CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's track and field team returns to the Land of Lincoln to compete at the Eastern Illinois Big Blue Classic on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 in Charleston, Illinois. The meet begins Friday afternoon with field events and distance events and continues with more field and track events on Saturday.
Meet Notes
Follow the Meet
Live results will be available online throughout the meet through the following link: http://sidearmstats.com/eiu/track.
Last Time Out
After beginning the outdoor season at the 49'er Classic, the Illini concluded their 10-day trip with the Weems Baskin Invite in Columbia, South Carolina. Kandie Bloch-Jones led the way with a victory in the high jump, while the Illini continued to show progress in short sprints with personal-best times from Sade Hargrove, Jayla Stewart, Emone Davis and a season-best time from the 4x100m relay team.
Illini Events to Watch
100m Hurdles // Jayla Stewart and Kortni Smyers-Jones
Prelims: Saturday @ 11:50am // Finals: Saturday @ 3:00pm
The two Illini hurdlers have improved their time in every hurdle race they've contested this outdoor season, beginning two weeks ago at the 49'er Classic. Stewart dropped her time down to 13.58 last weekend to place third at the Weems Baskin Invite, while Smyers-Jones shaved her time down to 13.85 to take fifth. Both hurdlers competed at NCAA West Prelims last May in Lawrence, Kansas. Following the collegiate season, Stewart competed at U.S. Junior Championships where she set a new personal-record time of 13.29 to place seventh.
Triple Jump // Kortni Smyers-Jones
Final: Saturday @ 3 p.m. (following completion of men's triple jump)
A constant in the Illinois hurdles line-up each week, Kortni Smyers-Jones has continues to build off of her triple jump performance at Big Ten Indoor Championships. At the conference indoor meet, the Illini senior set a new personal-record leap of 40'4.25" (12.30m). Smyers-Jones has carried the progress into the outdoor season, last week marking 39'9.75" (12.13m) to finish runner-up at the Weems Baskin Invite. The mark last weekend in South Carolina currently ranks third in the Big Ten.
Sprints // Sade Hargrove
Prelims: Saturday @ 12:30pm // Finals: Saturday @ 3:20pm
The Illini sophomore sprinter had a breakthrough weekend at the Weems Baskin Invite on March 25, setting personal-record performances in both of her sprint events. In the 100m, Hargrove lowered her personal-best to 11.91 to take sixth in the event. The Richmond, Virginia native returned later in the competition to clock 24.29 in the 200m dash. Hargrove ranks sixth in the Big Ten in the 100m through the season's first two meets. She's joined on the conference top-10 list by teammate Kymbriona Taylor (11.95).
Up Next
The Orange and Blue will head south to Texas for the Houston Alumni Invitational on April 8.
ILLINI NOTES
Four Illini Performances Rank Nationally
Four Illini performances in the opening two weeks of the outdoor season rank among the top-25 nationally, led by Kandie Bloch-Jones in fifth place with a mark of 5'10" (1.78m) in the high jump. Nicole Choquette is 13th in the 800m with a time of 2:08.63, while Valerie Bobart ranks 23rd in the 3,000m steeplechase after clocking 10:44.20 at the season-opening meet at UNC Charlotte. Rounding out the four is the 4x100m relay team of Briana Driver, Jayla Stewart, Janile Rogers and Kymbriona Taylor who also rank 23rd after a 45.18 time in South Carolina on March 25.
Illini in the Big Ten
The Fighting Illini have 14 performances that rank in the top-10 of their respective events through the first two weeks of the outdoor season. Kandie Bloch-Jones leads the Illini, as the senior high jumper ranks second in the conference after clearing 5'10" (1.78m) at the Weems Baskin Invite. Nicole Choquette (800m) and Kortni Smyers-Jones (triple jump) both rank third in the Big Ten after runner-up finishes at the Weems Baskin Invite.
Seymour Sets PR And Takes 3rd at NCAA indoor Championships
Illinois 60m hurdler Pedrya Seymour placed third in the final at NCAA Championships with a personal-best time of 7.97 on Saturday evening at the Rhonda and Frosty Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. The All-America honor is the third of Seymour's career, while the third-place finish in the 60m hurdles is the best by an Illini since 2003 when Perdita Felicien took third as well.
Seymour Places Runner-up, Bloch-Jones and Stewart Score at Big Tens
The Fighting Illini women's track and field team received point-scoring performances in the 60m hurdles, high jump and 4x400m relay as Big Ten Indoor Championships concluded on Saturday afternoon inside the Spire Institute. Seymour led the trio of Illini with a runner-up finish in the 60m hurdles, tying her 7.98 personal-record, while Bloch-Jones (fourth), Stewart (sixth) and the 4x400m relay team (seventh) also placed on day two of the meet.
Illini Ranked NO. 24 by USTFCCCA For Two Weeks
The Fighting Illini Women's Track and Field is ranked No. 24 in this week's United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings. The Illini enter the week with 30.96 points according to the index, which is fifth among Big Ten teams. Last week, the Illini were ranked for the first time since placing 14th at 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
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