Ashley Kelly, left and Britney Wattley were double finalists in the Big 10 Conference and ECAC Championships
MAY 14—After helping her team to win the ECAC Championships 4x100m Relay in Princeton, New Jersey with a strong opening leg on Sunday, Britney Wattley went on to finish second in the 200m and sixth in the 100m.
The Morgan State Jr. ran 23.75 seconds for second place in the 200m, after winning her heat in 24.09 to advance to the final. She placed sixth in the 100m in 11.80 seconds. Wattley ran 11.92 seconds in the 100m prelims and 11.94 in the semis to advance to the final.
Wattley began her day by leading off the victorious 4x100m relay that ran 44.93 seconds, after turning the fastest advancing time of 45.12.
Illinois Sr. Ashley Kelly ended her Big 10 Conference Championships career in Madison, Wisconsin, with a pair of fourth place finishes in the 400 and 200m.
Before her individual exploits, Kelly had a second leg carry that helped the Fighting Illini to second place in the 4x100m relay in 44.45 seconds, after winning their heat in 44.88.
Kelly had a season’s best of 52.77—the second fastest of her career behind last year’s 52.71—to finish second in her 400m heat and secured one of the four fastest times from the advancing group, before settling for 53.22 in the final. “I didn’t leave it out there,” she texed after the race. “Sooooo upset.”
She then followed up with 23.56 in the 200m final, good for fourth. Kelly ran 23.54 in the 200m prelims—also the second fastest of her career behind the 23.49 from 2011—to finish third and advanced.
Kelly ended her conference championships with a 51.9 seconds split on the second leg, helping the Fighting Illini to a 4x400m victory with a meet record and second fastest time in school history of 3:31.77. Illinois was tied for second with conference new comers Nebraska, after scoring 110 points.
Portland State Vikings Sr. Dominique Maloney was fifth in the Big Sky Conference 400m in 55.32 seconds, her fastest since 2008 when she ran 55.54. She ran 55.52 to advance to the final and had a 24.94 time in the 200m but did not advance.
Maloney anchored the Vikings’ 4x400m relay to a school record time of 3:47.75.
Elsewhere, Karene King was fourth in her heat and fifth overall the 200m in Cal State LA Last Chance meet, after running a personal best of 23.53 seconds to equal Chantel Malone’s time ran two weeks ago as the fastest marks by a BVI athlete this season. She was second in the 100m in 11.56 but skipped the final to focus on the 200m.
Malone kicked off the territory’s top performers by placing fourth in the Cayman Islands Invitational 400m in 52.48 seconds.
Tahesia Harrigan-Scott, competing in the Ponce Grand Prix in Puerto Rico, turned in a time of 11.71 seconds.
Olympic Games watch:
King and Malone are .23 off the Olympic Games 200m B qualifying standard, while Kelly is .24 away and Wattley, .37. 400m: Malone is .13 off and Kelly, .42.