Full Results
GENEVA, OHIO. – The Fighting Illini completed day one of the two-day Big Ten Indoor meet this afternoon at the Spire Institute. The Orange and Blue were led by junior Nicole Choquette and sophomore Pedrya Seymour, both of whom qualified for the final of their event tomorrow.
In the team's strongest event of the season so far, the Illini showed well again in the 60m hurdles. Pedrya Seymour qualified for her first career Big Ten Championships final with an 8.31 qualifying time that was best in her heat.
"She's done an excellent job," explained Head Coach Ron Garner. "She continues to develop; she's replicating executions and she's ready for another break through."
A Big Ten Champion during the indoor season last year, Nicole Choquette will once again compete for a Big Ten title tomorrow, this time in the 800m. Choquette finished her prelim race in 2:07.46 to place second in the heat. The second-place finish earned her an automatic bid to tomorrow's 1:20 p.m. CT final. Also competing in the event was senior Lindsey Rakosnik, finishing in 2:09.64.
"She's smart," said Garner. "She did what she needed to do to get to the finals. And, as always, she'll be ready to go for a shot at the title."
For the third straight meet in a row, sophomore Sara McKeeman recorded a personal-best clearance in the pole vault. After marking 12-71/2 at Notre Dame and 13-01/4 at the Orange & Blue Open, she cleared 13-13/4 this afternoon to finish ninth overall. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native is currently third on the Illinois all-time list.
"It was nice to see, before she even vaulted, how she walked, how she was moving around and communicating with Bryan [Carrel}," explained Garner. "We knew there was a little bop in her step, and that she was going to do well. This is a good breakthrough for her. Taking this into the outdoor season will be a positive thing."
In the 60m dash, Kymbriona Taylor tied her personal=best mark with a time of 7.57, while Sade Hargrove made her Big Ten Championships debut with at time 7.59. Like Taylor, Hargrove's time matched her personal-record set last weekend at the Orange & Blue Open.
Rounding out the sprint events, was the 200m dash. Kymbriona Taylor clocked a time of 24.63, a new personal-record for the senior, to finish third in heat three. Following Taylor was freshman Sade Hargrove who also placed third in her heat with a finishing time of 24.78.
Denise Branch and Valerie Bobart started off the meet for the Illini in the unseeded 3,000m run. Branch clocked a personal-record time in the event with a 9:47.93 mark, over ten seconds off her previous best. Bobart placed 12th with a time of 10:04.8. Later in the day, Hanna Winter finished with a time of … in the seeded section of the 3,000m.
Up Next:
Big Ten Championships conclude tomorrow, beginning at 9 a.m. Highlighting day two will be Kandie Bloch-Jones will be in the mix for the Big Ten title tomorrow in the high jump at 1 p.m., while Pedrya Seymour takes aim at the 60m hurdle title at 1:40 p.m. central time.
Top Illinois Results:
800m:
4. Nicole Choquette – 2:07.46Q
10. Lindsey Rakosnik – 2:09.64
60m Hurdles:
3. Pedrya Seymour – 8.31Q
12. Jayla Stewart – 8.48
13. Kortni Smyers-Jones – 8.49
Pole Vault:
9. Sara McKeeman – 13-13/4 (4.01m)
