University of Illinois
Wake Forest Invitational
Illinois Track and Field Splits Up to Wake Forest and Florida for Weekend Action
April 14, 2026 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
PREVIEW
| Wake Forest Invitational // Tom Jones Memorial Invitational | |
|---|---|
| Date | Thursday-Friday (April 16-17) // Friday-Saturday (April 17-18) |
| Location | Winston-Salem, N.C. // Gainesville, Fla. |
| Meet Information | Live Results // Live Results |
| Performance Lists | Men // Women |
| Shop | Fighting Illini Store |
| Social Media | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams split action across two meets this weekend with the distance group competing at the Wake Forest Invitational on April 16-17 while the rest of the squad travels to Florida for the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on April 17-18.
The Illini are coming off a productive home meet last weekend from the Illini Deca-Jam where two school records were broken. First, Jip de Greef shattered the program record in the decathlon with a score of 8,039 points to become the first Illini ever to surpass 8,000+ points in the event as well. His score also leads the nation currently for the 2026 season and will punch his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The next day Jane Roosimagi broke the school's 37-year-old javelin program record with her 52.65m (172-9) heave.
Two other decathletes also recorded top-10 program scores last week being Andreas Hantson with the school's third-best score (7,733 points) and Tim Pelkmans with the school's fifth-best score (7,157 points). Over on the track Grace Kombetto sprinted to the school's fourth-fastest time in the 800m (2:05.07) while Oluwatomilayo Akintunde threw the program's fourth-best hammer throw, 65.19m (213-10).
Emma Haeggblom opened her season in the high jump clearing 1.81m (5-11 1/4) which is the seventh-best mark in school history and Anastasia Retsa cleared the school's ninth-best pole vault, 3.97m (13-0 1/4). The rest of the team will open their season's this weekend highlighted by national champion Sophia Beckmon and national runner-ups Rose Yeboah and JaiCieonna Gero-Holt.
