Feb. 8, 2008
Results
New Balance Invitational Day 1 Results (PDF)
NEW YORK - Illinois men's track and field junior Gakologelwang Masheto made headlines Friday in New York, setting an NCAA record in the 500m against an elite field of 56 athletes in the first day of competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory Track. As a team, the Illini currently stand in seventh place.
Masheto's first-place time of 1 minute, 0.82 seconds (1:00.82) broke the NCAA record of 1:00.84 set by Michael Greene of Navy in 1987 and is the fastest time in the world so far this year. The performance also set a New Balance Collegiate Invitational meet record and Illinois school record, both of which were held by Illini great Abe Jones' mark of 1:01.40 set in 2006.
The Muan, Botswana native dominated the field, with Texas' Tevan Everett finishing in a distant second with a time of 1:02.19. Video of Masheto's race from the Armory Track website can be found here: http://ny.milesplit.us/videos/tags/2008?id=2535
"I think Masheto surprised a lot of people," head coach Wayne Angel said. "He made the race look very easy. He's getting very fit for the championship part of the season. Setting an NCAA record makes a statement for our entire program."
Masheto wasn't Illinois' only first-place finisher on Friday, as sophomore Jacob Nachel took the 5,000m title, running an indoor personal best time of 14:29.24.
"(Nachel) sat in the lead pack for the first part of the race and ran a very strong last mile," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "The way he finished is a definite indication that he's well ahead of where he was a year ago and it bodes well for the rest of the season."
Senior Nick Brown was also a highlight for Illinois on the meet's opening day, taking second out of 54 athletes in the long jump with a distance of 24 feet, 5 3/4 inches that marked his best jump of the season.
"I challenged our athletes to step up to the next level and they did," Angel said. "We had some great performances by Masheto, Nachel and Brown that propelled us with the momentum we needed to have a successful meet today."
The Illini's eventful day continued as junior Andrew Zollner finished second in the pole vault with a height of 15'9", while Dominique Worsley tied his personal-best in the 60m, running 6.75 to finish 11th in the event final.
Illinois was well-represented in the 500m besides Masheto. Sophomore Brandon Gray took ninth in the event with a time of 1:04.19, while junior transfer Yawusa Kinda made his Illinois debut by finishing 17th (1:05.48).
Freshman Will Schaeffer was eighth in the pole vault (15'9") and senior Pierre Bush finished tied for 11th in the long jump, with a season-best distance of 22'10". Sophomore Brian Beaird ran a personal-best time of 2:28.10 in the 1,000m to finish 12th.
The New Balance Invitational concludes tomorrow with running and field events both kicking off at 8 a.m. CT.
