By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—As the Tennessee Tech track and field team delves deeper into the 2017 indoor season, the Golden Eagles will travel to Champaign, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 14, to compete at the Illini Classic.
"We're trying to strike a balance in terms of our strengths and weaknesses as a team," head coach Wayne Angel remarked. "Our primary objective at Illinois this weekend will be to focus on our mental toughness and competitive efforts".
The Golden Eagles will be one of 10 teams competing this weekend at the University of Illinois. Accompanying the Purple and Gold squad will be teams from Butler, Eastern Illinois, St. Louis, No. 9 Notre Dame, Bradley, DePaul, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, and Western Michigan, which will prove to be tough competition for the Tech team.
"We will continue to build on the momentum that we have established with stronger and better performances," Angel continued. "That's the only way that we can be assured to be prepared and be in a position to be successful at the OVC championships on February the 24th and 25th."
15 Golden Eagles will be representing Tech in the meet this weekend including: Na'Scottisha Drummond, Sharnique Leonce, Brittany McGee, Eshe Robinson, Na'Asha Robinson, Jaydean Joseph, Raven Smith, Lisa Wickham, Molly Griffin, Purity Murray, D'Airrien Jackson, Anna Cooper, Sarah Brandt, Micayla Rennick, and Madison Stremler.
Returning after a stellar performance last week to land herself as the Ohio Valley Conference adidas® co-Female Track Athlete of the Week, Rennick will compete in the 800-meter for the first time this season. While, teammate Na'Asha Robinson returns to the track to compete in the 60-meter dash and the 400-meter dash, which she currently owns the school record in with a time of 54.14.
The return to the University of Illinois will also be a special one for head coach Angel as he is a Fighting Illini alumnus. While at Illinois, Angel was a two-time Big Ten Champion and former school record holder in the 400-meter hurdles.
The day's festivities will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and live stats will be updated throughout the day here as the heats finish.
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports Facebook page or on Twitter at @TTUGoldenEagles.
Photo by Jim Dillon
