Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams completed the second day of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Junior Tacoria Humphrey and redshirt junior Rose Yeboah each secured Big Ten titles for their performances in the long jump and high jump, respectively.

Yeboah's achievement in the high jump came with a clearance of 1.82 meters, earning her 10 team points. This victory marks a significant milestone as she becomes the first Big Ten Champion for the Illini women's squad in this event since Stacy Ann Grant's win in 1998. She is also the fifth individual from Illinois to claim a B1G Outdoor Championship title in the high jump.

Humphrey won her title with a leap of 6.42 meters in the long jump, securing another 10 team points for Illinois. Her victory makes her the first Illini woman to become a Big Ten Champion in this event since Yvonne Mensah's triumph in 2006. She is now among five individuals from Illinois who have won an outdoor championship title in this discipline.

In other results, senior Tyler Sudduth placed third in shot put with a throw of 19.19 meters, contributing six team points, while fellow senior Will Rezny finished eighth with a throw of 18.14 meters, adding one point to the team's score.

Freshman Elizabeth Ndudi earned five team points by placing fourth in the long jump with a distance of 6.21 meters. Sophia Beckmon also recorded a mark of 6.21 meters but was placed fifth due to Ndudi's superior secondary jump, earning four team points for Illinois. Junior Darja Sopova finished eighth with a leap of 6.09 meters, scoring one point.

Junior Bara Sajdokova placed fourth in the high jump at 1.76 meters, adding five more points to Illinois' tally, followed closely by graduate student Taylor Beard who finished fifth at 1.73 meters for four points.

Junior Sam Poglitsch contributed two additional team points with her seventh-place finish in the women's 3000m steeplechase, achieving her season-best time of 10:32.74.

As it stands after two days of competition, Nebraska leads both men’s and women’s categories with scores of 57 and 73.33 respectively; Illinois women are currently second with a score of 64 while their male counterparts sit tied for eighth place alongside Indiana at fourteen points each.

The championships conclude tomorrow (May 12), starting with field events at ten o'clock AM Central Time followed by track events commencing at eleven forty-five AM Central Time.