CHARLOTTE, NC – Valerie Bobart kicked off her outdoor season with a victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, timing 10:44.20 to win the event by 26 seconds. The Illini also advanced three Illini to sprint finals during prelims on Friday afternoon and placed two in the top-five in distance events.

Bobart won her first event title of the outdoor season with a time of 10:44.20 after she advanced to NCAA Prelims last year. Her debut time today was just 14 seconds behind her personal-record time of 10:30.70.

Jayla Stewart clocked the fastest time in prelims in the 100m hurdles, as the sophomore finished heat three in 13.84. Joining Stewart in the final will be senior Kortni Smyers-Jones who placed second behind Stewart in heat three with a time of 14.15.

Janile Rogers advanced to two event finals on Friday afternoon, first in the 100m dash and then in the 200m dash.

Rogers clocked the eighth-best time in 100m prelims with a time of 12.03, while using a 24.48 performance to finish fifth 200m prelims.

A pair of Illini fell just short of qualifying in the 100m, as freshman Kayla Hylton and Sade Hargrove placed ninth and tenth, respectively. Hylton timed 12.03, falling seven-thousandths of a second behind teammate Janile Rogers for the final spot, while Sade Hargrove finished in 12.10.

Stewart and Hylton returned later in the day in the 200m, as Stewart timed 24.77 and 24.78, respectively, but fell short of qualifying for the final.

In distance events, Nicole Choquette and Denise Branch placed fourth in the 1500m and 5,000m races, respectively. Choquette timed 4:33.58, while Branch finished the 5,000m in 17:00.19.

Up next, the Illini continue competition at the 49'er Classic on Saturday, beginning with the 1,000m race at 9 a.m. central time.

For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Women's Track and Field, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniWTrack) and Instagram (@IlliniWTrack) and like Fighting Illini Women's Track and Field on Facebook.