Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams are set to compete in the 64th annual Mt. SAC Relays, taking place from April 17-20 at the Mt. SAC Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, California.

Senior Aiden Ouimet will begin his first decathlon of the outdoor season on Wednesday. Ouimet's last combined event was the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where he earned All-America status by placing fourth. "He became the highest heptathlete finisher in Illinois history and the school's second-ever All-American in the event."

Junior Tacoria Humphrey recently excelled in the long jump at the Gary Wieneke Memorial, breaking both school and Demirjian Track records with a leap of 6.73m (22-1). Her teammates, freshman Elizabeth Ndudi and junior Darja Sopova, also performed strongly, with Ndudi finishing second with a mark of 6.68m (21-11) and Sopova third with 6.64m (21-9 1/2). These performances rank as second, third, and fifth best nationally for the 2024 outdoor season.

Sopova further claimed victory in the triple jump with a leap of 13.37m (43-10 1/2), ranking as fourth-best in the nation.

Graduate student Amber Simpson made an impressive debut for Illinois by setting new Big Ten and school records in hammer throw with a distance of 70.21m (230-4), currently ranked as the nation's second-best throw.

Senior Tyler Sudduth achieved a shot put win with a throw of 19.85m (65-1 1/2), placing him sixth nationally. Junior Tori Thomas improved her personal best in pole vault to 4.37m (14-4), also ranking sixth nationally.

In total for this season, Illinois athletes have set one Outdoor Big Ten record, three Outdoor School records, and achieved thirty-five top-ten program marks.