May 11, 2007

Day 1 Results

University Park, Pa. - Today marked the first day of competition at the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Penn State University at the Nittany Lion Track. The schedule was light, with just three scored events in addition to the beginning of the heptathlon. Illinois started the meet strong, with four of its five athletes participating in the scored events recording personal bests.

The three Illini entrants in the pole vault came through with career performances, as all three vaulters tied the school's outdoor record of 12 feet, 5 ½ inches. Junior Amanda Pintaro finished fifth (4 pts) in setting her PR, topping her previous personal best by 5 ½ inches. Sophomore Jacqueline Ziegler placed seventh (2 pts) en route to a huge PR, improving her previous personal best by 11 ¾ inches. Junior Ashley Whittaker, meanwhile, tied her PR as well as the school record for the third straight meet, after previously vaulting 12-5 ½ at both the Kansas Relays and California Collegiate Challenge. Whittaker finished eighth (1 pt).

On the track, senior Stephanie Simms recorded a personal best in the 10,000-meter run. Simms finished seventh (2 pts) with a time of 35:34.56, which ranks as the fifth fastest performance in school history. Freshman Stephanie Baliga also competed in the 10,000m, finishing 14th at 37:37.54.

Illini freshman Alecia Beckford-Stewart participated in the first four events of the heptathlon today. She is currently in fifth place with a score of 3,060. Beckford-Stewart amassed those points after finishing fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.63), fourth in the high jump (5-4 ¼), fourth in the shot put (38-0 ¼) and sixth in the 200-meter dash (26.38).

Action continues at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships throughout the weekend. Saturday's schedule includes prelims, the completion of the heptathlon and four more event finals. The meet concludes Sunday with the remaining 13 event finals. Click here for live scoring throughout the Championships.

Big Ten Outdoor Championships - Day 1 Results
Pole Vault
5.   Amanda Pintaro       12-5 ½ (3.80m)    4 pts
7.   Jacqueline Ziegler   12-5 ½ (3.80m)    2 pts
8.   Ashley Whittaker     12-5 ½ (3.80m)    1 pt
10,000m Run
7.   Stephanie Simms      35:34.56    2 pts
14.  Stephanie Baliga     37:37.54
Heptathlon (after 4 of 7 events)
5.   Alecia Beckford-Stewart    3,060
R = NCAA Regional Qualifying Mark
Team Standings (after 3 scored events of 21)
1.   Minnesota       25
2.   Indiana         20
3.   Iowa            16
4.   Michigan        15
5.   Purdue          11
6.   Ohio State      10
7.   Illinois        9
8.   Wisconsin       5
9.   Penn State      4
10.  Michigan State  2