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Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Illini athletes shine at NCAA Indoor Championships

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Javonie Small Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator (Sprints, Hurdles and Relays) | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website

Javonie Small Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator (Sprints, Hurdles and Relays) | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website

The Fighting Illini men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up their participation in the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday, March 9, at the TRACK at New Balance in Boston. Senior Aiden Ouimet achieved a fourth-place finish in the heptathlon with 5,997 points, earning All-America honors. This marks a notable achievement for Ouimet and the Illini.

Director of track, field, and cross country Petros Kyprianou commented on the team's performance: "NCAAs showed that our teams are on an upward swing with all the All-Americans we gathered this weekend. We have a very young team that showed some grit at the highest stage, and I'm really proud of where we are in such a short time since the start of our tenure."

Ouimet began his final day of competition by securing seventh place in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.10 seconds, adding 957 points to his score. He then placed eighth in pole vaulting with a clearance of 4.76 meters (15-7 1/4), accumulating an additional 837 points. He concluded with a personal best in the 1000m run, clocking in at 2:38.73 for another 888 points.

The men's team ended up in 38th place overall with five team points, marking their best finish since placing 30th in 2017. Meanwhile, the Illini women secured their best result since 2013 by finishing in 19th place with a total of 12.5 points.

In high jump events, Bara Sajdokova and Rose Yeboah both earned All-America honors by clearing heights of 1.88 meters (6-2). Sajdokova finished fifth after clearing on her first attempt, while Yeboah did so on her final attempt. This is a historic moment for Illinois as it is the first time two female high jumpers from the school have been named All-Americans simultaneously.

Darja Sopova broke her own school record in triple jump with a leap of 13.58 meters (44-6 3/4), securing sixth place and earning All-America status as well. She became the first Illini woman to stand on this podium since Yvonne Mensah's appearance in 2006.

Five Illini women received Indoor All-America honors: Tori Thomas, Elizabeth Ndudi, Bara Sajdokova, Darja Sopova, and Rose Yeboah—tying a program record set nearly three decades ago when five student-athletes were also named All-Americans back in 1995.

Junior Kam Garrett finished eleventh in men's high jump after clearing a height of 2.15 meters (7-0½) on his second attempt.

The Orange and Blue track and field squads will begin their outdoor season next week at the Hurricane Invitational scheduled for March 15-16 in Coral Gables, Florida.

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