Illinois Wins Big Ten Outdoor Championship!

University Park, Pa. - The Illinois women's track & field team captured the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championship on Sunday afternoon, racking up an amazing 106 points during today's third and final day of competition to finish the meet with a total score of 129. Illinois and Michigan were co-champions, marking the first time in Big Ten history that there has been a tie for the women's outdoor title.

"I am so proud of our team and the way they competed across the board today," an elated head coach Gary Winckler said following the meet. "We asked an awful lot from them, there were some tough doubles and a few competed in as many as three or four - or in the case of Yvonne (Mensah), five - events during the day with not a lot of recovery time in between. We started scoring in bunches and making our move up the standings and our athletes felt that momentum and thrived on it. I'm especially happy for our seniors. They are an exceptional group that has done an outstanding job leading our team by example, and it's fitting that they go out on top in their final Big Ten meet."

This marks Illinois' 11th conference championship under Winckler, and the program's sixth outdoor title. It is also its second title in the last three years, as the Illini also won the Big Ten outdoor meet in 2005.

"It's an amazing feeling being Big Ten champions," senior Yvonne Mensah said. "We knew coming in it was going to be tough, a lot of people thought we'd be in the top three if we did well. But about halfway through today, we realized we were making a big move and that the title was in reach. Then we got excited and started talking and encouraging each other and I think that got us even more motivated."

Illinois Wins Big Ten Outdoor Championship!