Live Results
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Illinois women's track and field team advanced its 4x100m relay team and three individuals to event finals on Friday at the 108th annual Drake Relays. Pedrya Seymour and Jayla Stewart clocked the top two qualifying times in the 100m hurdles, while Sade Hargrove advanced to the 100m final with her second-fastest time of the season. The 4x200m relay finished eighth, scoring a point for the Illini in the Hy-Vee Cup standings.
The Fighting Illini led off the day with a pair of hurdlers winning heats of the 100m hurdles to advance to Saturday afternoon's final. Pedrya Seymour set the fastest qualifying time on the day with a 13.16 performance to win heat two. Sophomore teammate Jayla Stewart joined Seymour in qualifying for the final with a time of 13.43, second best in prelims.
"I thought Pedrya [Seymour] and Jayla [Stewart] looked very good today," Head Coach Ron Garner said. "Jayla running 13:43 in the rain and cold was impressive and encouraging to see. Under adverse conditions, [Jayla] did a very nice job."
The third Illini individual to advance to finals tomorrow was Sade Hargrove in the 100m. The sophomore clocked in at 11.87, her second-best time of the season, to finish second in her heat and seventh overall.
"Sade did a really nice job today, said Garner. "She's been working on putting the different components of the race together. It's been evident throughout the outdoor season that she's been able to make some small improvements, but remain consistent."
The Illini also advanced its 4x100m relay team to the event final. With Pedrya Seymour running the lead leg, followed by Jayla Stewart, Briana Driver and Kym Taylor, the Illinois quartet timed 45.94 and placed fifth overall. Big Ten foes Purdue, Iowa and Ohio State will join the Illini in the final on Saturday.
"Under the conditions, we ran really well today," Garner said. "For three legs we put it on Iowa and had a five to seven meter lead. On the final leg, we hope to continue to improve as Sade [Hargrove] and Jayla [Stewart] develop. For three legs, we've been able to run with the best in the Big Ten and country."
Illinois other relay of the day came in the 4x200m where Sade Hargrove, Kymbriona Taylor, Chisom Nwoko and Felicia Phillips combined for a time of 1:40.72, placing eighth and scoring a point for the Illini in the Hy-Vee Cup standings. Â
In field events, Kandie Bloch-Jones and Janile Rogers both placed in the top-10 of their respective events. Bloch-Jones tied for fifth with a height of 5'7.75" (1.72m) in the high jump, while Rogers took seventh in the long jump with a leap of 18'9.75" (5.73m).
Illinois began competition at Drake Relays on Thursday evening, as two Illini distance athletes set personal-best times. In the 5,000m race, Denise Branch finished in 16:44.52 to top her previous best time by 16 seconds. Also setting a new personal-best was Audrey Blazek, as the Illini senior clocked 36:00.80 in the 10,000m race.
The Illini conclude competition at Drake Relays on Saturday, as the four Illini contest four event finals along with two medley relays and the shuttle hurdle relay. Illini competition begins at 9:30 a.m. central time with Kortni Smyers-Jones in the triple jump and Valerie Bobart in the steeplechase.
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.
