April 29, 2011
Drake Relays Friday Results 
DES MOINES, Iowa - On Friday at the Drake Relays, senior Tamika Robinson anchored the 4x100m relay to the fastest prelim time in the morning and qualified individually for the 100m hurdles final while the 4x400m relay also advanced to Saturday's event final along with junior Ashley Kelly moving on in the 100m dash. In the 4x200m relay final, the team of sophomore Kayla Smith, senior Cheria Morgan, senior Melissa Bates and junior Ryisha Boyd placed third with the seventh-fastest time in school history (1:35.97).
"We had a really good day overall," head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said. "The 4x100m relay had a breakthrough race and came in with a different mentality. They understood how important it was to run fast and really represented Illinois well. Our 4x200m relay also had an awesome race today. Cheria Morgan was a star in that event and really stepped up for us."
The quartet of Morgan, Kelly, Smith and Robinson clocked a season-best mark of 44.79, giving them the top seed time for the event final on Saturday among the eight qualifiers. Robinson timed 13.94 in the 100m hurdles while Kelly ran 12.12 in the 100m dash against strong headwinds, as both filled the eighth and final qualifying spots in their respective events. Robinson also just missed the 100m dash final by two spots after finishing 10th with a time of 12.15.
In the prelims of the 4x400m relay, Boyd, Bates, Kelly and junior Latoya Griffith combined for a time of 3:37.79, which was fifth-fastest on the afternoon, as the Illini advanced to race in the final event of the meet on Saturday. Illinois also had a pair of freshmen in action in the 800m, with Samantha Murphy (2:09.19) and Amanda Duvendack (2:09.36) placing sixth and seventh, respectively, with season-best times.
The Illini will be back in action on Saturday morning in the 8K road race before competing in six event finals. The remaining schedule of Illini action at the Drake Relays can be found below. Live results are linked on fightingillini.com, and the meet will be streamed live on www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com for a subscription fee.
Friday Results at the Drake Relays
Q/q = qualified for Saturday's event final
100m (Prelims)
8. Ashley Kelly 12.12 q
10. Tamika Robinson 12.15
15. Kayla Smith 12.32
19. Cheria Morgan 12.43
800m FINAL
6. Samantha Murphy 2:09.19
7. Amanda Duvendack 2:09.36
100m Hurdles (Prelims)
8. Tamika Robinson 13.94 q
4x100m Relay (Prelims)
1. Illinois 44.79 Q
(Cheria Morgan, Ashley Kelly, Kayla Smith, Tamika Robinson)
4x200m Relay FINAL
3. Illinois 1:35.97
(Kayla Smith, Cheria Morgan, Melissa Bates, Ryisha Boyd)
4x400m Relay (Prelims)
5. Illinois 3:37.79 q
(Ryisha Boyd, Melissa Bates, Ashley Kelly, Latoya Griffith)
Illinois Schedule at the Drake Relays
Saturday, April 30
8 a.m.....8K Road Race (Elizabeth Boyle, Courtney Yaeger)
11:20 a.m.......3,000m Steeplechase FINAL (Madeline Aufmann, Chantelle Groenewoud, Amber Stack)
1:39 p.m.......400m Hurdles FINAL (Latoya Griffith)
2:35 p.m.......100m Hurdles FINAL (Tamika Robinson)
4:17 p.m.......4x100m Relay FINAL (Cheria Morgan, Ashley Kelly, Kayla Smith, Tamika Robinson)
4:37 p.m.......1,500m Seeded FINAL (Stephanie Morgan)
5:32 p.m.......4x400m Relay FINAL (Ryisha Boyd, Melissa Bates, Ashley Kelly, Latoya Griffith)
