With over 11 sporting events in Champaign for the 2024 Moms Weekend, women’s track and field is one of the teams on display. Illini Athletics is hosting the Illini Spring Sports Fest, featuring live music, prizes and more.
The Illinois women’s track team is still fresh off its first 2023 Big Ten indoor championship since 2013 and has taken that momentum into the outdoor season. Five members of that championship team were named indoor All-Americans, and freshman Elizabeth Ndudi, juniors Tori Thomas, Bara Sajdokova and Darja Sopova and redshirt junior Rose Yeboah have continued their dominance this spring.
Previously, the women’s track and field team traveled to Gainesville, Florida to compete in the Florida Relays in late March. Two Illinois long-distance runners, freshman Avril Andre and junior Halle Hill, returned to Champaign with top-five times for the program. Andre recorded a 34.38.00 in the 10,000-meter race, placing her fifth in program history for this event. Hill ran a 16:00.11 in the 5,000-meter race, making her the second fastest in program history in the event.
Not only did Illinois etch itself in long-distance program history, it took hold of the high jumps too, when Sajdokova jumped 1.90 meters. This was the number one jump in Illinois history, but more importantly, this ranked her first nationally. Yeboah followed with a solid 1.83-meter jump, leaping her way to the fifth spot in Illinois high jump record books. The jump moved her to fifth nationally as well.
For the short-distance sprinters, sophomore sprinter Azariyah Bryant ran an 11.34 100-meter dash. Junior sprinter Jessica McDowell ran a 51.41 in the 400-meter, making her third in the history books at Illinois and good for fourth in the nation. It did not stop there, as freshman thrower Jordan Koskondy threw a 55.50-meter hammer throw, earning her the fourth-best throw in the program’s history books.
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They’ll all be competing at Gary Wieneke Memorial on Sunday at 11 a.m. Aside from the sporting event itself, there will be a live band performing at the track field from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will also be a youth race for local children to earn the title of “Fastest Kid in Champaign Race.” Finally, there will be an Illinois track and field reunion.
