University of Illinois
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Illinois Looks to Continue Building on Late-Season Success at Big Ten Championships
May 12, 2015 | Women's Track & Field
Orange and Blue coming off best all-around performance of the season
MEET PREVIEW
The Fighting Illini women's track and field team heads to East Lansing, Michigan from May 15-17 for the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Orange and Blue will be looking to build on their 10th-place finish at the indoor championships as they head into the meet following one of their best all-around performances of the season at the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational on May 2. Competition will take place at Michigan State's Ralph Young Track and Field.
The meet begins Friday, May 15 at 12:15 p.m. ET with the start of the heptathlon followed by the field events beginning at 1:30 p.m. Finals for the pole vault, hammer throw and 10,000m will all be held on Friday. The discus, long jump and javelin finals will take place on Saturday, May 16 with running event trials beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. Running finals are set for Sunday, May 17 along with the triple jump, high jump and shot put and finals.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniWTrackXC) for the latest updates on the team. Heat sheets and live results for the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships can be found on the Championships Central Page on MSUSpartans.com.
The Big Ten Network will televise the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships on tape-delay on Sunday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
ILLINOIS AT THE BIG TEN OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Illinois has won a total of six outdoor team titles, with the most recent coming in 2007.
The Fighting Illini women's track and field team placed 11th at the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The Orange and Blue totaled 21 points over the weekend, with eight of those points coming from Kandie Bloch-Jones, who finished runner-up in the high jump.
RETURNING SCORERS FROM 2014 BIG TEN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Kandie Bloch-Jones - High Jump (2nd - 1.76m)
Alyssa Schneider - 10,000m (5th - 34:23.64)
A LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND'S COMPETITION
The Big Ten boasts just one team ranked in the top 25 of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Team Computer Rankings. Michigan State is ranked No. 14, while defending outdoor champion Penn State and defending indoor champion Ohio State are both unranked.
ILLINI TO WATCH
Kandie Bloch-Jones (So., Argenta-Oreana, Ill.)
Last year's runner-up in the outdoor high jump, Bloch-Jones enters the 2015 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships coming off a career-best performance. She cleared 1.84m (6' 0.5") at the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational on May 2, tying her for second on Illinois' all-time list and placing her third in the conference this season. She has won three of her last four high jump competitions and four of seven on the year.
Nicole Choquette (So., Urbana, Ill.)
The 600m champion of the 2015 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships, Choquette will again be a contender for a Big Ten title, this time in the 800m. Choquette moved into seventh on Illinois' all-time top-10 list with a 2:06.70 performance at the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational on May 2. She has finished in the top four of every middle-distance event she has competed in this season.
Breeana Coleman (Sr., Olathe, Kan.)
A four-time All-Big Ten performer in her career, Coleman will be looking to add to that total in her final Big Ten Track and Field Championships. She enters the weekend with the third-fastest time in the conference in the 100m hurdles (13.38). She ran her two-best races of the season at the Ranking/Poehlein Invitational on May 2.
Jennifer DeBellis (Jr., Vancouver, Wash.)
DeBellis is another Illini who is performing her best as the team enters championship season. She has posted a personal record in each of the last three meets. She enters the Big Ten Championships ranked eighth in the conference in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.06m (13' 3.75"), the second-best leap in the history of Illinois pole vaulting.
Amanda Duvendack (Sr., Metamora, Ill.)
After not competing during the indoor campaign, Duvendack has been a major contributor for the Illini during the outdoor portion of the schedule. She enters the weekend ranked seventh in the conference in the 800m (2:06.89) but has finished in the top three of every 800m competition she has competed in this season.
Stephanie Richartz (Sr., Island Lake, Ill.)
Arguably one of the best pole vaulters to come through the Big Ten, Richartz has an opportunity to cap her career with a fifth conference pole vault title. She won the event at this year's Big Ten Indoor Championships with a new conference and championships record. She enters this weekend's Outdoor Championships as the top seed, having cleared 4.36m (14' 3.5"). A clearance of that same mark would tie the Big Ten Outdoor Championships record, while a clearance of over 4.40m (14' 5.25") would be a new Big Ten outdoor conference record. Richartz has not lost a pole vault competition in over a month and has finished in the top two in every event this season.
Alyssa Schneider (Sr., Bartlett, Ill.)
One of the top distance runners in school history, Schneider will run the 5,000m and 10,000m at this weekend's championships. She enters the competitions ranked seventh in the conference in both the 5,000m (16:13.31). On Illinois' all-time lists, she is second in both the 5,000m (16:13.31) and 10,000m (34:23.64).
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini will have a week off before heading to Austin, Texas from May 28-30 for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
