University of Illinois
Iowa State Cyclone Classic
@IlliniWTrack Heads to Iowa State Classic
February 11, 2016 | Women's Track & Field
Meet Features 11 Ranked Teams
| Iowa State Classic | |
|---|---|
| When | Feb. 12-13 |
| Where | Ames, Iowa // Lied Recreation Center |
| Live Links | Live Stats |
| 2015-16 Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Meet Notes |
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – The Orange and Blue wrap up the road portion of their indoor schedule with the Iowa State Classic this Friday and Saturday. The meet is set to begin at 11 a.m. on Friday with field events, while track events start at 1 p.m. On Saturday, the meet concludes with track events starting at 10 a.m. and field events continuing at noon.
Follow Live Stats
Live results can be found at Delta Timing: http://www.deltatiming.com/results.aspx (link not available yet).
Last Year at Iowa State
The Illini recorded seven top-10 finishes, four personal bests and one of the top performances in Illinois history last year in Ames, including event victories from former Illini Stephanie Richartz and Breeana Coleman. Current Illini Nicole Choquette placed 12th in the 800m, while Jennifer DeBellis cleared 12-10 (3.91m) in the pole vault.
Competitions to Watch
60m Hurdles: Illinois' leading hurdlers Pedrya Seymour (8.38) and Jayla Stewart (8.40) will compete against elite competition this weekend with five of the top-10 times set to compete against each other. Purdue's Devynne Charlton leads the list with an 8.08 time that currently ranks fourth in the NCAA. Charlton is joined by Kaila Barber (8.14), Payton Stumbach (8.16), and Taliyah Ross-Ransom and Taliyah Brooks (8.18). Prelims begin at noon on Friday with finals at 2:20.
High Jump: Illinois' Kandie Bloch-Jones is tied for the nation's 11th-best mark thus far with a 6-0 (1.83m) clearance at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet back in January. This weekend she will face off against five jumpers that have either matched or exceed her 6-0 mark. The field is led by Georgia's set of three jumpers who each have cleared 6-0 or higher. Kendall Williams and Chanice Porter lead the way with a 6-1 1/4 mark that is tied for second in the nation. The event is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Friday.
400m: Pedrya Seymour will make her season debut in the event this weekend. The sophomore has focused primarily on the 60m hurdles prior to this weekend, posting a team-leading 8.38 time in the event. The event is led by Taylor Ellis-Watson of Arkansas (52.26) and Notre Dame's Margaret Ramgbose (52.52). The race is set to start at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday.
800m: Coming off an impressive back-to-back 600m-800m performance at the Meyo Invite last weekend, Nicole Choquette will once again compete against some of the best competition in one of her events this weekend. Georgetown's Sabrina Southerland leads the field with her NCAA-best time of 2:03.10. Four of the other top-10 times in the NCAA will also be at the meet this weekend. The event is set to start at 3:50 on Saturday afternoon.
60m: Simiarly to last week in Lincoln, the Fighting Illini hurdlers will be up against stiff competition this weekend in Ames. The list of competitors includes 10 of the nation's top-30 times, including four in the top-10. The favorite this weekend will be Shayla Sanders of Florida who currently holds the nation's fastest mark at 7.17. Sanders is trailed by Mikiah Brisco (LSU), Javianne Oliver (Kentucky), and Kate Hall (Iowa State). The prelims will take place at 11:15 on Saturday morning, followed by the final at 1 p.m.
Next Week
The Fighting Illini will have their final regular season tune up of the season when they host the Orange and Blue Open next Saturday, February 20 at the UI Armory.
Illini Notes
Illini on the National Scene
In the high jump, junior Kandie Bloch-Jones moved up to a tie for 11th in the nation with her personal-record mark of 6-0 (1.83m) at the Rod McCravy meet two weekends ago. Nicole Choquette set the fifth-fastest 600m time in the NCAA at the Meyo Invite, while freshman Morgan Schulz had a 600m time of 1:32.63 to put her 31sst in the country. Pedrya Seymour stakes claim to the 47th-best mark in the country for the 60m hurdles with an 8.39 time to win the event at the Illini Classic, while freshman Jayla Stewart is 53rd in the nation (8.40).
