Dennis Mitchell Assistant Coach - Pole Vault | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Dennis Mitchell Assistant Coach - Pole Vault | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Director of Illinois track, field, and cross country, Petros Kyprianou, has announced the addition of Eliza Kraule to the team. Kraule, an All-American athlete from Rice University, achieved a personal-best score of 4,353 points in the pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past March. This score would surpass Illinois' program record by nearly 200 points.
Kraule hails from Riga, Latvia and spent four seasons at Rice University. During her time there, she became a Conference USA champion in both the pentathlon and heptathlon during the 2023 season. Last month, she secured first place in the heptathlon at The American Outdoor Championships with a personal-best score of 5,774 points. This score would break Carmel Corbett's longstanding program record from 1995 by over 100 points.
As a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier, Kraule strengthens Illinois' women's combined events team. She will be training alongside JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, who is considered one of the top incoming freshmen in the U.S.
"All-American Pentathlete grad transfer from Rice University adds serious firepower to the combined events crew for the #Illini," tweeted Illinois Track & Field and Cross Country on June 10th.
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