Feb. 22, 2008

Complete Results

EIU Friday Night Special Results

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Freshman Josh Gist ran a lifetime best and won the 60m hurdles as the Illinois men's track and field team competed at the Eastern Illinois Friday Night Special in the team's final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships.

Gist timed 8.09 seconds in the 60m hurdles final to take the event and handily better his previous personal-best of 8.26. He also moved onto the list of Illini all-time performers in the 60m hurdles, currently ranking ninth. Fellow freshman Cody Wisslead also made steady progress in the hurdles, running a personal-best time of 8.23 in preliminaries. Wisslead ran 8.29 in finals to finish seventh.

Senior Pierre Bush fared well in two events for the Illini, taking second in the long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 8 1/2 inches and running a season-best 60m time of 6.91 to take fourth.

"I'm very pleased with the strides that Gist, Wisslead and Bush are making," head coach Wayne Angel said. "Their progress is coming in a timely fashion as we approach the Big Ten Championships. It's great to see our athletes stepping up and helping to put the pieces of the puzzle together."

In the throwing events, sophomore Casey Fonnesbeck took second in the shot put with a distance of 54-6, while Andy Ward marked a personal-best distance of 54-6 1/2 inches in the weight throw, placing eighth and moving up to sixth on the Illinois all-time performance list.

Senior Mike Kelley was second in the 3,000m with a time of 8:44.90, while sophomore Rob Pykosz was fifth in 8:52.47.

Other Illini finishing in the top five in their events were sophomore Fred Jackson in the triple jump (47-4 1/4, fourth), freshman Dan Jones in the 200m (22.56, fourth), Azeez Shogbuyi in the long jump (22-5 1/4, fifth), Mike Murray in the 800m (1:56.79, fifth) and Dan Kremske in the mile (4:21.02, fifth).

Illinois travels next weekend to the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. on Saturday, March 1 and Sunday, March 2.