B1G Faces - Kandie Bloch-Jones Reaches New Heights
During the offseason, Kandie Bloch-Jones was chosen as one of the Big Ten Network's Faces of Illinois, making a commercial spot that will air throughout the spring on the conference network. The junior has started off 2016 with reason to believe she can compete with the nation's elite. After winning the high jump back-to-back times to begin the season, Bloch-Jones cleared 6-0 (1.83m), besting a three-time national champion, at the Rod McCravy meet to finish second. Her mark currently sits in a tie for 9th nationally.
Bloch-Jones is coming off of a top-20 finish at NCAA Championships in 2015 and holds the third-best high jump mark in school history. As a freshman, the Argenta, Illinois native won the high jump title at Big Ten Indoor Championships and earned Second Team All-America honors at the NCAA meet. Last season, Bloch-Jones placed fourth at Big Ten Indoor Championships and had her best jump of her career (1.84m) at the Rankin Invite.
Orange and Blue See More Out of Seymour
Early returns from Pedrya Seymour have already to shown significant growth from last season. The Nassau, Bahamas sophomore has won the 60m hurdles in each of the first two home meets this season, setting personal-record times each weekend, including her 6.38 mark in the Illini Classic. Sprints and hurdles coach Randy Gillon applauded her start to the season and believes she can become a reliable asset to the team at Big Ten Championships and beyond.
Freshman Five Bring PRomise
The 2015-16 freshmen class brings promise to Coach Garner's program, as they enter the program after racking up accolades in high school. Jayla Stewart leads the group as a five-time All-American in track and was the Hershey National Champion in the 100m hurdles. Joining her is Emone Davis, an All-American in the 4x100m and holds Danville High School records in four events. In field events, Mother McAuley standout Briana Driver who was the 2015 indoor and outdoor conference long jump champion. Sade Hargrove is the lone freshman from outside the state lines, but brings with her the 2014 Virginia state championship in the long jump, while also wining 4A South Conference championships in the 55m, 100, 200m, 300m, and long jump. Rounding out the class are standouts in distance events is Cary-Grove's Morgan Schulz. Schulz won the 2015 800m state title and holds school records in the 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, and 800m.
2015-16 Headlines
Choquette Shines at Meyo Invite
Nicole Choquette highlighted the weekend for the Illini with a personal-record time in the 800m, while finishing second in both the 600m and 800m. The 600m time was just shy of her Big Ten Championship time last February, moving her into fifth place in the NCAA.
Orange and Blue Win Illini Classic
For the second week in a row, the Orange and Blue rode veteran performances, combined with youthful progression, to a team victory. The Illini used four event titles, two in field events and two on the track, to pace the team to 142 points, besting second-place Western Michigan by 33 points. Pedrya Seymour was the top performer again for the Illini with another personal-record in the 60m hurdles, this time with a 6.38 time. Lindsey Rakosnik (600m), Jenn DeBellis (pole vault) and Janile Rogers (long jump) each earned event wins to round out the team's four on the day.
Illini Sweep Border Battle
After splitting the Border Battle last year on the campus of the University of Iowa, the Orange and Blue were able to sweep the competition this afternoon at the UI Armory. The Fighting Illini beat Missouri by a score of 75-65, while edging out the Hawkeyes 68-67. The Illini were led by five event titles: Kandie Bloch-Jones (HJ), Jenn DeBellis (PV), Briana Driver (LJ), Nicole Choquette (800m), and Pedrya Seymour (60m H).
Bloch-Jones Garners Early Season Awards
After qualifying for 2015 NCAA Championships last season, placing 20th, Kandie Bloch-Jones has jumped out to a fast start in 2015-16 with a high jump mark that broke the Early Bird meet record. The performance earned her accolades from the Big Ten office and the University of Illinois. Bloch-Jones was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week on December 16, and shortly after was named the University of Illinois Scholar Athlete of the Week.
Illini Earn Six Event Titles at Early Bird
The Illini earned six event crowns over the course of the season's opening evening as the team scored 108 points to place second. In the field, Bloch-Jones (high jump) and Rogers (long jump) won titles outright, while Jenn DeBellis and Sara McKeeman shared the pole vault crown. On the track, Jasmine Berry (400m), Smyers-Jones (60m Hurdles), and the 4x400m relay team of Berry, Choquette, Marry, and Schulz took home titles.
