University of Illinois
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Yeboah Finishes Illini Career as High Jump National Runner-Up on Final Day of NCAA Championships
June 14, 2026 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
RECAP
Full Results
EUGENE, Ore. – The Illinois women's field team finished the 2026 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday (June 13) from Hayward Field. Rose Yeboah finished as the national runner-up in the high jump for the second-straight outdoor season when she cleared a season-best mark of 1.96m (6-5).
"This meet didn't go exactly as we were hoping, but I'm still proud of how our athletes fought in an extremely deep NCAA Championships," said director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou. "I've been doing this a long time and that's one of the deepest championships I've seen in a long time, especially on the women's side. I'm proud of our seven All-Americans: Jacob Cookinham and Luuk Pelkmans on the men's side and Sophia Beckmon, JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, Meagan Humphries, Jordan Koskondy and Rose Yeboah on the women's end.'
'For those five women to score 27 points and take eighth in this ridiculously deep field was extremely impressive. This is now the second-consecutive outdoor season that they've finished inside the top-10 so we're building something here in Champaign.'
'I want to especially shoutout Rose for her time here as an Illini as she sadly has run out of eligibility. She helped me turn around this program to what it is today as a national champion in her sophomore season, three-time national runner-up and a six-time All-American. I couldn't be happier with her and the mark she left on this university. She's without a doubt one of the greatest Illini women to ever come through this program. We will miss her a lot, but I can't wait to see her continue on in her professional career because the sky's the limit for her."
Yeboah ends her Illini career as a national champion, three-time national runner-up, six time All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion and a six-time Big Ten medalist where she never finished lower than third at any Big Ten Championships in her career. She earned two of those NCAA silver medals this season sweeping them both indoors and outdoors. The Kumasi, Ghana native left her mark as one of the program's all-time greats as she was the first Illinois women's field event national champion ever in 2024 and she own's both the indoor and outdoor school records.
Gero-Holt earned bronze and broke the school record in the heptathlon today becoming the first Illini woman in history to surpass 6,000 points (6,010). She's the highest heptathlon finisher in program history and collected the school's fourth All-America honor.
She finishes a phenomenal freshman season where she was the national runner-up in the pentathlon indoors to go along with her fourth-place finish in the high jump, the first freshman in program history to All-American in two separate individual events. During the outdoor season she was the Big Ten Heptathlon Champion in addition to her third-place finish today.
Humphries scored the second most points in Illinois history in the heptathlon (6,008) to finish in fifth place and earn her first All-America honor. She's the second Illini in school history to surpass the 6,000 point mark and garners the program's fifth heptathlon All-America honor.
She closes out a stellar sophomore season that saw her top the podium at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the pentathlon where she earned personal-best marks in all five events. During her outdoor season she earned bronze in the heptathlon at the Big Ten Championships to go along with her All-America honors today.
Katharina Graman did not record a mark in the triple jump today with three fouls and finished her junior season. She was the silver medalist at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the triple jump and the only Illini to qualify to the national outdoor meet in two events (long and triple jump). Additionally, she placed fifth in the long jump at the outdoor conference meet and fifth in the triple jump at the indoor conference meet.
This concludes a historical season for Illinois track and field that saw the women's team record their highest finish in NCAA Indoor Championships history when they finished in third with 42 points. Sophia Beckmon also became the first indoor field event national champion in the program's history in the long jump to springboard the team to that bronze trophy.
ALL-AMERICANS
- Rose Yeboah placed second in the high jump, 1.96m (6-5)
- JaiCieonna Gero-Holt placed third in the heptathlon with a school record 6,010 points
- Meagan Humphries placed fifth in the heptathlon with the school's second-highest point total 6,008
INDIVIDUAL POINT SCORERS
WOMEN
1. Rose Yeboah – 8
2. JaiCieonna Gero-Holt – 6
3. Sophia Beckmon – 5
4. Meagan Humphries – 4
4. Jordan Koskondy – 4
MEN
1. Luuk Pelkmans – 6
2. Jacob Cookinham – 1
STANDINGS
WOMEN
1. Georgia – 50
2. Florida – 41
3. Arkansas – 38
4. Oregon – 36
5. USC – 32
6. Alabama – 30
7. Washington – 28
8. Illinois – 27
8. Iowa State – 27
8. Nebraska – 27
MEN
1. Arkansas – 56
2. Georgia – 49
3. Tennessee – 46
4. LSU – 42
5. Oregon – 40
35. Illinois – 7
NOTES
- Katharina Graman did not record a mark in the triple jump
HEPTATHLON
JaiCieonna Gero-Holt – Third (6,010 points)
- Placed 12th in the long jump, 5.93m (19-5 1/2)
- Placed 12th in the javelin, 38.09m (124-11)
- Placed 17th in the 800m (2:21.32)
Meagan Humphries – Fourth (6,008 points)
- Placed fourth in the 800m (2:11.91)
- Placed fifth in the long jump, 6.24m (20-5 3/4)
- Placed 22nd in the javelin, 32.20m (105-8)
