Bahamian collegiate athlete at Illinois Pedrya Seymour, second right, won three event titles at the Illinois Twilight Meet in Champaign, Illinois on Saturday. She won the 200 and 100m hurdles in personal best times and was also a member of the winning Fighting Illini women's 4x100m relay team.
After a promising junior career, Bahamian Pedrya Seymour is taking off on the senior side as she looks to continue to excel in athletics. The Illinois junior was a triple winner from the Illinois Twilight Meet in Champaign, Illinois on Saturday, taking the 200 meters (m) and 100m hurdles in personal best times, and running with her teammates to take the women's 4x100m title.
Seymour, 20, has improved tremendously from a year ago, and is on the borderline of qualifying for this year's Summer Olympics, set for August 5-21, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It would be her second senior global meet of the year, after running in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships in March.
Seymour clocked 23.88 seconds in the 200m on Saturday, and finished the 100m hurdles in 13.40 seconds. She came back and helped the Fighting Illini women's 4x100m team to win that title. The team of Seymour, Janile Rogers, Jayla Stewart and Kymbriona Taylor ran 45.08 seconds for the win. Illinois State was second in 45.53 seconds, and Western Michigan finished third in 46.18 seconds.
Overall, the Fighting Illini women won five events to propel themselves to the team title, scoring 146 points to top second-place Eastern Illinois. Eastern Illinois finished with 131 points, and Illinois State rounded out the top three with 86 points. Seymour led them with her three titles. The All-American has made tremendous strides as an athlete from her freshman season.
In the 100m hurdles, the Fighting Illini swept the top-three spots. Behind Seymour, freshman Jayla Stewart was second in 13.59 seconds, and junior Kortni Smyers-Jones finished third in 14.19 seconds. In the 200m, Seymour dipped below 24 seconds for the first time in her career, running an impressive 23.88 seconds. Illinois State's Emily Cowan was second in 24.26 seconds, and Illinois freshman Janile Rogers finished third in 24.48 seconds.
So far this season, Seymour was third at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles. She earned Second Team All-American status with a 13th-place finish in that event at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships, and recorded a personal best of 8.15 seconds, finishing 11th overall in that event at the world indoors. Her time of 8.15 seconds in the 60m hurdles is tied for the fifth-fastest indoor time in school history. She is about a half second away from qualifying for the Olympics in both the 200m and 100m hurdles.
As for the Fighting Illini women's track and field team, they will now prepare for the Drake Relays, set for later this week in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sheldon Longley
Guardian Sports Editor
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