Track & Field 2k21: Huggins is Golden at Big Ten Meet

Huggins takes high jump crown in Big Ten

Above: Dallyssa Huggins

Iowa's Dallyssa Huggins won gold in the high jump at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a top mark of 1.79, May 16, in Champaign, Illinois.

A day after falling one spot short for medaling in the pentathlon, Huggins' goal of becoming an individual Big Ten champ became a reality. On Instagram, Huggins posted the following about her win, "[I] told myself as a sophomore that before I finish college I wanted to be a BIG Ten Champion and today I did just that. Super excited to win with a seasons best of 1.79m. Now time to focus on regionals."

Huggins, a silver medalist who nearly won the high jump at the 2018 Canadian national meet, was determined on Sunday. She steamrolled through the first four round of jumps without a miss. No other competitor was able to get through 1.76 without a miss. Rutgers' Ash Alivia, Purdue's Alexis Zatta, Katt Miner of Michigan and Madison Yerigan of Nebraska all cleared 1.76 on their second jump. Penn State's Carile Wilson snuck into the final round after clearing it on her third and final attempt. When the top six finishers made it to the 1.79, they all struggled by missing their first two attempts. Only one cleared the height on her final attempt and that was Huggins.

Ash placed second in the competition after making all of her first three attempts before missing her first at 1.76. Zatta and Miner shared the third place medal.

Huggins kicked off her indoor season with three high jump wins but finished fifth at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championship meet. After three meets without a win, during the outdoor season, she managed to get her first victory at the Wisconsin B1G Invitational on May 8, with a winning jump of 1.70.

Beard wins American Athletic Conference high jump gold

Above: Taylor Beard

Taylor Beard of Cincinnati continued her impressive 2021, with a win at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the high jump. Her mark of 1.82, Sunday in Tampa, Florida, gave her the first conference title of her career. During the indoor season Beard became an All-American by qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. During the outdoor season, she battled minor injury issues but captured her first win at the Clark Wood Invitational, April 24, when she jumped 1.79.

At the conference meet, she was the head of the class never missing until all of the other competitors were eliminated at 1.82. After missing her first attempt, she cleared 1.82 before bowing out at 1.85. Wichita State's Destiny Masters grabbed the second place medal when she cleared 1.79 on her final attempt, insuring that Ladasia Walton of Memphis would place third. There were 19 overall competitors in the event.

Connell is 100-meter hurdles JUCO champ

Above: Hannah Connell

Hannah Connell won her first national title, May 11 when she ran 13.07 at the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Connell, in her first outdoor season for Iowa Central Community College registered her personal best time beating out New Mexico Junior College's Kimeone Mcleod who placed second in the field of eight at 13.60.

Conell had her first indoor season in 2020 where she was the runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles at the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She wasn't able to compete in outdoor competition as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

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