May 30, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
A gust of wind was all that stood between Illinois senior hurdler Perdita Felicien and the fastest time in school history Friday. Felicien ran what was initially thought to be a career-best time of 12.70 seconds in her heat of the 100 meter hurdles, but an excessive tail wind kept her from breaking any school marks during the first day of competition at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
The senior already owns the school record of 12.73 seconds, which she ran at the 2001 Big Ten Championships, however today's wind reading of 4.2 meters per second was just above the NCAA allowable reading of 4.0, which subsequently keeps her from the record.
"I can't worry about the wind and I don't," Felicien said. "I just go out there and race. People make a big deal about the wind, but this isn't strictly a sprinting race. A tail wind can push us up on our hurdle quicker than we expected and it can have a negative effect on our race."
With the fastest time of the prelims, Felicien will be seeded in lane five for Saturday's final and will race in between LSU's Lolo Jones, the nation's No. 2 ranked hurdler, and Indiana's Danielle Carruthers, the nation's third-ranked hurdler.
"It was a big race for seeding purposes," Felicien said. "I will get to race with two great hurdler on either side of me tomorrow, so that will be an advantage. I am racing with a lot of confidence right now. I am coming out of the blocks quickly and I am running a fluid race throughout. It's been two weeks since my last race at the Big Ten Championships, so I didn't know what to expect, but a race like today knocks the rust off pretty quickly. However tomorrow will be challenging. It's a great field and times will be fast."
Illinois also moved onto the finals in the 4x100 meter relay as Chequetta Bearfield, Nicole Whitman, Shanna Pickett and Felicien ran the fastest non-winning time of 44.74 seconds to move onto Saturday's final. In a replay of the Big Ten Championships, Illinois was edged by Indiana who won the heat with a time of 44.37 seconds. Southeastern Conference rivals LSU (43.58) and Auburn (43.74) turned in the fastest times of the prelims, followed by the Hoosiers and Illini.
The busiest Illini on Friday was Crystal Riley who competed in both the 100 meter hurdles and the long jump. Two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships, Riley suffered a hamstring injury that not only cut short her participation at the Conference meet, but also her preparation for this weekend's NCAA Regional. In the 100 meter hurdles, Riley finished fifth in her heat with a time of 14.20 seconds, a time was undoubtedly hampered by the injury. Riley again tried to battle through her injury in the long jump, but was able to qualify for the finals after fouling on her three preliminary attempts.
The last competitor for the Illini women was Natalie Young in the 400 meter hurdles.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, and the only freshman to compete for the Illini women this weekend, Young qualified for the NCAA Regionals with her performance two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships. Today, Young finished fourth in her heat of the intermediate hurdles with a time of 1:01.64, but did not advance to the finals.
After turning in one of the more surprising performances two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships, freshman Adrian Walker narrowly missed out on a repeat performance as he finished third in his heat of the 400 meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 51.63 seconds. While he still came away with a solid time, it wasn't quite enough as the Decatur, Ill., native finished 10th overall, three spots out of finals qualification.
"He was stopping and going through the first five or six hurdles and that tells me he is ready to make the switch to 13 strides in between hurdles instead of the 14 strides he is taking now," assistant coach Erin Tucker said. "Actually, this is a really good sign. When you are able to take 13 stride in between those first five or six hurdles, your time will drop significantly. There is just an adjustment period that all freshman have to get used to. We have junior nationals coming up in three weeks, so it's going to be a fun time for Adrian."
Fellow freshman hurdler Andre English wasn't so fortunate however as he wasn't able to finish his race in the 110 meter hurdles. English skimmed the first hurdle of the race and was unable to get his timing back before the next hurdle.
"I've haven't seen Andre do that all season," Tucker said. "He has skimmed that first hurdle all year, but maybe it was nerves or something. He can't end the season like that. He will go home for a week to train and then come back to Champaign, Ill., and train for junior nations. He'll get back to where he wants to be."
Senior Aaron Wahls wrapped up his Illinois career on Friday with an eighth-place finish in his heat of the 1,500 meter run. The Pontiac, Ill., native finished with a time of 3:53.44, but did not advance to the finals.
Redshirt freshman Aaron King suffered a similar fate as he failed to qualify for the finals in the 800 meters. King, who finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, ran another solid time of 1:50.73, but was unable to overcome Tennessee's Marc Sylvester who won with a time of 1:47.87. Sylvester entered the meet as the nation's top 800 meter runner this season.
Illinois had a pair of representatives in the long jump, but neither sophomore Josh Fournier or freshman Jamaal Folks were able to qualify for the finals. Fournier was the top Illinois jumper as he won his flight and finished 12th overall with a jump of 24'03.75". Folks finished third in his flight and 24th overall with a leap of 23'06.75".
Another freshman, Charley Kurlinkus, wrapped up competition for the Illini on Friday. The Roscoe, Ill., product competed in the high jump and finished 17th with a jump of 6'08.00".
The Illinois men's and women's track teams return to action on Saturday at the NCAA Mideast Regional. Field events begin at noon with the men's javelin and the women's hammer throw, while racing events start at 6 p.m. with the finals of the women's 4x100 meter relay.
###GO ILLINI###
Women's NCAA Mideast Regional Friday Results
100 Meter Hurdles (Preliminary Heat 4)
Finish Athlete Time
Q. Perdita Felicien 12.70
F. Crystal Riley 14.20
400 Meter Hurdles (Preliminary Heat 3)
Finish Athlete Time
F. Natalie Young 1:01.64
4x100 Meter Relay (Preliminary Heat 2)
Finish Team Time
q. Chequetta Bearfield, Nicole Whitman 44.74
Shanna Pickett, Perdita Felicien
Long Jump Finals
Finish Athlete Distance
q. Crystal Riley ??'??.??"
Men's NCAA Mideast Regional Friday Results
800 Meters (Preliminary Heat 3)
Finish Athlete Time
F. Aaron King 1:50.73
1,500 Meters (Preliminary Heat 3)
Finish Athlete Time
F. Aaron Wahls 3:53.44
110 Meter Hurdles (Preliminary Heat 2)
Finish Athlete Time
F. Andre English DNF
400 Meter Hurdles (Preliminary Heat 4)
Finish Athlete Time
F. Adrian Walker 51.63
High Jump Finals
Finish Athlete Height
17. Charley Kurlinkus 6'08.00"
Long Jump Finals
Finish Athlete Distance
12. Josh Fournier 24'03.75"
24. Jamaal Folks 23'06.75"
Q. Won heat to automatically qualify for the finals
q. Qualified for the finals by time
F. Failed to qualify for the finals
