May 24, 2005
Illinois' women's track team continues its championship season this weekend, May 27-28, at the NCAA Mideast regional meet held at Indiana University at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind. The two-day event will feature three of the nation's top-25 teams (No. 5 Tennessee, No. 11 Alabama, No. 21 Arkansas) and is the most talented of the four regions. The top five finishers in each individual event and the top three teams in relay event will advance to the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.
For the Illini, two-time Big Ten champion (5,000m, steeplechase) Cassie Hunt will run the 3,000m steeplechase, an event in which she won at the Big Ten meet two weeks ago. The 2004 All-American and Big Ten Athlete of the Year enters the weekend with the second fastest time in the field at 10:14.02. Also in the distances, Jaime Turilli, who took third at the Big Ten Championships in the 5,000m enters with the fifth best time in the event, a school record 16:24.22.
Kristina Jones leads the Fighting Illini in the field events, coming off a personal best leap of 42'02.75" which earned her second place at the conference meet and places her seventh in the field entering the weekend. She's joined by Mariesa Greene (5'08.75") in the high jump and Shanna Pickett (19'10.75") in the long jump.
Carlene Robinson, an All-American in the 800m in 2004, brings the eighth quickest time in the field (2:06.85). Robinson holds the 800m Illinois record of 2:03.52 which she accomplished last summer. Her twin sister Camile is one of two Illini entries in the 400m hurdles and is currently fifth in the event with her time of 58.21. Junior Natalie Young is Illinois' other 400m hurdler and is coming off a third place finish at the Big Ten meet, despite not running the event since her freshman season.
The Robinson's also comprise two of the four legs of the Illini's sixth-ranked 4x400m relay team, joining Pickett and Yvonne Mensah on the team that won the Big Ten title in a season-best time of 3:37.53. Pickett and Mensah are also members of the 4x100m team, with Tiara Armstrong and LaNeisha Waller and come in with a top time of 44.96.
Waller is the Illini's top-ranked participant in the 100m hurdles, coming in with a time of 13.80 while freshman Tiffany Nesfield has run 13.88 and is coming off a third place showing at the Big Ten meet. Mensah will be the Illini representative in the 100m and 200m as well as competing in the relays.
Complete meet results can be found at www.iuhoosiers.com with results updated following each race.
