May 18, 2008

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Championship Central

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior Gakologelwang Masheto carried the load for the Illini men's track and field team at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, contributing two second-place finishes and 19 points to the team total on Sunday at the Illinois Track Stadium.

Michigan won the team title in scoring 129 points, dethroning Wisconsin which won the last four titles. The Badgers finished second in the team standings with 119 points, while Ohio State (100), Purdue (94) and Minnesota (84) rounded out the top five. The Illini finished in ninth with 59 points.

"We are obviously disappointed with the team result," head coach Wayne Angel said. "Masheto was our work horse as usual and we had some strong individual finishes, but as a whole the team did not perform as well as we all had hoped."

Masheto was runner-up in the 400m with a time of 46.80 seconds, as his bid to win his third consecutive 400m title (2007 Big Ten Outdoor champion, 2008 Big Ten Indoor champion) was halted by Wisconsin's James Groce running 46.26 to take first. The Big Ten Championships marked just the second meet Masheto ran the 400m this season, as the All-American missed nearly two months of action recovering from a stress fracture in his left foot. Masheto ran the open 200m as well, placing sixth with a time of 21.59.

Masheto concluded his busy day of racing by anchoring the Illini 4x400m relay to a second-place finish, joining Yawusa Kinda, Brandon Gray and Gary Miller to time 3:09.84. Michigan took first place in 3:08.39. Miller was neck-in-neck with the Wolverines' leader as he handed off to Masheto, but a bad exchange dropped the Illini into third leaving Masheto with significant ground to make up to get back to second place.

Sophomore Jacob Nachel made it to the awards podium by placing third in the 5,000m with a time of 14:31.34. Minnesota freshman Hassan Mead won the race in 14:16.38 and was followed by Wisconsin's Brandon Bethke (14:22.82). Nachel had a strong Big Ten Championships, also breaking into the scoring column in the 10,000m by placing eighth on Friday night.

Sophomore Dominique Worsley ran in two event finals, placing fourth in the 100m (10.37) and eighth in the 200m. Freshman Cody Wisslead qualified for both hurdles finals, taking sixth in the 400m hurdles (53.24) and seventh in the 110m after hitting the last hurdle (18.11).

In the field events, senior Nick Brown was fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 50 feet, 6 inches, posting a NCAA regional qualifying mark for the first time this year. Redshirt freshman Casey Fonnesbeck also qualified for regionals and scored points toward the team total, placing seventh in the shot put with a personal best 57'1".

The Illini 4x100m relay of Pierre Bush, Maxwell Mkwezalamba, Paul Johnson and Worsley finished sixth in 41.30, while Gray placed seventh in the 400m (47.62) to round out the Illinois points scorers.

Illinois will have next week off from competition before heading to the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. from May 30-31.

Big Ten Championships Illinois Sunday Results

100m
4. Dominique Worsley 10.37; 5 team points

200m
6. Gakologelwang Masheto 21.59; 3 team points
8. Dominique Worsley 24.36; 1 team point

400m
2. Gakologelwang Masheto 46.80; 8 team points
7. Brandon Gray 47.62; 2 team points

1,500m
9. Mike Murray 4:07.78

5,000m
3. Jacob Nachel 14:31.34; 6 team points
24. Trent Hoerr 15:40.91

110m Hurdles
7. Cody Wisslead 18.11; 2 team points

400m Hurdles
6. Cody Wisslead 53.24; 3 team points

4x100m Relay
6. Illinois 41.30; 3 team points
(Pierre Bush, Maxwell Mkwezalamba, Paul Johnson, Dominique Worsley)

4x400m Relay
2. Illinois 3:09.84; 8 team points
(Yawusa Kinda, Brandon Gray, Gary Miller, Gakologelwang Masheto)

Triple Jump
5. Nick Brown 50'6" (15.39m); 4 team points

Shot Put
7. Casey Fonnesbeck 57'1" (17.40m); 2 team points

Javelin
12. Andrew Zollner 168-1 (51.24m)

Big Ten Championships Men's Final Team Standings
1. Michigan 129
2. Wisconsin 119
3. Ohio State 100
4. Purdue 94
5. Minnesota 84
6. Penn State 77
7. Indiana 69
8. Iowa 68
9. Illinois 59
10. Michigan State 19