For the sixth time in head coach Gary Winkler’s tenure, the Illinois women’s track team took home the Big Ten Outdoor Championship.

The Illini scored 129 points, including 106 on Sunday, to tie Michigan and become the first co-champions in conference history.

“I am so proud of our team and the way they competed across the board today,” Winkler said in a press release. “We asked an awful lot from them, there were some tough doubles and a few competed in as many as three or four … events during the day with not a lot of recovery time in between. We started scoring in bunches and making our move up the standings and our athletes felt that momentum and thrived on it.”

The title was the Illini’s second outdoor championship in the last three years and the team’s 11th overall conference title since Winkler arrived at Illinois.

Yvonne Mensah competed in five events and took home four gold medals, three in individual events and one in the 4×00-meter relay, and also anchored the second-place 4×400 team.

“It’s an amazing feelings being Big Ten champions,” Mensah said. “We knew coming in it was going to be tough, a lot of people thought we’d be in the top three if we did well. But about halfway through (Sunday), we realized we were making a big move and that the title was in reach.”

In Mensah’s 100-meter victory, she edged out teammate Tiara Armstrong with a time of 11.53 – Armstrong came in at 11.64. Junior LaNeisha Waller also placed in the event, finishing eigth with a time of 12.03.

But it was all Mensah, all day as the senior set a season-best time in the 200-meter with a regional qualifying time of 23.57.

“Yvonne had probably as successful a Big Ten meet as any athlete we’ve ever had,” Winkler said. “I can’t think of anyone else that has carried her workload, doing that many events. … it was just an outstanding performance.”

Other notable performances included Waller’s second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. Four Illini scored team points in the 400-meter hurdles, including Camille Robinson’s second-place finish.

In the field, the Illini had just two placewinners outside of Mensah’s triple jump title. Senior Kristina Jones also competed in the triple jump and took third, while freshman Alecia Beckford-Stewart placed seventh in the high jump.