The Illinois women’s track and field team will compete at the NCAA West preliminary round this weekend in Austin, Texas. The Illini will have 18 athletes competing in 14 events; all are vying for a spot on the national stage at the NCAA Championships.

The Illini are coming off a successful weekend at the Big Ten Championships where they won four individual Big Ten titles and a relay title in the 1600-meter relay. Although they were favored to win the Big Ten championships, a couple of things fell out of place and a couple of mistakes were made. The team will be looking to erase those mistakes at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas.

“I think all of them have a shot of going to the national meet,” head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said. “Definitely, people will look at the ‘top of the list’ athletes and mention them but I think all of them really have a good shot at making it to the next round because they put in the work.”

The team will be looking for great results this weekend and they believe their chances will be compounded greatly by a couple of things. Buford-Bailey said the team has been able to rest and relax without as much travel going on and without the stress of classes every day.

“They are at their prime,” Buford-Bailey said. “The team has been resting a lot more recently and we’ve been strengthening their form, technique and getting adjusted to the track. I feel like everybody should run their fastest (and) jump their highest. I definitely expect the best from everyone this meet.”

With the expectation of a good performance, the team has seen an increased amount of pressure to do well. There is pressure for sprinter Marissa Golliday, pole vaulter Elizabeth Eitzen and distance runner Courtney Yaeger to close out their careers at Illinois in style and for the national meet. As the reigning NCAA outdoor champion in the 400 meterw, sophomore Ashley Spencer has seen a lot pressure to repeat the incredible feat she schieved as just a freshman.

“The pressure is high, of course, I’m not going to say it’s not, but I have my own personal goals,” Spencer said. “I try not to think too far ahead. I really can’t put myself in the national finals without running the first round yet. I just try to take it day by day because I know what I need to do and I know the expectations of my coaches. I’m just going to run smart and run hard.”

The field unit will also be sending a strong representative to the meet. Pole vaulters Stephanie Richartz, Eitzen, and Jennifer DeBellis will all be looking to qualify for the national championships. Richartz is the newly-crowned outdoor Big Ten pole vault champion but she and her teammates are not just looking to settle there.

“We are definitely all capable of qualifying (for the NCAA Championship),” Richartz said. “I’ve seen (Eitzen and DeBellis) work hard and have good heights in practice so it wasn’t a surprise to see them do what they did at Big Tens. Jen is just a freshman and this will be a great experience for her this year but I hope that she can also be at the national championships with me next year.”

Lanre can be reached at [email protected] and @writerlanre.