Jan. 7, 2006

Final Stats

Bloomington, Ind. - The Fighting Illini men's track and field team successfully kicked off the 2006 indoor season on Saturday at the Hoosier Open in Bloomington, Ind. Illinois was victorious in three events along with four second-place and five third-place finishes.

"This season opener was a very good one. We did what we came here to do," head coach Wayne Angel said. "We performed very well up and down the board. I'm thrilled with our performance today and am looking forward to what is to come this season."

Freshman Dominique Worsley was the highlight of the meet for Illinois as he dominated the sprints with two first-place finishes in his debut for the Orange and Blue. Worsley just missed provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships with times of 6.77 in the 60-meter dash and 21.28 in the 200-meter dash.

"I'm very proud of the young man," Angel said. "This was his first taste of competition at the collegiate level, and he made it look so easy. He was outstanding."

Illinois' middle-distance runners swept the four top spots in the 600-meter dash. Senior captain Tramell Smith led the way with a personal-best time of 1:17.60. Following him were senior Abe Jones (1:18.77), junior Jeremy Kruidenier (1:19.69) and freshman Sean Muldoon (1:21.73).

In the 400-meter dash, senior Adrian Walker placed second with a time of 48.68. Junior Kenny Johnson followed right behind to capture third place with a personal-best 49.84.

Senior Tim Hobbs and sophomore Joe Gajewski represented the Illini in the 800-meter dassh as they placed second (1:53.81) and third (1:54.92), respectively.

"Our sprinters and middle distance runners performed very strong today," Angel said. "We now see where we stand as a team and what we need to improve on."

Sophomore Nick Brown led the Illini in field events as he placed second in the long jump (7.18m) and third in the triple jump (14.78m). Pole vaulters, senior Eric DiSilvestro and sophomore John Adamczyk finished second (5.10m) and fourth (4.85m), respectively.

"We had a very strong performance from our field athletes," Angel said. "DiSilvestro and Adamczyk took care of business in the pole vault, and Nick Brown was solid in the long jump and triple jump."

The Illini return to action next Saturday, Jan. 14 in Iowa City at the Iowa Open.