Full Results
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Illinois women's track and field team finishes in third place with 42 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday (March 14) from the Randal Tyson Track Center to earn the highest team finish in school history. It's the first indoor team trophy the program has brought home as well beating the previous high finish of sixth in 1996. The third-place showing ties the second-highest team finish ever for an Illinois women's sport.
"This is history for Illinois and we would like the world to know," said director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou. "We're proud of our athletes, administration and everyone that was behind us. The sky is the limit for this team. JaiCieonna is our MVP as a freshman. She did a great job scoring 12 points for us and almost won the pentathlon outright. I compare her to Kendal Williams and Anna Hall. I think she's the next big American heptathlete.'
'Sophia did great for us too. I think she has a real chance to medal in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She's just now scratching the surface of her immense talent.'
'Over on the men's side we're redshirting some good athletes. Next year we will have some good high jumpers join and outdoors we have a solid high jumper joining us as well. Luuk is only a freshman; he's going to be a good decathlete. Men mature slower than women so I think we will be a consistent top-10 team soon."
Day two began with Rose Yeboah becoming the national runner-up in the high jump matching her school record height of 1.94m (6-4 1/4). She's now the second high jumper in school history to earn indoor high jump All-America honors in three-consecutive seasons since Stacy Ann Grant last did it in 1997-99. Her silver medal is the highest finish in the program's history as well in the event.
Freshman JaiCieonna Gero-Holt earned four points for the squad when she finished tied for fourth in the high jump competition clearing 1.85m (6-0 3/4) to be the school's sixth individual All-American in the event. She was the team MVP as the leading scorer for the Orange and Blue with 12 points following her runner-up finish in the pentathlon yesterday. Gero-Holt is the first freshman in program history to All-American in two separate individual events and the first Illini in general to do it since Celena Modie-Milner in 1989 (55m and 200m).
Over on the men's side Jip de Greef got the Illini on the board with six points in his third-place finish in the heptathlon with the program's second-best score of 6,120 points. He's the highest finisher ever in the heptathlon for Illinois and collects the program's third All-America honor.
His teammate Luuk Pelkmans became the first freshman in Illinois history to All-American in the heptathlon as he took fourth with 6,081 points. He's now the fourth individual to earn All-American status in the heptathlon. The men finished in 26th place with 11 points.
INDIVIDUAL POINT SCORERS
WOMEN
1. JaiCieonna Gero-Holt – 12
2. Sophia Beckmon – 10
3. Phethisang Makhethe – 8
3. Rose Yeboah – 8
5. Jordan Koskondy – 4
MEN
1. Jip de Greef – 6
2. Luuk Pelkmans – 5
ALL-AMERICANS
TOP-10 PROGRAM MARKS
Second – Heptathlon: Jip de Greef, 6,120 points
STANDINGS
WOMEN
1. Georgia – 53
2. Oregon – 44
3. Illinois – 42
4. Arkansas – 37
5. BYU – 27
5. Florida – 27
MEN
1. Arkansas – 73.5
2. Oregon – 40
3. Florida – 26
4. Auburn – 24
4. Kansas State – 24
26. Illinois – 11
NOTES
- Viktor Morozov placed ninth in the triple jump, 16.31m (53-6 1/4)
- Mia Morello placed 10th in the pole vault, 4.41m (14-5 1/2)
- Mercy Honesty placed 12th in the triple jump, 13.06m (42-10 1/4)
HEPTATHLON
Jip de Greef – Third (6,120 points)
- Placed third in the pole vault, 5.17m (16-11 1/2)
- Placed seventh in the 1000m (2:43.39)
- Placed 13th in the 60mH (8.29)
Luuk Pelkmans – Fourth (6,081 points)
- Placed second in the 1000m (2:34.05)
- Placed eighth in the 60mH (8.18)
- Placed ninth in the pole vault, 4.67m (15-3 3/4)
UP NEXT
The Illinois track and field squad jumps right into outdoor season next week with the River City Relays in Jacksonville, Fla. on Thursday-Friday (March 19-20).
