Jan. 12, 2009
A new era of Illinois women's track and field begins in 2009, after former head coach Gary Winckler retired last season following 23 years of coaching the Illini. Don't expect the Orange and Blue to take a step backward, however, as new head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey has a group of talented and diverse athletes that should have the Illini poised to remain near the top of the Big Ten and continue their success on the national stage.
"We're always looking to score high at the conference meets and finish well at the Big Ten Championships," Buford-Bailey said. "We definitely have a good enough group to do that. Across the board we have a pretty balanced team, which is one of the key factors in having success at the conference level."
That balance comes from having the bulk of last year's squad returning that was fourth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and fifth at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. Illinois has five All-Americans, two Big Ten champions and six NCAA Championships qualifiers coming back, as well as a number of athletes who scored points at the Big Ten meets.
The graduation of Big Ten champions and NCAA qualifiers Tiara Armstrong (sprints) and LaNeisha Waller (hurdles/sprints) leave some holes in the Illini lineup, but Buford-Bailey has a group of highly-touted freshmen that should help to fill some of the void in the sprints and hurdles.
"We lost two of our top performers from last season, but we have a great group of freshmen," Buford-Bailey said. "We focused on brining people in who could do multiple events, and we brought in some 400m and 400m hurdles runners as well as more sprinters to make up for our losses."
Illinois boasts some of the top distance runners in the country, led by junior and five-time All-American Angela Bizzarri, who will be gunning for her first career Big Ten title. The Illini also return all of their top field event athletes, highlighted by All-American and Big Ten champion Aja Evans. The combination of seasoned upperclassmen and talented newcomers across the event domains point toward a strong 2009 season for Illinois track and field.
"This team is still young, but it is a very solid group," Buford-Bailey said. "We have a good sprint/hurdles/relays crew, great distance athletes and strong field event athletes. Heading into our conference meets we should be in good shape."
SPRINTS
Senior Omoye Ugiagbe leads the way for Illinois' sprinting corps, as the only experienced upperclassman in what is otherwise a young group. Ugiagbe has scored in the 400m at five Big Ten Championships and earned All-America accolades during the 2008 indoor season after running the 400m leg of the distance medley relay that was sixth at the NCAA Championships. She was running the fastest of her career last outdoor season before being hampered by a hamstring injury. This year, she is back healthy and prepared for her best season yet, running the 200m, 400m and possibly anchoring both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
"I'm expecting Omoye to have her best season," Buford-Bailey said. "She was on her way to having her best season last year before she was injured. She has been working really hard this fall and has her goals for the year set."
Sophomores Melissa Bates, Cheria Morgan and Tamika Robinson all return after having successful freshmen seasons for the Illini. Bates scored in the 200m at last year's Big Ten Outdoor Championships and should be a factor in the 400m this season as well, along with being a staple on the 4x400m relay. Morgan is Illinois' top returning short sprinter, after scoring in the 60m at the conference indoor championships and running the third leg of the 4x100m relay that nearly qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Robinson came on as a top sprinter during the outdoor season as the anchor of the 4x100m relay. This year, she will continue to sprint, but will focus mainly on the 60m and 100m hurdles.
"Melissa Bates looks outstanding in training," Buford-Bailey said. "She is really coming into her own as a sophomore and I expect some big things happening for her. Cheria had a strong developmental year last season and ran some PR's. She's much more focused this year and is more dedicated in her training, so we expect her to take a step up. Tamika was a great surprise last year after coming on the team as a triple jumper. We were trying to figure out what area was best for her, and I think we finally did that."
Freshmen Ryisha Boyd and Ashley Kelly will be called upon to make an immediate impact in their debut seasons. Boyd is one of the most versatile runners of the team, with range from the short sprints to the 800m. Kelly will help the Illini from the 60m up to the 400m, boasting a high school personal-best 400m time of 54.69 and having international experience in qualifying for the 2008 World Junior Championships. Junior Aja Evans, the Illini's All-American shot putter, is another athlete to watch as she could contribute in the short sprints and on the 4x100m relay.
