Full Results
EUGENE, Ore. – The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams finished the second day of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Saturday (May 17) from Hayward Field. Tacoria Humphrey and Rafael Raap each left the track with some hardware as each became Big Ten Champions.
Raap had a good homecoming returning to Hayward Field where he competed for two years with Oregon prior to coming to Illinois. He became the program's first ever decathlon Big Ten Champion with his score of 7,572Â points today. He dominated the day winning three out of the five events including the discus, pole vault and javelin all in a row which propelled him from third to first. His point total is the second highest in program history.
Humphrey earned her second-consecutive Big Ten Outdoor Championships long jump title today with a meet record 6.59m (21-7 1/2) and earns the program's seventh individual B1G long jump gold. She completes the season sweep as well after she won the Big Ten Indoor Championships title this past March with a meet record as well. Today's win makes her a three-time Big Ten Champion in the long jump.
Lucie Kienast captured silver in the heptathlon today with a school record point total of 5,851 points. It was her first heptathlon of the season and she made it count as it's the fourth-highest score in the nation and punches her ticket to nationals. She also threw the program's seventh-furthest javelin at 38.18m (125-3). Melissa Wullschleger also had a strong showing in the heptathlon placing fourth with the program's second-highest point total (5,749 points).
Kam Garrett earned his first Big Ten Outdoor Championships silver medal in the high jump when he cleared 2.14m (7-0 1/4). Additionally, Sophia Beckmon earned her first Big Ten medal outdoors when she earned bronze in the long jump on a mark of 6.16m (20-2 1/2). Sam Poglitsch closed out the day with an eighth-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase on the program's third-fastest time (10:10.52).
After two days of competition the women are in the lead with 41 points while the men are in fifth with 27 points.
CHAMPION QUOTES
Rafael Raap
On being back at Hayward Field...
"Actually, it was really funny, I was doing my warmup and the Duck came up to me and was like 'what happened?' I just looked back and said 'sorry!' Oregon is always special, though. It's a beautiful place to compete and even though I'm not wearing their colors right now, it's always a magical place to be. It kind of feels like coming home almost. I was here for a year and a half, so I know everything about the place, so it definitely helps."
On his mentality before the race coming off day one...
"I'm telling myself that no matter if it went good or wrong, it's a new day, a new start and a new chance to put the best of me out there. What's difficult is that it wasn't a good first day, but I knew that my second day was very strong, so I knew I needed to go out there and execute. Knowing that my second day is my strength gives me the confidence to go out there and execute and to just do it. I don't try to overthink it; I know from experience when I do that it doesn't go the right way."
On going into the 1500 meter...
"I'm always nervous for the 1500 meter, it's a love-hate relationship and today was hate for sure. It's a mental game and it's what you tell yourself. At that point my body was hurting and trying not to cramp up. I'm not really happy about it but knowing that I finished it and finished another decathlon is a good accomplishment."
On the significance of this performance in his career...
"To be really honest, I am not happy with this, mostly because I didn't qualify for nationals. I know that my potential is way higher than what I am doing right now. I can blame it on a lot of things, injuries and stuff like that, but at the end of the day it's me out there trying my best and this is all I got right now."
Tacoria Humphrey
On getting her third Big Ten title and setting the new meet record...
"I felt pretty confident going into it. I put out some big jumps throughout the season and this is only my third year long jumping, I started my sophomore year. With the big jumps I put out early in the year, I came into the Big Ten's feeling confident. I trusted my training because I didn't have good practice jumps so I just made sure that my mindset was really positive because positive mindsets lead to positive outcomes."
On expectations going into today...
"I came in here pretty confident after putting out some really big jumps earlier in the season. I did kind of come in expecting to get first place or at least medal."
On getting so far into her career without long jumping...
"I was a two-time state champ high jumper in high school; I was a 5-10 high jumper in high school. My sophomore year I jumped 5-9, then COVID happened my junior year and senior year I jumped 5-10 at state. I got recruited for high jump and that was my main event until my freshman year. I jumped 6-0 and that's when my coach told me I'd probably max out pretty soon, so that's when he introduced me to long jumping."
On the transition from high jump to long jump...
"I really liked it. I feel like high jump is more technical, so it's kind of a little more stressful. Where long jump you kind of just run and jump, so it's straighter to the point and I've definitely loved the transition."
BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
- Tacoria Humphrey won the long jump with a meet record, 6.59m (21-7 1/2).
- Rafael Raap won the decathlon with the program's second-highest score (7,572 points).
PODIUM
TOP-10 PROGRAM MARKS
First – Heptathlon: Lucie Kienast (5,851 points).
Second – Heptathlon: Melissa Wullschleger (5,749 points).
Second – Decathlon: Rafael Raap (7,572 points).
Third – 3000mS: Sam Poglitsch (10:10.52).
Seventh – Javelin: Lucie Kienast, 38.18m (125-3).
STANDINGS
WOMEN
1. Illinois – 41
2. Minnesota – 38
3. Nebraska – 28
4. Oregon – 25
5. UCLA – 20
6. Penn State – 19
7. Wisconsin – 16
8. Michigan State – 11
9. USC – 9
10. Washington – 8
11. Rutgers – 5
12. Iowa, Maryland – 4
14. Michigan – 3
15. Indiana – 2
16. Purdue – 1
- Ohio State – 0
MEN
1. Oregon – 65
2. Nebraska – 62
3. Minnesota – 39
4. Washington – 37
5. Illinois – 27
6. Iowa – 19
7. Wisconsin – 17
8. Michigan – 15
9. Indiana – 14
10. Rutgers – 13
11. Michigan State – 10
12. Ohio State – 8
13. USC – 7
14. Penn State, Purdue, UCLA – 6
- Maryland – 0
NOTES
Full Illini Results
Decathlon
Rafael Raap – First (7,572 points)
- Won the discus, 45.42m (149-0).
- Won the pole vault, 4.70m (15-5).
- Won the javelin, 59.57m (195-5).
- Placed eighth in the 110mH (15.20).
- Placed 10th in the 1500m (4:50.76).
Heptathlon
Lucie Kienast – Second (5,851 points)
- Placed second in the 800m (2:12.79).
- Placed seventh in the javelin, 38.18m (125-3).
- Placed seventh in the long jump, 5.95m (19-6 1/4).
Melissa Wullschleger – Fourth (5,749 points)
- Placed fifth in the javelin, 38.61m (126-8).
- Placed 11th in the long jump, 5.70m (18-8 1/2).
- Placed 12th in the 800m (2:20.77).
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini track and field teams return to action tomorrow (May 18) for the final day of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with field events starting at noon and track events at 2:45 p.m. CT.
