Seymour, Bloch-Jones headed to indoor nationals for Illinois women’s track and field
Illinois’ Kandie Bloch-Jones (Jr.) attempts the high jump at the Orange&Blue Meet at Armory on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.
March 9, 2017
For most of the Illinois women’s track team, the focus has already shifted to the outdoor season.
Fittingly, the indoor season will conclude this week for two of the team’s best athletes.
Hurdler Pedrya Seymour and high jumper Kandie Bloch-Jones have led the team all season, and this weekend, the pair heads to the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas.
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Seymour is no stranger to a high level of competition. She finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, competing for the Bahamas.
It’s also her third consecutive NCAA Championship. Last year, she finished as an outdoor All-American and an indoor second-team All-American. She goes into this year’s championships tied for the third-fastest time in the country at 7.98 seconds—a mark she hit at Kentucky’s Rod McCravy Invite on Jan. 20.
Seymour finished second in the Big Ten Tournament, edged out by Purdue’s Devynne Charlton. The winner was Seymour’s teammate on the Bahaman Olympic team but did not compete in Rio due to injury.
They’ve since faced off several times this season: Seymour came out on top in their first showdown at the McCravy Invite, but Charlton took first at both Notre Dame’s Meyo Invite on Feb. 4 and at the Big Ten tournament.
“It’ll prepare her for the NCAA meet,” head coach Ron Garner said after Big Tens. “Pedrya being in the final and replicating her best, she has the poise to do that.”
Oregon’s Sasha Wallace is the top returner in the event, finishing second at last year’s meet.
Charlton finished third last year.
Seymour failed to qualify for finals, finishing sixth in her preliminary heat and .09 seconds out of a spot.
Bloch-Jones is also no stranger to the big stage. She will be competing in her fourth consecutive NCAA Championship, and last summer, she competed at the US Olympic Trials.
Bloch-Jones has won all but two of the competitions she has jumped in this season, with one loss coming at Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge on Feb. 11. She finished fourth, and Tatiana Gusin of Georgia won the event.
At Big Tens, Bloch-Jones finished fourth, and Purdue’s Janae Moffitt won the event.
Gusin and Moffitt will both compete at the indoor championships this weekend. Gusin and her teammate, Fagan, are tied for No. 1 in the country with marks of 1.90m.
