The Illini men’s and women’s track and field teams enter the third meet of their indoor season this weekend with the Fighting Illini Challenge on the horizon. It will be their second home meet of the young campaign and the final of the indoor season.
Illinois has had some success in the first two meets of the season. It also has a deep roster and has entries in almost every event of this meet. Both teams will try to continue pushing forward and gain more momentum heading into February.
What’s popping on the women’s side?
Senior Tacoria Humphrey looks to replicate early success this weekend. Illinois did not compete in the long jump last week in Indianapolis. In the first home meet on Jan. 11, Humphrey leaped to the Big Ten, University and Armory record with a 6.78-meter jump.
Another athlete who wasted no time getting off to a fast start was senior Halle Hill. Following her appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, she posted a time of 2:08.23 in last week’s women’s 800-meter run. The stellar time was good enough to outrace the rest of the competition in Indianapolis.
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Hill has a longer distance to cover this weekend, racing in the 1,000-meter. She will be joined by freshman and last week’s 3,000-meter winner Kennady Anderson, junior Audrey Ginsberg and senior Sam Poglitsch. All are competing in the 1,000-meter run for the first time this season. The last three will also race in the 800-meter and attempt to finish ahead of the rest of the field in two events.
Illinois has been strong in the pole vault this winter. Senior Tori Thomas will once again be vaulting this weekend after compiling two wins in the indoor season. Junior Mia Morello, who recorded second (4.18 meters) and fourth place (3.96 meters) finishes in those two meets, will also be vaulting again.
Senior Abria Smith will compete in shot put this weekend after posting the program’s second-furthest throw last week at 16.49 meters. Five Illini throwers threw their way inside the top seven last week. All five will throw this weekend, including senior Phethisang Makhethe. She won her second consecutive weight throw competition with the program’s second-furthest throw at 22.26 meters.
How have the men fared?
Illinois has also been strong on the men’s side. Sophomores Dewayne Johnson and Michail Rose look to seize the momentum from last week after hurdling the competition in the 60-meter. They secured an Illini one-two finish, clocking in at 7.81 and 8.00 seconds, respectively.
The duo will also compete in the 60-meter dash. Fellow sophomore Jackson Gilbert and freshman Jayon Morrow will join them and are also competing in the 400-meter race this weekend. The quartet has shown tons of speed early on. Gilbert has a 600-meter win under his belt this winter, while Morrow placed third in that same race on Jan. 11.
Freshman Trey Sato and senior Nicolas Dovalovsky will race in the 1,000-meter run this time around. The two Illini distance runners also claimed a one-two finish in last week’s mile, with Sato barely edging Dovalovsky by less than a second. Last week’s 3,000-meter winner, senior Will Merrick, will join Sato and Dovalovsky in the 1,000-meter run.
Competing in both shot put and weight throw this weekend is fifth-year Tyler Sudduth, who has thrived early this season. He won both events in the first two meets of the season, winning last week with throws of 19.47 meters and 22.15 meters, respectively. Sudduth has all the momentum and looks to remain strong at home.
When is the meet?
The meet will kick off on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Armory. The women’s pentathlon and men’s heptathlon kick off the events. Field events begin at 1 p.m., and running events start at 1:30 p.m. The meet will continue the next day at the same scheduled time.
