Women’s Track Concludes Home Slate With Illinois Twilight

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women's track and field returns home for their final home meet of the season, as they host the Illinois Twilight on Saturday, April 22. Held at the Illinois Track Stadium, the meet will begin with throwing events at 3pm, followed by jumping and running events at 4 p.m. The Illini senior recognition will begin at 3:30 p.m. central time.

	Illinois Twilight
When	Saturday, April 22
Where	Illinois Track & Field Stadium // Champaign, Ill.
Live Link	Results
Meet Information	Meet Home \| Meet Program
Team Information	Meet Notes \| Performance List \| Media Guide \| Quick Facts
Social Media	@IlliniW Track \| #Illini \| @Illin iw track \| Facebook \| YouTube

Meet Information

Promotions Packed Meet

A variety of promotions will be available to fans on Saturday throughout the meet, including inflatables and face painting for kids. Additionally, Illinois headbands, pizza and snow cones will be given out to fans during the meet. The lot west of the Illinois baseball field will be available for free parking throughout day, while the parking lot on the north side of Atkins will also be available.

Follow the Meet

Live results will be provided through fightingillini.com/track/live stats. Fans can also follow @IlliniMTrack on Twitter for updates throughout the competition. A full recap will be provided on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of competition.

Last Time Out

Five Illini competed last weekend across three different meets and saw four personal-best performances. Valerie Bobart (steeplechase) and Nicole Choquette (800m) both set new PRs at the Bryan Clay Invite, clocking 10:27.46 and 2:06.56, respectively. At the Gamecock Invite in South Carolina, Briana Driver won the long jump and Janile Rogers set a new 200m PR with a time of 23.90. Finally, Kortni Smyers-Jones set a new outdoor PR in the triple jump, marking 40'2.25" at the Ball State Challenge

Illini to Watch

High Jump // Kandie Bloch-Jones

A three-time All-American in the event, Bloch-Jones will be competing in the final home meet of her Illinois career. After advancing to NCAA Championships indoors with a height of 6'0.25" (1.85m), the Illini senior jumper will again look to advance past six feet on Saturday. Having competed only twice so far this outdoor season, Bloch-Jones' best jump came at the Weems Baskin Invite where she cleared 5'10" (1.78m).

100m Hurdles // Pedrya Seymour, Jayla Stewart, Kortni Smyers-Jones, Jasmine Berry

After sending three to NCAA West Prelims and one to NCAA Championships last season, the Illini are again gearing up for a strong postseason run from the group. With the top-48 competitors advancing to the preliminary round in Austin, Texas, the Illini are again gearing up for another strong postseason run from the group. Pedrya Seymour ranks second in the Big Ten with a time of 13.06, while Jayla Stewart set a personal-best 13.28 time in her last performance. Joining Seymour, Stewart and Smyers-Jones this weekend will be Jasmine Berry as the quartet prepares to defend their Drake Relays shuttle hurdle relay title at Drake Relays next week.

Long Jump // Briana Driver and Janile Rogers

Illinois' top long jumpers are edging closer to qualifying for NCAA West Prelims and will look to use the home meet as a springboard towards hitting a qualifying mark. Driver set a wind-aided personal-record time two weeks ago in Houston (19'10.75"), and then followed it up by winning the event at the Gamecock Invite last weekend in South Carolina with a leap of 19'0.25" (5.81m). Rogers placed second behind Driver last weekend with a leap of 18'7.75" (5.68m).

Up Next

Illinois wraps up their 2017 regular season with the annual Drake Relays meet in Des Moines, Iowa. Competition begins on Thursday, April 27 and continues through Saturday, April 29.

Illini Notes

Eight Illini Performances Rank in West Region

With only a month to go until the NCAA West Prelims in Austin, Texas, and the Illini currently have eight performances that rank within the top-48 needed to qualify for the meet. Pedrya Seymour leads all Illini with the fifth-best 100m hurdles time in the West, a 13.06 showing at the EIU Big Blue Classic. Fellow hurdlers Jayla Stewart (11th) and Kortni Smyes-Jones (48th) are also in contention to join her. After big performances last weekend in California, Nicole Choquette and Valerie Bobart both rank inside the top-30 in their events, while Kandie Bloch-Jones (14th/high jump) and the 4x100m relay team (32nd) are also among the top-48.

Rk.	Athlete	Event	Mark
5	Pedrya Seymour	100m Hurdles	13.06 seconds
11	Jayla Stewart	100m Hurdles	13.28 seconds
14	Kandie Bloch-Jones	High Jump	5'10" (1.78m)
16	Nicole Choquette	800m	2:06.56
30	Valerie Bobart	3K Steeplechase	10:27.46
32	4x100m Relay	4x100m Relay	45.01 seconds
47	Kortni Smyers-Jones	100m Hurdles	13.72 seconds
48	Kortni Smyers-Jones	Triple Jump	40'2.25" (12.25m)

Illini in the Big Ten

Eight Illini performances rank among the best in the Big Ten conference with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. Pedrya Seymour (100m hurdles) and Nicole Choquette (800m) both rank second, while Kandie Bloch-Jones (high jump), Valerie Bobart (steeplechase), Jayla Stewart (100m hurdles) and the 4x100m relay also rank in the top-five.

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.

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.

Schedule