The Illini have traditionally been strong in the relays, and will look to duplicate last season's 4x100m success as the squad finished third at the Big Ten Championships and earned All-Mideast Region honors. The 4x400m relay could potentially be a national-caliber squad as well, with a core of Bates, Boyd, Kelly, Ugiagbe and transfer Deserea Brown.
HURDLES
Illinois has been one of the top hurdling schools in the Big Ten under the direction of Buford-Bailey, who is an Olympic bronze medalist in the 400m hurdles. This year's Illini hurdling group could be the strongest and deepest in the conference, especially during the outdoor season.
Briana Cunningham, the reigning 400m hurdles Big Ten champion, is back for her fifth season after competing in her signature event at the NCAA Championships in 2008. She will be looking to repeat last season's feats in her final year and earn All-America honors, but should have some healthy competition from some of her teammates. Senior Deserea Brown transferred to Illinois this season from SIU-Edwardsville, where she earned two Division II national titles and 16 All-America accolades. Brown has a 400m hurdles personal-best of 56.82, and participated in the event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where she advanced to the semifinal.
"Not only are we expecting big things from Deserea on the Big Ten level, but also on the national level," Buford-Bailey said.
A pair of freshmen in Latoya Griffith and Jayla McArthur are also working at the 400m hurdles and could play significant roles for the Illini as they continue to learn the event. Griffish has international experience in the 400m hurdles, running for Barbados at the 2008 World Junior Championships.
Senior Nikkita Holder takes over from the graduated LaNeisha Waller as Illinois' top short hurdler. Holder came on strong last outdoor season, taking fifth in the 100m hurdles at the Big Ten Championships with a personal-best time of 13.42 and competing in the event at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships for the second consecutive year. Sophomores Jessica Penney and Tamika Robinson both competed in the hurdles at both conference meets last season, and should take major strides in the event during their second season. Freshman Alexandria Smith will also train in the short hurdles, along with Brown and Alecia Beckford-Stewart.
MIDDLE DISTANCE
Illinois graduated its top 800m runner from last season in Rachel Hernandez, but still should be stronger this season in the middle distance events with the addition of some freshmen talent. Ryisha Boyd and Latoya Griffith will run the 600m indoor, and either could take Hernandez's place running the 800m in the All-American distance medley relay. Griffith has plenty of experience in the middle distances in competing in the 800m at the Carifta Games. Illinois returns junior Jamie Brusa, who has competed in the 800m at the Big Ten Championships for the past two seasons, and sophomore Shannon Phelan, who can also run the 800m.
DISTANCE
Distance coach Jeremy Rasmussen has led the Illini to becoming one of the strongest distance groups in the Big Ten, as he has helped the Orange and Blue carry their top-10 national cross country program into success on the track.
Junior Angela Bizzarri had a fantastic 2008 track season, capped at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where she set a school record in the 5,000m with a personal-best time of 15:45.78. Bizzarri was runner-up in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as well as NCAA Mideast Regional champion and Big Ten runner-up. This year, she will try for her first Big Ten individual title as well as repeat All-America accolades. Bizzarri will also run the 1,500m outdoor, where she has scored at the Big Ten Championships and has the second-fastest time in Illinois history. Indoor, Bizzarri will run anything from the mile to the 5,000m while anchoring the Illini All-American distance medley relay.
"It's hard to go anywhere after being national runner-up," Rasmussen said of Bizzarri. "For her to duplicate what she did last year would be a huge success. We still want her to run better and run faster, and she is very capable of doing that."
Illinois has a pair of NCAA qualifiers returning in the 3,000m steeplechase in sophomores Danelle Woods and Chantelle Groenewould, who finished first and second last year at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. Both will seek return trips to nationals as well as improving on their Big Ten placings, where Woods took third. Illinois returns a third regional qualifier in the steeplechase in sophomore Taylor Bennett, who redshirted last year but will be back competing in 2009.
Woods is coming off of a redshirt cross country season, but should be ready for indoor track where she ran the 1,200m leg of the record-setting distance medley relay last year.
