Illinois competed in its last home indoor meet of the season on Friday with the Illini Last Chance. It was a quiet but successful day for the Illini, as the team took first in several events.
Junior Javaris Ambrose won the weight throw with a distance of 18.79m. Ambrose finished just ahead of sophomore teammate Reece Ihenacho, who took second with an 18.54-meter toss.
Graduate student Oluwatomilayo Akintunde placed first in the women’s bracket with a mark of 21.85m. Akintunde won by a large margin, with Illinois State sophomore Brianna Brodie having the next best throw at 16.82m.
Akintunde also won the shot put with a throw of 15.82m.
New heights
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The pole vault saw the most action on the day as juniors Cade DeWitt and Brenden Vanderpool came in second and third, respectively, with jumps of 5.45m each. This marked a top-five program performance for DeWitt and a new season-best for Vanderpool.
DeWitt earned the edge in the placement as he achieved the height on his second attempt, while Vanderpool cleared it on his third.
Senior Mia Morello placed third for the women with a vault of 4.28m, finishing ahead of 2016 Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi, who represented Adidas.
Other performances
Freshman Tim Pelkmans earned his first win of the year, pacing the field in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.45 seconds. Another freshman, Sherrie Emmons, grabbed her first podium finish of the season, taking third in the long jump with a mark of 5.96m. Junior Alex Sohn also earned a bronze medal, placing third in the shot put with a throw of 17.59m.
Looking ahead
The Illini will travel to Indianapolis to compete in the Big Ten Indoor Championships this coming weekend.
