With the Big Ten Championships just two weeks away, women’s track and field head coach Gary Winckler knew the prestigious Drake Relays was just the place for fine tuning.

The Illini finished the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday with two third-place relay finishes and a personal best time from junior distance runner Stephanie Simms. Her career best time of 4:28.95 in the 1,500-meter run just missed qualifying her for the regional championship meet.

But although the weather was not like the team had wanted, Winckler was happy with what he saw.

“We would have gotten a lot more out of the meet if the weather cooperated, but it didn’t end up that way,” Winckler said in a press release. “We had a lot of great times the last two days of competition. Stephanie (Simms) had a solid performance today that ended up being a personal best.”

Sophomore Camille Robinson finished in fifth place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.03, despite heavy winds. Sophomore LaNeisha Waller finished in sixth, while sophomore Tiffany Nesfield grabbed seventh with a time of 14.26.

The Illini were able to conclude the meet with a third-place finish and a regional qualifying time in the 4×400-meter relay. The relay team of Omoye Ugiagbe, junior Yvonne Menshah, Carlene Robinson and Camille Robinson finished with a time of 3:34.23.

“It was a great way to finish off the meet,” Winckler said. “It was the fastest 4×400-meter relay our team has ran here in many years.”

With next weekend off from competition, the Illini will use the time to focus on the Big Ten Championships which will be held in East Lansing, Mich., on May 13-14. After weeks of competing, it now only comes down to the little things.

“We will be focusing on the technical items that allow us to compete better,” Winckler said. “All it really is is tying up some loose ends.”