University of Illinois
Illinois Twilight
@IlliniWTrack Primed for Twilight Meet
April 22, 2016 | Women's Track & Field
Coach Garner Set to Honor Five Seniors
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – For the first time in over two months, the Fighting Illini Women's Track & Field compete at home this weekend, hosting the Illinois Twilight meet this Saturday afternoon and evening. The meet will begin with throwing events at noon, followed by jumping events at 4 p.m. and track events at 4 p.m. In addition to the collegiate races, the meet will include wheelchair competitions in the 100m, 200m and 400m that features some of the best Paralympic athletes in the world.
| Illinois Twilight | |
|---|---|
| When | Saturday, April 23 // Throws: 12 p.m. // Field: 4 p.m. // Track: 4 p.m. |
| Where | Champaign, Illinois // Illinois Track Stadium |
| Live Links | Live Results |
| Meet Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Meet Notes |
Senior Day
Head Coach Ron Garner will recognize five graduating seniors this Saturday. The ceremony is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. before the start of the meet's track events.
Distance: Britten Petrey, Lindsey Rakosnik
Sprints/Hurdles: Kymbriona Taylor, Lateshia Dove
Field: Jennifer DeBellis
COMPETITIONS TO WATCH
100m Hurdles: During the indoor season, the Illini relied on a formidable trio of Pedrya Seymour, Kortni Smyers-Jones and Jayla Stewart. However, the three have yet to compete on the same weeekend during the outdoor season for various reasons, including Seymour missing time to compete at World Championships. This weekend's Illinois Twilight sets up to be the first time all three have competed at the same meet since Big Ten Indoor Championships. With the group's eyes set on making a splash at Big Ten Championships, this will be the first taste of what the three hurdlers are capable of.
200m: At the beginning of the season Janile Rogers spoke of wanting to clock a sub-24.00 time in the event by the end of the season. At Central Florida, the Illini sprinter took another step towards reaching that goal with a 24.14 personal-record. Running on her home track this weekend, Rogers will look to improve upon her 24.14 PR.
4x100m: The relay group has made steady progress in each of the last three meets. The first two weekends saw the quartet better their time from the week prior. During the last two meets, the Illini's 4x100m group has earned an event title at EIU and then set a new season-best time at Central Florida, clocking in at 45.30. Comprised of two true freshmen, a red-shirt freshman and a senior, the quartet will look to drop that time again this weekend in front of the Illini faithful.
Pole Vault: After battling some rougher conditions in the opening weeks of the outdoor season, sophomore Sara McKeeman broke through at Central Florida two weeks ago with an outdoor personal-best mark of 13"1.5" (4.00m). The mark fell just shy of her indoor record that she set two months ago at Big Ten Championships. This weekend's competition will provide another opportunity for McKeeman to take another step forward as she looks to score points at the Big Ten meet for the first time in her career.
Wheelchair Races: Yen Hoang, Jill Moore, Jessica Rogers, and Kelsey LeFevour each competed for the U.S. National team at the 2015 World Championships. Hannah McFadden represented the U.S. at the 2015 World Championships and won the bronze medal in the 100m and 200m.
NEXT UP
The Fighting Illini will compete in the highly contested Drake Relays next weekend as they begin to make their final tune-ups for next month's Big Ten Championships.
ILLINI NOTES
Five Individual Titles Highlight UCF Dual
In a rare dual format, the Fighting Illini took home event crowns in the 100m hurdles, high jump, pole vault, 3,000m steeplechase and triple jump. In addition to the five event victories, the Illini also set multiple personal-records with Sara McKeeman (pole vault), Janile Rogers (200m) and Valerie Bobart each recording their best outdoor marks of their careers.
Three Illini Blow Away the Field at EIU Big Blue Classic
On a weekend that saw wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, three Illini overcame the conditions to earn victories in their respective events. The top Illini performance came in the 100m hurdles where Jayla Stewart and Kortni Smyers-Jones finished 1-2 in the prelims and finals, each clocking new personal-best times in the process. In addition to their success, Kandie Bloch-Jones won the high jump and the 4x100m realy team picked up their first victory of the season.
Seven Top-5 Finishes at Vandy for Illini
In the second meet of the outdoor season, the Orange & Blue were led on the track by Kymbriona Taylor and hurdlers Jayla Stewart and Kortni Smyers-Jones. Taylor posted the top collegiate time in the 100m dash (11.95), while Stewart and Smyers-Jones both improved upon their times from the previous weekend to placed third and fourth overall. Coach Garner's squad also improved upon their 4x100m relay time, edging out their Baldy Castillo time with a 45.62 mark. Jennifer DeBellis had the top field performance, marking 12'7.5" (3.95m) in the pole vault.
Bobart and Rogers Lead Illini in Outdoor Opener
Sophomore Valerie Bobart cut the tape on the outdoor season with style as she won the team's first event of the campaign with a 10:48.2 time in the 3,000m steeplechase on Friday night. The next day, Janile Rogers led the way with personal-record times in the 100m and 200m. Joining her were strong hurdle performances from Jayla Stewart and Kortni Smyers-Jones, placing second and fourth in the 100m hurdles respectively.
Seymour Posts Personal-record time at Indoor Worlds, Places 11th
A week after competing at NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, Pedrya Seymour flew across the country to compete in the IAAF Indoor World Championships in Portland, Oregon. Once there, the Illini red-shirt sophomore set a new personal-record time in the 60m hurdles with a 8.15 clip that placed her 11th overall in the field.
Bloch-Jones & Seymour Compete at NCAA Championships
Pedrya Seymour started the weekend off with a 8.19 time in the 60m hurdles semifinals, but failed to qualify for the final with her 13th-place finish overall. On Saturday, Kandie Bloch-Jones finished tied for 12th in the high jump with a mark of 5'11.25" (1.76m).
Pedrya Seymour Selected for Indoor World Championships
Nassau, Bahamas native Pedrya Seymour was chosen to represent her country in the upcoming Indoor World Championships in Portland, Oregon on March 18 & 19. The Illini red-shirt sophomore has significantly improved her time in the 60m hurdles this season, posting a career-best time at Big Ten Championships (8.16) to finish third. She is set to race in the 60m hurdles on March 18.
Bloch-Jones, Seymour, & Choquette with Podium Finishes at Indoor B1G
The 2016 edition of Big Ten Indoor Championships concluded with a trio of Illini marking podium finishes in their event final. Kandie Bloch-Jones started things off in the morning in the high jump, followed by Nicole Choquette in the 800m, and concluded by Pedrya Seymour in the 60m hurdles.
