Women 4th, men 6th at Illinois Twilight

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The Daily Eastern News

Senior Kristen Paris takes her run in the Women’s 800. Paris would go on to win the race running a time of 2:11. About the race Paris said “I wasn’t expecting the race to go the way it did, but I had to focus on my own race and not worry about the things happeneing around me.”

Kaitlin Cordes, Track and Field Reporter

The track and field team earned some of its lowest team rankings of the outdoor season this past weekend at the Illinois Twilight meet. The women placed fourth while the men found themselves in sixth place.

Senior Julie James and the women’s 4×100-meter relay team were the only Panthers to post a win. James won the 800-meter dash with a time of 2 minutes, 11.91 seconds, and the relay team clocked in at 46.60 seconds to snatch 10 points.

Senior Kristen Paris and junior Kendall Williams were the only Panthers to earn second place in their respective events. Paris came in behind James in the 800-meter run with at time of 2:12.64. Williams was second in the long jump with a mark of 23’1.75”.

Junior Chrisford Stevens obtained multiple top-five finishes at the meet. Stevens was third in the triple jump after posting a measurement of 48’2.25” and was fourth in the long jump with a distance of 22’05.75”.

Junior Haleigh Knapp recorded a third-place performance in the high jump after clearing 5’4.5”. Sophomore Ashton Wilson also had a successful day in the event as he placed fourth with a mark of 6’2.75”.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Ebert was third in the javelin throw with a mark of 116 feet. Junior Lexie Yealey posted the final top-five placing in women’s field events with a fourth place discus throw of 146’10”.

Sophomore Adam Kessler and senior Riley Kittridge both placed in the top five in the shot put. Kessler placed fourth with a throw of 55’2”, and Kittridge was fifth with a mark of 54’11.5”.

Senior John Piper was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.16 seconds, a time just 0.16 seconds slower than third-place Bobbly Kaluza of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Junior Darneisha Spann also placed fourth in her hurdle event. She finished the 100-meter hurdle race in 14.14 seconds. Senior Tori Master was fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.75.

Redshirt sophomore Michael Brown finished fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.62. Senior Jamal Robinson came in fourth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.75 seconds. Junior Nyjah Lane also placed fourth in the 100-meter dash as she finished the race in 12.14 seconds.

Junior Maria Baldwin rounded out the team’s fourth-place finishes. She ran the 5,000-meter run in 17:25.11. Junior Davion McManis was fifth in the long jump at 22’5.25”.

The University of Illinois won the meet on both the men’s and women’s sides. The Illini men and women combined for 19 first-place wins, more than any other school competing at the meet.

The top five women’s teams were Illinois in first followed by Dayton, Illinois State, Eastern and Ball State. The top five teams for the men were Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago, Edwardsville and DePaul.

The Panthers will head to the Drake Relays for a three-day stint in Iowa starting Thursday, April 27.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]