OXFORD, Miss. – Sophomore sprinter Chisom Nwoko clocked the seventh fastest 400m race in Illinois program history by circling the track in a victorious time of 53.59 seconds. Nwoko's event title was joined by runner-up finishes from Briana Driver (long jump), Sara McKeeman (pole vault), Sade Hargrove (100m) and 4x100m relay.
Full Results
"I think we had an outstanding meet," said head coach Mike Turk. "I was really pleased. I think we looked like we were in midseason form. Obviously the [good] weather was a factor in the performances today. If you look at our performances today, from Chisom [Nwoko] in the 400m and a whole bunch of others, those are peak season type of performances. We haven't trained at that level yet, so those are outstanding indicators for our team moving forward."
The sprints-pole vault dual athlete, Nwoko continued the progress she exemplified during the indoor season in the sprint event by adding her name to Illinois' 400m outdoor all-time performance list. The 53.59 time surpassed former Illini Rolanda Conda (53.98), Shirley Bodden (53.92) and Janelle Johnson (53.76) to move into seventh place. Nwoko also took fourth in the pole vault on Saturday.
"I was more impressed today [than at Big Ten Indoors] because at Big Tens she ran fast and I knew she ran fast, you could see it," explained Coach Turk. "Today, there looked like there was still a lot more in there. The fact that she won by a few seconds and how easy she made it look is what impressed me."
Indoors, Nwoko set the second-fastest 400m time in program history, a 53.26 time in the Big Ten qualifying round. Nwoko went on to place seventh in her first conference final.
The Illini paired two runner-up finishes in the short sprints to go with Nwoko's 400m title, as the 4x100m relay and Sade Hargrove each set season-best times. With Briana Driver leading off, Sade Hargrove, Amira Aduma and Janile Rogers carried the baton around the track in 45.51 seconds, cutting down their debut time last week by more than a second. After running the second leg, Hargrove came back with her first sub-12 100m dash of the season, a 11.97 time to earn the runner-up finish.
Joining Hargrove in the top-10 of the 100m dash, junior Emone' Davis lowered her personal record by 0.11 seconds with a time of 12.03 to take sixth, while Driver timed 12.08 for seventh place. Davis also set a personal record in the 200m, timing 25.11
"I'm really happy for her," said Coach Turk. "She's someone that has great attitude and brings a positive attitude to practice. She works really hard. To see her cross some times now that are pretty competitive is really enjoyable to see."
One of two Illini field event competitors to place runner-up on Saturday, pole vaulter Sara McKeeman led the Illini in the event by clearing three bars on the day. After clearing her second bar on her third attempt, McKeeman soared over 12'7.5" (3.85m) on her second try at the height.
Illinois added a second runner-up placement in the long jump from junior Briana Driver. After marking 19 feet, three inches (5.87m) on her first attempt, Driver added a quarter-inch to the distance on attempt three (19'3.25") to edge Indiana State's Ayanna Morgan's 19'2.75" (5.86m) for the runner-up finish.
Freshmen Mikaela Lucki and Allison McGrath led Illinois' distance team on Saturday. Lucki led the Illini in the 800m with a 2:13.54 time that comes close to her 2:12.99 personal record, while McGrath set a personal record of 2:17.80.
On Friday at the Stanford Invite, freshman Rebecca Craddock clocked the eighth-fastest 5K time in school history with a clip of 16:30.90, while graduate student Nicole Choquette set a 1500m personal-record time of 4:30.27.
"It was a productive day for Nicole and Rebecca," said distance coach Sarah Haveman on Friday evening. "They raced well and set the tone for their outdoor season. They can be proud and excited representing our program."
Up next, the Illini will travel to Tucson, Arizona for the Jim Click Shootout on Saturday, April 7.
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Event Champions:
400m: Chisom Nwoko, 53.59