"Danelle learned quite a bit from last year's track season," Rasmussen said. "Not only about the steeplechase, but about being a collegiate runner. Both her and Chantelle should be able to take what they learned and be more successful than they were last year."
Junior Katie Engel is coming off the best cross country season of her career, earning All-America honors. An 800m runner in the past, Engel will run longer distances this track season in an attempt to keep her injury-free. She has competed in the 1,500m at the regional championships for the past two seasons, also running the event at the 2008 Canadian Track & Field Championships. She could potentially run the 3,000m and 5,000m this season for the first time in her career.
Freshman Kristin Sutherland also looks to contribute in the distance events as a possible Big Ten scorer, as she was Illinois' third runner most of the cross country season and has a personal-best high school 3,200m time of 10:31. On the track, she will run the 3,000m and 5,000m. Other Illini who should add depth in the distance events are juniors Stephanie Baliga, Elizabeth Boyle and Theresa Brokaw, all who have had cross country success.
JUMPS
New Zealand native Jessica Penney is expected to take major strides in the long jump during her sophomore season, after competing in the event at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships and scoring during both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten Championships. Penney boasts a personal-best long jump of 20-10 3/4 from high school, and will look to duplicate that success and become a national qualifier.
"Jessica brings a lot of high-level experience right off the bat," field coach Mike Erb said. "Freshmen seasons are tough anyway, and she moved halfway across the country. I think she is going to do some really, really big things this year. She is as talented a long jumper as anyone in the Big Ten and can also be a player on the national level."
Illinois adds a talented high jumper in freshman Kendall McCaugherty. A three-time West Virginia state champion, McCaugherty has a personal-best jump of 5-9 and has competed at the USATF Youth Outdoor National Championships and USA Junior National Championships.
"Kendall was one of the best high school high jumpers in the country," Erb said. "She certainly has potential to be a player at the Big Ten level right out of the gate. If she just does what she did in high school last year she'll definitely score some points for us."
Sprinter Melissa Bates will also triple jump, as will freshman Alexandria Smith who is the 2008 Illinois state champion in the event. Joining Penney in the long jump will be freshmen Ryisha Boyd and Jayla McArthur as well as junior multi-event athlete Alecia Beckford-Stewart, who had Illinois' top long jump during the 2008 indoor season. Beckford-Stewart is also a threat in the high jump, having scored in the event at past Big Ten Championships.
THROWS
Junior Aja Evans had a memorable 2008 season in the shot put, setting a number of milestones. Evans earned All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and was the outdoor Big Ten champion, setting a championships meet record. She also set Illinois school shot put records in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, with a personal-best distance of 55-10 1/2. She will go for more All-America honors in 2008, and attempt to win Big Ten indoor and outdoor shot put titles while also contributing in the short sprints.
"Aja set the bar pretty high for herself last year and probably surprised herself a little bit," Erb said. "I expect her to continue to improve this year. Her training is going great. Last year was the first time she was really throwing big, and she definitely hasn't had her biggest throw yet. She's so explosive, fast and athletic that we are looking to see how else she can contribute to the team."
POLE VAULT
Senior Jackie Ziegler returns in the pole vault, sharing Illinois' outdoor school record in the event and qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in 2007. Last year, she had a personal-best mark of 12-7 1/2 set at the Carle/Health Alliance Invitational. Ziegler will look to score at the Big Ten Championships, which she last did at the 2007 outdoor meet. Also competing in the pole vault this year is freshman Kaitlin Vicari.
MULTI-EVENTS
Junior Alecia Beckford-Stewart is coming off a big summer in the heptathlon, where she represented Canada at the NACAC U-23 Championships and was fourth at the Canadian Track & Field Championships with a personal-best point total of 5,210. She has scored in either the pentathlon or heptathlon at every Big Ten Championships she has competed in, most recently placing fifth at the 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
"Alecia has always been consistent," Erb said. "She knows the event, is a smart athlete, works really hard and sets high goals. We're looking for this to be her breakout season. Big improvements in the multi-events come from little improvements in every event. If she does that, she could definitely be a national qualifier."
