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 Junior Omoye Ugiagbe advanced to Sunday's finals in both the 200m and 400m.
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March 1, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS - Sophomore Angela Bizzarri finished fifth in the 3,000m and moved to second on Illinois' all-time list, highlighting action for the Illini women's track and field team on day one of the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Bizzarri's time of 9 minutes, 23.02 seconds (9:23.02) provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships and ranked her second behind Cassie Hunt on the Illini career performance list. Hunt holds the school record of 9:15.16 in the 3,000m. Bizzarri will run again tomorrow in the one mile final after placing ninth in preliminaries with a time of 4:51.96.
Freshman Jessica Penney was another bright spot for the Illini, taking fifth in the long jump with a personal-best distance of 19 feet, 6.25 inches. Other Illini day one scorers were the distance medley relay of Shannon Phelan, Briana Cunningham, Rachel Hernandez and Liz Mengyan taking sixth with a time of 11:47.87 and sophomore Alecia Beckford-Stewart placing eighth in the pentathlon with 3,557 points.
"Our young team had a learning experience today and we're going to get better and grow from it," head coach Gary Winckler said. "We'll focus on the people we got through to finals and hope to score some more points. It was nice to see Bizzarri run so well, and Penney did a nice job in the long jump."
Senior Tiara Armstrong and junior Omoye Ugiagbe both qualified for tomorrow's finals in two events. Armstrong took third in the 60m preliminaries (7.56) and eighth in the 200m preliminaries (24.72) to advance, while Ugaigbe was sixth in the 400m (55.86) and seventh in the 200m (24.68). Freshman Cheria Morgan also advanced in the 60m, taking fifth in prelims with a time of 7.63.
The Illini will have two competitors in tomorrow's 800m final, as sophomore Katie Engel was fourth in prelims with a time of 2:10.48 and senior Rachel Hernandez was fifth in 2:10.84.
Senior LaNeisha Waller rounds out Illinois' finals qualifiers after taking fifth in the 60m hurdles prelim with a time of 8.37 to advance.
The Illini have totaled 12 points to stand in eighth place after six events scored out of 17. Host Minnesota leads after day one with 58 points, followed by Michigan (37), Penn State (33) and Wisconsin (32).
The Big Ten Indoor Championships will conclude tomorrow at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse beginning at noon with the start of the field events. Running events are slotted for a 1 p.m. start.
ILLINOIS BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 RESULTS
3,000m (FINAL)
5. Angela Bizzarri 9:23.02
14. Danelle Woods 9:49.62
16. Chantelle Groenewoud 9:57.12
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Distance Medley Relay (FINAL)
6. Illinois 11:47.87
(Shannon Phelan, Briana Cunningham, Rachel Hernandez, Liz Mengyan)
Pentathlon (FINAL)
8. Alecia Beckford-Stewart 3,557 points
Long Jump (FINAL)
5. Jessica Penney 19'6.25"
12. Alecia Beckford-Stewart 18'7.25"
13. LaNeisha Waller 18'5"
Pole Vault (FINAL)
10. Amanda Pintaro 12'3.5" (3.75m)
13. Jacqueline Ziegler 12'3.5" (3.75m)
Shot Put (FINAL)
9. Aja Evans 46'9.5"
60m (Preliminaries)
3. Tiara Armstrong 7.56 Q
5. Cheria Morgan 7.63 Q
11. LaNeisha Waller 7.69
20. Aja Evans 7.88
200m (Preliminaries)
7. Omoye Ugaigbe 24.68 Q
8. Tiara Armstrong 24.72 Q
15. Cheria Morgan 25.30
16. Melissa Bates 25.35
400m (Preliminaries)
6. Omoye Ugiagbe 55.86 Q
10. Briana Cunningham 57.35
19. Paris Streeter 59.56
800m (Preliminaries)
4. Katie Engel 2:10.48 Q
5. Rachel Hernandez 2:10.84 Q
16. Jamie Brusa 2:16.77
Mile (Preliminaries)
6. Angela Bizzarri 4:51.96 Q
10. Danelle Woods 4:52.55
13. Shannon Phelan 4:58.35
60m Hurdles (Preliminaries)
5. LaNeisha Waller 8.37 Q
10. Nikkita Holder 8.55
17. Tamika Robinson 8.80
21. Jessica Penney 9.01
Team Standings After Day 1 (6 events scored out of 17)
1. Minnesota 58
2. Michigan 37
3. Penn State 33
4. Wisconsin 32
6. Purdue 14
7. Indiana 13
8. Illinois 12
9. Michigan State 11
10. Ohio State 8
Q = qualified for Sunday's event final
