Day 1 & 2 Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Illinois Fighting Illini men's and women's track and field teams participated in their first outdoor meet of the year on Friday and Saturday. Taking place in Bloomington, Ind., the Big Ten Invitational No. 1 was the first outdoor action for the Orange and Blue in 683 days following the cancelation of the 2020 outdoor season due to COVID-19.
"It was a great day for us," Director of Track and FIeld Mike Turk said. "The weather was perfect, our energy was high and we had numerous outstanding performances. I'm also very pleased with the way the different event groups are starting to work together and support each other. It is really showing in their performances."
Friday night was an excellent start for the Illini pole vaulting squad. Graduate student Carolyn Nye, sophomore Jess Streepy and redshirt-junior Alyssa Morello all cleared 12-7.5 ft (3.85 m). This placed them seventh, eighth and ninth respectively at the event, but also moved Streepy and Morello into a tie for seventh place in the event in school history. Nye already sits in fifth place with a 12-9.5 ft. vault in 2019.
 "The women set a good tone for the weekend on Friday night," Turk said. "I am really pleased, as we had three athletes still in the competition at 4.00 meters, which is usually right about where the scoring places at conference fall. It was an eye opening collegiate debut by Jess Streepy, who set a new life time best. We've got such a solid hard working group, they're fun to watch."
Shrey Chowdhary got Saturday's events going with a second-place finish in the javelin. His throw traveled 190-4 ft, and this was his first collegiate meet action following the cancelation of last year's outdoor season.
"This might the performance of the weekend for Shrey Chowdhary." Coach Turk added. "A really remarkable example of someone with the desire, work ethic and patience to finally, after three years of waiting for an opportunity, go out and set a huge personal best and a second place. What an example and tremendous accomplishment for his first time wearing the Orange and Blue."
It was a solid day across the board for the Illini relay teams. The women's 4x100 m team took third place behind strong performances from Felicia Phillips, Jessica McDowell, Jeanea Epps and Ololade Ayoola and finished in 46.97 seconds. The men's 4x100 m squad followed behind with a third-place finish of their own in 40.27 seconds from Bret Dannis, Josh Eiker, Jason Shannon and Declan Rustay. To conclude the meet, the women's 4x400 m team of Chisom Nwoko, Felicia Phillips, Danni Stoughton and Jessica McDowell took third place in 3:41.86.
 "The men's 4 x 100 relay was solid," Turk commented. "They did a nice job of getting the stick around the track. The best part was the return of Josh Eiker to the relay lineup. I'm excited to see their progression.The women's relay was a bit disappointing as we really botched a couple exchanges. We can run fast enough but need to it clean up. That'll come. I believe that by the end of the season, our relays will be a strong asset for us."
As the day continued, Nya Carr had an impressive performance of her own for Illinois in the women's 100 m. Carr finished in 11.86 seconds, earning second place. Today's race was also a collegiate best for the junior.
On the men's sprints side, Jason Shannon placed third in the men's 100 m, finishing in 10.71. Robert Williams also had a successful day in Bloomington, placing fourth in men's 400 m hurdles in a time of 53.25. Jaden Jackson finished in eight place in the same event with a time of 54.52.
"Williams and Jackson ran very encouraging opening races," Turk mentioned. "Again, this is an event we haven't been able to practice because of facility construction. Both performed well, especially Robert Williams, who also made his collegiate debut in the event."
Illini triple jumpers wrapped up the meet with a second-place finish from Reed Marshall with a 47-10 ft. jump and a third-place finish from Samuel Raheem jumping 46-9 ft. These were each good for new personal records for the two athletes.
"Our last outdoor team competition was the Big Ten Championships in 2019," Turk concluded. "It seems like forever ago. Add to that the construction on the facility the last two years and no track to practice on and I'd judge this weekend as pretty special. It was a breath of fresh air."
NEXT UP
Next weekend the Illinois track and field team will travel to Jacksonville, Fla. to participate in the Iowa Big Ten Invite. Action will span from Friday, April 2 to Saturday, April 3.
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