|
Women's Track
Illinois Women Compete Strong at Big Ten Indoor Championships
Feb. 23, 2002
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -
Personal-best performances and a Camee' Williams Pentathlon crown highlight the day The University of Illinois women's track team took the top-two honors in the Pentathlon, scored in four of six events and moved 14 other athletes into the finals after the first day of competition at the 2002 Big Ten Women's Indoor Championships. The 2002 Big Ten Women's Indoor Championships is a two-day event hosted by Penn State University. Through the first day of competition, just six of 18 events have been completed, with the other 12 events wrapping up on Sunday. After those six events, the Illini are in fifth place with a total of 28 points but have already placed 14 athletes into the finals of their respective events. In addition, Illinois has gotten scoring performances from five athletes after today's competition. Camee' Williams and Susanna Kallur started the Illinois scoring in the Pentathlon. The Pentathlon consists of the 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m run. The duo of Williams and Kallur were separated by just one point as they finished one-two in the event helping the Illini to 18-team points early on. It was a tremendous all-around performance by the senior, Williams, who finished with 3,918 points. Williams sets personal bests in nearly every event as she won the high jump with a height of 5'08.00", finished second in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.47 seconds and finished third in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 18'11.75" to get the win. En route to her second-place finish, Kallur won the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.28 seconds and finished second in the long jump (19'01.50") and third in the high jump (5'07.00") and to earn 3,917 points. In addition to their multi-event success in the Pentathlon, Williams and Kallur also qualified for Sunday's 60m-hurdle final. Kallur owns the third fastest qualifying time of 8.20 seconds, while Williams ran to a time of 8.32 seconds, a personal-best and provisional-NCAA qualifying mark in the event. Both will be joined by teammates Jenny Kallur and Perdita Felicien in the finale. Felicien, who is ranked the No. 1 hurdler in the country by trackwire.com, finished with the fastest time in the pre-final races, a 7.98. That time is the fastest of Felicien's career and ties Ohio State's Donica Merriman for the Big Ten Championship record in the 60m hurdles. Felicien will also be looking for a Big Ten title in the 60m dash where she sprinted to a personal-best time of 7.37 seconds in the prelims and later qualified for the finals with a solid semifinal performance. In addition to Felicien, Illinois will be represented by Nicole Whitman, Jenny Kallur and Chequetta Bearfield in the sprint finale.
Illinois put four more runners in Sunday's 200m finale. Jenny Kallur ran a provisional-qualifying mark of 24.04 to lead the four qualifiers. In addition to Kallur, Chequetta Bearfield, Shanna Pickett and Nicole Whitman all qualified for the 200m race.
In Saturday's scored events, the Illini got personal-best outing in the shot put from Ade Oshinowo. The senior from Naperville, Ill., finished sixth in the field with a personal-best toss of 48'04.75" to earn three points for the team. In addition to being a personal best, the distance was the third-best performance in Illinois history. In the long jump, Crystal Riley used a jump of 18'10.75" to finish fifth overall and earn four more points for the second-place Illini Erin Frakes also turned in a scoring performance for the Orange and Blue in the 3,000 meters. Frakes ran to a personal-best performance of 9:48.46 to earn sixth place and three more points for Illinois. For more information on all of Illinois' scoring performances from the first day of the 2002 Big Ten Women's Indoor Championships and Illinois qualifiers into Sunday's finals, please see the attached pages and visits the Illinois website at www.fightingillini.com. The final day of competition at the 2002 Big Ten Women's Indoor Championships begins Sunday with the women's 20-pound weight throw at 10 a.m.
###GO ILLINI### Illinois Placewinners and Qualifiers from the first day of competition
Team Standings After six of 18 events 1. Michigan 53.00 pts 2. Purdue 36.50 3. Wisconsin 29.50 4. Penn State 29.00 5. Illinois 28.00 5. Indiana 28.00 7. Ohio State 23.00 8. Minnesota 12.00 9. Iowa 5.00
Saturday's Scored Events Pentathlon: 1. Camee' Williams 3,918 pts (10 pts)
2. Susanna Kallur 3,917 pts (8 pts)
6. Ade Oshinowo 48'04.00" (3 pts)
5. Crystal Riley 18'10.75" (4 pts)
Erin Frakes 9:48.46 (3 Pts)
Qualifiers for Sunday's Finals
5. Perdita Felicien 7.40 seconds 6. Nicole Whitman 7.45 t7. Chequetta Bearfield 7.52 t7. Jenny Kallur 7.52
2. Jenny Kallur 24.04 5. Chequetta Bearfield 24.10 7. Shanna Pickett 24.41 9. Nicole Whitman 24.54
5. Laura Gerke 1:35.29 9. Jordana Meyer 1:34.81
1. Perdita Felicien 7.98 3. Susanna Kallur 8.20 3. Camee' Williams 8.32 4. Jenny Kallur 8.42
Illinois Athlete Quotes From Day One CAMEE' WILLIAMS On winning her first Big Ten Championship and the 60m Hurdles: "All I can say is that it is about time. I've waited four years to win a Big Ten title and I got it today. I am really excited about the way I am competing right now and I hope for another personal best in the hurdles tomorrow" PERDITA FELICIEN On the fatigue factor of running back to back sprinting events: "With the events being right on top of each other you do have a fatigue factor, but nothing that's going to keep you from running your best. I just use it as an extend warm-up for my next race and that helps me." The position of the team heading into Sunday: "This is exactly where we wanted to be. We have four people running the 60m dash, the 60m hurdles and the 200m dash and even if we get last in those events, that's a minimum of 10 points in each event. We are excited about tomorrow and we have put ourselves in a good position."
ADE OSHINOWO On her finish in the shot put: "To go out with an indoor personal best and doing it on my last throw feels great. This is what you work for and I am so happy right now. This gives me a real boost heading into tomorrow's weight throw."
SUSANNA KALLUR On competing in the Pentathlon: "I really enjoyed competing in the Pentathlon today. It's the first time since 1999 that I have competed in it competitively. I thought I did well in my events and am glad we could finish so well as a team." On the 60m hurdle Finale: "I am looking to come out with some better times. My times haven't been where I've wanted them lately and tomorrow I just want to come out and improve." |
