LEXINGTON, Ky. – Illinois high jumper Kandie Bloch-Jones won the Rod McCravy Memorial high jump competition on Friday (1/20) afternoon at the Nutter Fieldhouse. The reigning Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week cleared 5'11.25" (1.81m) on her second attempt to outlast the 20-competitior field and win her fourth high jump event title of the season.
"Kandie [Bloch-Jones] performed like the champion today," exclaimed Head Coach Ron Garner. "I am extremely proud of her personal fortitude and for the effort that she gave in the high jump. Winning this event at [Rod] McCravy isn't an easy task to start with several top national level competitors. But, tonight's significance was being able to actually jump. Kandie developed a pretty severe case of the flu the past several days and hasn't been able to consume many calories. She just rested and hydrated. Today showed her will to compete, beating a two-time Big Ten high jump champion, another six-foot jumper, and attempt to jump at a new personal record, school record and a meet record."
Bloch-Jones cleared five bars in the high jump competition to win the high jump competition; outlasting defending Big Ten champion Janae Moffitt (Purdue). The Illini senior missed just once on her way to clearing her first three heights.
With the bar raised to 5'10" (1.78m), Bloch-Jones missed on her first two attempts, but was able to successfully clear her fourth bar to stay alive.
Down to just three high jumpers at 5'11.25" (1.81m), all three competitors missed on their first attempt. After both Moffitt and Erika Voyzey (Miami) missed on their second attempt, Bloch-Jones cleared the bar on her second attempt. Bloch-Jones' clinched the event victory when Moffitt and Voyzey both missed on their third attempts.
For the second week in a row, Bloch-Jones attempted the Illinois school record, but fell short on each of her three attempts at 6'1.75" (1.86m).
I'm very pleased with the mindset that she's demonstrating," said Garner. "She's also jumped at our school record of 1.86m or better three times this season. Her mental and physical effort has been exceptional throughout."
Elsewhere in field events, long jumper Janile Rogers marked her best jump of the season to place fifth overall. The Illini junior leaped 18'8.75" (5.71m) on her fourth attempt of the afternoon, improving upon her previous jump of 18'4.5" (5.60m).
"Her effort looked better than her measured marks," said Garner of the Illini long jumper. "It was a solid performance, as she finished fifth out of 23 jumpers, and 10 of them had jumped over 20 feet coming in to the meet. It was a new runway and all of the jumpers struggled with establishing a consistent approach run and I was impressed with the way she handled herself."
On the track, freshman Kay Hylton clocked a season-best time of 24.86 in the 200m.
The Fighting Illini continue competition at the Rod McCraavy Memorial meet tomorrow at the Nutter Fieldhouse in Lexington, Kentucky. Illinois' will begin competing at noon central time with 60m hurdles prelims.
Top-5 Finishes
1. Kandie Bloch-Jones: High Jump, 5'11.25" (1.81m)
5. Janile Rogers: Long Jump, Long Jump, 18'8.75" (5.71m)
