Illini track and field opens home season

Orange and Blue Win Illini Invitational Title Mensah Paces Illinois With a Pair of Event Titles CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois womens track and field team won the Illini Invitational with 164.66 points Saturday at the UI Armory. Yvonne Mensah took home titles in the long jump and 60m dash, and the Orange and Blue took home six event titles as a team. Finishing second in the team scoring was Kansas with 149.33 points. Northern Illinois placed third (85) and Tennessee finished fourth (66). Mensah showed the senior leadership the Illini will need from her this season, grabbing first-place finishes in the long jump (1905.50") and the 60m dash (7.49). "Overall, today I had a decent performance," Mensah said. "This was a great starting point, but there are areas that I would like to keep improving upon." Also for the Illini, Omoye Ugiagbe set a new personal best in the 200m with a time of 25.09. Theresa Brokaw won the mile in 5:05.72, Taylor Bennett took the 3000m title (10:26.02) and Kristina Jones won the triple jump (3901.25"). "This was a decent opener for us," head coach Gary Winckler said. "Some people went home over break for a while, and that hurt us. We have a lot of catching up and work to do, but theres no reason to panic." The Fighting Illini return to the track next Saturday at the Indiana Team Classic in Blooimington, Ind. Five Illini Win Events at Invitational Brown, Worsley, Richardson, Shroka and Jackson Lead Orange and Blue CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Five Illinois mens track and field athletes won their events at the Illini Invitational, where team scores were not kept. The Orange and Blue competed against athletes from Eastern Illinois and Kansas. The Illini finished with several competitors in the top five in several events. Junior Nick Brown took home the long jump title with a leap of 2304.00", while sophomore Dominique Worsley continued his hot start to the season with a victory in the 60m (6.80). "This was a good opener for me today," Brown said. "But I still have a lot of room for improvement." Other top finishers for Illinois were Jared Richardson in the 1000m (2:33.61), Greg Shroka in the high jump (610.25") and Fred Jackson in the triple jump (4704.50"). "I was hoping for much more intensity today," head coach Wayne Angel said. "There were some great performances overall, but we still have a long way to go." Illinois returns to action next weekend at the Blue Raider Invitational in Mufreesboro, Tenn.