With the women’s indoor track and field season coming to a close, the Illini head into this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championships aiming for a national title. The team has enjoyed a lot of success over this season and will look to continue that trend Friday and Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Coming in at No. 10 in the NCAA Women’s Indoor Track & Field rankings, it will be a mountain of a feat to overcome No. 1 ranked LSU and dethrone three-time defending champion Oregon in a tight field at the championship. The Illini aren’t without talent or momentum, coming off a impressive team victory at the Big Ten Championships to round off February and a good showing at the Alex Wilson invitation last weekend. Illinois head coach and this season’s Big Ten Coach of the year Tonja Buford-Bailey, said about managing expectations: “I want them to treat it like any other meet. We just want to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We used the same basic training that we have all season. I didn’t want them to do anything different but continue working hard like they have so far. They just have to try to be a little better.”
Sprinter Ashley Spencer played a huge role in that victory, with wins in the 200 and 400 meters and was named athlete of the Big Ten Championships. She is currently still undefeated in the 400 this season, qualifying with a program-best time of 52.07 seconds. She was also named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year for the 2013 indoor season.
“She has been great this season,” Buford-Bailey said. “She has run some great times in the 400 and she is still the reigning outdoor women’s national champion in that distance, so she’s a favorite.”
Buford-Bailey also said she’ll look to Spencer as a guide to help her teammates, who haven’t made it this far before, through the weekend. Spencer can help her teammates cope with pre-competition jitters and mental preparation for arguably the biggest meet of their careers.
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Other Illinois track athletes competing at the tournament are Big Ten Freshman of the Year Morolake Akinosun in the 60, 200 and 4x400m relay, junior Samantha Murphy in the 800, senior Marissa Golliday in the Pentathlon and 4x400m relay, junior Breeana Coleman in the 60-meter hurdles, and sophomore Asia Thomas in the 4x400m relay. The only Illini field athlete is pole vaulter Stephanie Richartz, who enters the weekend ranked eighth in the nation. Spencer, Coleman and Richartz were at this event last year, but this is the first NCAA Championship for Thomas, Golliday, Akinosun and Murphy.
