GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The men’s and women’s track and field teams finished the Florida Relays on Saturday (March 30) where junior Bara Sajdokova wasted no time making some noise in her high jump outdoor season debut for the Illini. Not only did she win with a leap of 1.90m (6-2 3/4), but she demolished the 31-year-old school record and is second in the nation for 2024. The record she broke was Carmel Corbett’s 1.86m (6-1 1/4) originally set back in 1993.
Her high jump teammate redshirt junior Rose Yeboah earned silver with the program’s fifth-highest clearance at 1.83m (6-0) which also ranks fifth in the country for the year so far.
Freshman Cody Johnston improved his national leading pole vault 10 centimeters to 5.60m (18-4 1/2) in his event win and climbed up to third in the program record book. Junior Jessica McDowell sprinted to 400m gold with the program’s third-fastest time (51.41) which is fourth in the nation this season as well.
The women’s 4x100m relay team of freshmen Asia Thomas and Sophia Beckmon, sophomore Azariyah Bryant and McDowell placed sixth with the same exact time they qualified with yesterday (44.24). Bryant would later sprint the program’s fourth-fastest 100m (11.34) in her fourth-place finish.
Freshman Michail Rose placed fifth in the 110 meter hurdle finals, clocking in at 13.97 which was .06 seconds away from cracking the program’s top-10 list. Senior Will Rezny threw an outdoor personal-best in the shot put, 18.32m (60-1 1/4), which ranks seventh in Illinois history.
Senior Tyler Sudduth threw the days seventh-best discus, 55.57m (182-03), and fellow senior Aiden Ouimet clocked a new personal-best in the 110 meter hurdles (14.30).
Sophomore Tadeas Placek placed ninth in the 800m with a new personal-best (1:48.02) and junior Nicolas Dovalovsky recorded a new personal-best time too (1:50.07). Junior Tacoria Humphrey closed out the meet with a personal-best in the 100m dash (11.57).
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue track and field crews are off next week but return to action at home the following week for the Gary Wieneke Memorial on April 13 from Demirjian Park.
NOTES
Event Winners and Top-10 Program Marks
- Bara Sajdokova won the high jump with a school record, 1.90m (6-2 3/4).
- Rose Yeboah placed second with the program’s fifth-best mark, 1.83m (6-0).
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