Williams and Devonish Travel to NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Jianna Williams and sophomore Anderson Devonish will compete at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships this week. This will be Williams' second year in a row competing in the NCAA Championships. Williams will be competing both in the hammer throw and shot put. She is the only female student-athlete competing in both events. Devonish's first appearance at the NCAA Championships will be in the 400-meter dash.

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"Jianna always shows up at the end of the season," Illinois State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "Coming back with a year of experience in Eugene is going to pay big dividends for her this year. Jianna has a very poised and composed personality that I think really helps her in these big competitions. She has a unique talent being able to compete in both the shot put and hammer throw at this high of a level. It's a very rare thing."  

Williams notched her personal best of 63.85 meters (209-05) in the hammer throw at the NCAA West Preliminary, which ranks as the sixth-best mark out of the 24 competitors. She owns a personal-best mark of 16.99 meters (55-09) in the shot put. Devonish will enter the NCAA Championships with a personal-best time of 46.26, also recorded at the NCAA West Preliminary.

"Andy has made tremendous gains this year," Bovee said. "His goal entering this year was to break 47 seconds and he has surpassed that by leaps and bounds. Andy is not just happy to get to the NCAA meet – he knows he belongs running against the best 400-meter runners in the world. Andy is going to go after the school record and attempt to make the final round."

Devonish will race on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT. Williams will enter the ring on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. CT starting with the hammer throw, before competing in the shot put at 7:40 p.m. CT. The NCAA Championships will be broadcast live on ESPN3 or ESPNU.

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