The Illinois women’s track and field team turned in a quality performance Saturday to win the 2013 Big Ten Indoor Championship for the first time since 1996.
The Illini recorded 115 points to win the two-day competition, garnering six titles, two of which were from individual performances by sophomore standout Ashley Spencer.
The Indianapolis native was victorious in the 200-meter dash and the 400 meters, crossing the finish line in 23.30 seconds — a season best — and 52.17 seconds, respectively. Her 400-meter time set a meet record.
Spencer was also part of the title-winning 4×400-meter relay team that included Asia Thomas — who finished third in the 400 — Morolake Akinosun and Marissa Golliday, which held its title from last year and set a school record with a time of 3:33.30.
“Everyone is really excited from today’s outcome,” head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said in a statement. “This is what we’ve been training for all year. It was great to see everyone stepping up to the plate and doing what they said they would. There were so many records set. … It’s hard to pick out one person because it was an entire team effort.”
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Nebraska and Michigan came in second and third with 112 and 89 points, respectively.
Akinosun, a freshman, won the 60-meter dash with a career-best time of 7.32 seconds, good for fourth-best in program history. She also placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.47 seconds, the third-fastest time in school history.
Junior Samantha Murphy contributed 14 team points during the conference championships, placing second in the 800 and third in the 600. She finished the 800 with a time of 2:05.51. Murphy, who set the school record in the 600 on Friday, crossed the line in that race with a time of 1:29.61 on Saturday.
Junior Breeana Coleman won the Big Ten title in the 60-meter hurdles, winning her first conference title in a season-best time of 8.20. Junior Jesica Ejesieme placed third in the event in 8.28.
In long distance, senior Courtney Yaeger finished the 5,000 in 16:40.09, which was the best time in her career and the fifth best in program history.
