University of Illinois
Orange and Blue Open
@IlliniWTrack Hosts Orange & Blue Open Saturday
February 19, 2016 | Women's Track & Field
Field Events Begin at 9 a.m., Track at 12 p.m.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. –With Big Ten Championships only a week away, the Fighting Illini host one last tune up prior to next week's meet in Geneva. The Illini will play host to in-state schools Northwestern, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, and Western Illinois This weekend's Orange and Blue Open will begin with field events at 9 a.m., followed by track events at noon.
| Orange & Blue Open | |
|---|---|
| When | Feb. 20 // Field Events: 9 a.m. // Track Events: 12 p.m. |
| Where | Champaign, Ill. // UI Armory |
| Live Links | Live Stats |
| Meet Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Meet Notes | Meet Schedule & Heat Sheets |
LAST TIME OUT
For the second meet in a row, the Illini sent three hurdlers to the final of the 60m hurdles, led by Pedrya Seymour who cracked the school's top-10 list with her 8.27 time. Jayla Stewart and Kortni Smyers-Jones completed the trio. Elsewhere, Janile Rogers placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 19'0" (5.79m), while Sara McKeeman set a personal-best mark in the pole vault, a 12'91/2" (3.90m) clearance.
COMPETITIONS TO WATCH
60m Hurdles: A week after putting three Illini in the event final at Iowa State, Pedrya Seymour, Kortni Smyers-Jones, and Jayla Stewart will be back on the track for one final tune up prior to next weekend's Big Ten meet. With Seymour owning the nation's 22nd best mark and Stewart in the top-60, the trio will look to improve on those marks heading into Big Ten Championships next week.
High Jump: Illinois' Kandie Bloch-Jones is tied for the nation's 12th-best mark thus far with a 6-0 (1.83m) clearance at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet back in January. For the second time this season, Bloch-Jones will compete against Chennel Palmer of Northern Illinois. The Husker sophomore marked 5-93/4 (1.77m) back on January 16 at the Illini Classic, beating Bloch-Jones with less misses at 15-93/4. That mark is currently her best on the season, ranking 43rd nationally.
200m: Six Illini will be featured across the heats for this race, including five underclassmen. Freshmen Emone Davis and Briana Driver will look to gain more experience in the event, while Sade Hargrove is coming off a 24.72 time at the Iowa State Classic.
600m: After almost equalizing her Big Ten Championship-winning time from last season at this year's Meyo Invite two weeks ago, Nicole Choquette will look to fine tune her time this weekend ahead of next week's Big Ten Championships. Once there, her biggest competitor lies in Minnesota's Titania Markland who edged out Choquette at the Meyo Invite.
Long Jump: Janile Rogers is coming off the Iowa State Classic where she marked a career-best long jump mark of 19'0" (5.79m). Joining the sophomore in the event will be teammate Briana Driver. For Driver, her best mark came at the UI Armory back at the Border Battle where she set an 18'10" (5.74m). The duo will look to improve upon those marks with the Big Ten meet looming next weekend.
NEXT WEEK
The Fighting Illini will put their best against the best of the Big Ten at Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio. Competition begins Friday, February 26 and wraps up during the afternoon on Saturday, February 27.
ILLINI NOTES
ILLINI ON THE NATIONAL SCENE
In the high jump, junior Kandie Bloch-Jones moved up to a tie for 12th in the nation with her personal-record mark of 6-0 (1.83m) at the Rod McCravy meet. 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 38th in the country. Pedrya Seymour stakes claim to the 22nd-best mark in the country for the 60m hurdles with an 8.27 time to place second at the Iowa State Classic, while freshman Jayla Stewart is in the top-60 in the nation (8.40).
TRIO OF HURDLERS CONTINUE GROWTH, SHOW CONSISTENCY
At both the Meyo Invite and Iowa State Classic, the Fighting Illini have had three of the eight 60m hurdle finalists donning the Orange and Blue singlet. Sophomore Pedrya Seymour, freshman Jayla Stewart, and junior transfer Kortni Smyers-Jones have created a trio that has created a model of consistency for the team in recent weeks.
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.
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 12th 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. 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.
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 moved into 10th-place all-time on the Illinois indoor 60m hurdles list, an 8.27 time at the Iowa State Classic. Earlier in the season, Seymour won the 60m hurdles in each of the first two home meets this season, setting then personal-record times at both meets.
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).
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.
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.
