Illinois track and field’s No. 1 women’s and No. 13 men’s teams split their weekend between two competitions: the distance runners traveled to Massachusetts to compete in the Crimson Open and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, while the rest of the team went to Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational.
Johnston jumps to new height
Junior Cody Johnston won the pole vault with a height of 5.70 meters, breaking the Illinois record for the second meet in a row. His mark is fifth-best in the NCAA this season.
Recovering from the flu last week, Johnston succeeded on his second attempt to break his previous record.
“Coming off of that was a little hard, but it was pretty surreal,” Johnston said. “It was fun. I had a bunch of jumpers there to push me. It ended up being a good day.”
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Johnston credits his coaches and his consistency for his continued success.
Last season, Johnston took gold in the pole vault at the Big Ten outdoor championships. He has also been named an All-American three times and has qualified for the NCAA championships three times. Johnston says winning the Big Ten and setting the meet record for the pole vault are his proudest accomplishments, but he is also happy that he has been able to stay healthy.
“Staying healthy, it’s so important,” Johnston said. “You can’t do anything if you’re not healthy.”
While Johnston has avoided major injuries, he has faced some obstacles. For the last two years, Johnston has dealt with rips on his hands every time he jumps. With his coaches, Johnston found an intriguing—and perhaps peculiar—solution: Johnston now wears a golf glove while he jumps.
With his recent success, it seems to be working. Johnston doesn’t have plans of stopping anytime soon, either.
“My goals are to stay healthy, jump high … do good at the big meets, do good at Big Tens, do good at natties, when it really matters,” Johnston said.
Most of all, Johnston is proud to be an Illini.
“I’m super grateful to be able to wear the ‘I’ on my chest,” Johnston said. “I’m very happy that the coaches and the University of Illinois trust me, believe in me and let me showcase my talents.”
Illini continue setting records
In the weight throw, junior Jordan Koskondy broke the school record with a 23.59-meter toss. She is now third in the nation for the event. Graduate students Phethisang Makhethe (23.39m) and Oluwatomilayo Akintunde (22.06m) followed in Koskondy’s footsteps, throwing for the program’s second and third best marks, respectively.
Junior Zavien Wolfe finished fourth (16.46m) with a new personal best in the triple jump. For the women, junior Mercy Honesty set a new best of 13.52 meters. Both jumps make Wolfe and Honesty second in their program’s history and No. 5 and No. 3 in the nation, respectively.
Marking the second-best program time in the mile, freshman Pol Molins placed ninth at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational (3:58.48).
Just three centimeters short of her best long jump ever, junior Sophia Beckmon finished second in the long jump (6.82m). Her jump two weeks ago at the Razorback Invitational maintains its No. 1 spot in the NCAA (6.85m).
In the 400-meter, junior Jackson Gilbert had the school’s third-fastest time and finished fourth (45.93).
Junior Grace Kombetto won the 800-meter with a time of 2:05.08, making her the third fastest in the event in Illinois history.
Graduate student Rose Yeboah fell short compared to her last record-breaking high jump, but she still finished second after reaching 1.86 meters. On the men’s side, freshman Kennedy Ocansey finished seventh in the event (2.16).
Up next
The Illini host their final indoor home meet of the season on Friday, the Illini Last Chance, and will celebrate military members at the meet.
