved some of her best performances each year for the Drake Relays and the 2003 version of the Relays was no different. Felicien made history at the 94th showing of the Relays when she became the first athlete to ever claim titles in the university section and invitational sections of the same event. Felicien's titles came in the 100 meter hurdles where she won the university title in a time of 13.43 seconds. Felicien returned to the track less than three hours later to run a season-best time of 13.00 seconds to win the special invitational section of the event.
In between her hurdle races, Felicien anchored the 4x100m relay team to a second-place finish in a time of 44.62 seconds.
Felicien Earns Drake Relays, Big Ten honors
Accolades from her double win in the 100m hurdles at the Drake Relays continue to roll in as Perdita Felicien was named most outstanding women's performer at the 94th annual Drake Relays. It's the third such award in-a-row for Felicien, who joins former Olympian Merlene Ottey as the only other three-time winner of the award. Felicien won the 2002 award after winning the 100m hurdle title and anchoring Illinois' victorious shuttle hurdle relay. In 2001, Felicien won as a member of the world record setting shuttle hurdle relay team that finished with a time of 52.85 seconds.
Felicien's performance also earned her Big Ten Female Track and Field Athlete of the week honors, her first such honor of the outdoor season.
Whitman Looking For NCAA Championships Return
Senior triple jumper Nicole Whitman would like nothing more than a return trip to the NCAA National Championships. After a disappointing showing at the 2003 indoor championships in the event, Whitman is again ranked among the top triple jumpers in the country with a career-best outdoor jump of 43'01.50". Whitman turned in the performance at the season-opening Texas Relays. Whitman currently ranks third in the Mideast Region with that jump and 10th in the country.
Illini Men Stong in the Field
The Illinois men's track and field team has quietly developed into one of the stronger Big Ten teams in the field events. After scoring 12 points in the field at the 2002 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Illinois was led by its field events at the Big Ten Indoor Championships and will be even stronger during the Outdoor season with the addition of Charles Burton. Marty Kiefer and Adam Pierson rank second and fifth in the pole vault, while Charles Burton and Jamaal Folks ranks second and seventh in the triple jump. Bernard Grady is ranked fifth in the shot put, but was a third-place finisher at the 2002 Outdoor Championships. Grady and Kurt Glesne rank among the top 10 in the conference in the discus as does Peter Knaus in the javelin.
Illinois' two-lap King
Illinois' new king of the 800 meters this season has been redshirt freshman Aaron King. After strong showings at the Florida and Texas Relays as a member of the 4x800 meter relays, King shattered a career best in the 800 meters with a time of 1:51.37. King also turned in a pair of sub-1:50.00 splits at the Drake Relays where ran anchor on the 4x800 meter relay that finished third and the Sprint Medley Relay that finished fifth.
Keifer Consistency Coming Through
Senior Marty Keifer is quietly becoming one of the NCAA's most consistent pole vaulters in his senior season. Three times this year Keifer has topped 17 feet and turned in a career-best vault of 17'01.00" on April 12 at Missouri. At the Drake Relays, Keifer again topped 17 feet, jumping 17'00.75" to finish third. During the Indoor season, the Sugar Grove, Ill., native finished second at the Big Ten Championships and cleared 17 feet at the season-opening Illinois Invitational. In fact Keifer has jumped better than 16'08.00" at every meet this season.
Wieneke Tenure Coming to an End
Gary Wieneke's 28th and final season as men's track and field coach is beginning to wind down. One of the most successful coaches in Illinois and Big Ten history, Wieneke is a member of three track and field Halls of Fame and has coached Illinois to 12 Big Ten Championships. Wieneke has also tutored 152 athletes to Big Ten titles and 145 to All-America honors. Illinois has also had 11 NCAA Champions during his stay as coach. His 36 years leading the cross country program is the second-longest stint as coach in Illinois history.
