April 30, 2010

Results | Photo Gallery

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - On a windy Friday evening at the UI Track Stadium, the Illinois men's track and field team battled the elements and earned 12 event titles overall at the Illinois Twilight. The Illini swept both relays, won three field events and picked up seven more victories on the track.

"It was quite a good meet for us," interim head coach Mike Turk said. "It was the kind of performance I was looking for from the team. We showed some consistency and had some outstanding performances, especially with the wind."

Sophomore Andrew Riley led off the victorious 4x100m relay, which clocked a time of 40.07, before edging teammate Cody Wisslead in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.21. The foursome of Riley, senior Azeez Shogbuyi, freshman Bai Kabba and sophomore Stanley Azie clocked its second-fastest time of the season on the 4x100m.

"Our 4x100m relay ran really well for the second straight meet," Turk said. "Bai did a very nice job filling in for Josh Zinzer on the third leg."

Azie earned his second victory of the night in the 200m, timing a personal-best 20.94. Shogbuyi was fifth overall at 21.40 while Kabba came in close behind in sixth at 21.48. In the 400m hurdles, Wisslead earned the victory with a time of 52.04 while sophomore Nic Haab was fifth at 54.56.

"Stanley Azie had one of the best performances of the night," Turk said. "He rocketed himself up the list with that mark and really had an outstanding race."

In the 4x400m relay, junior Shane Daniel gave the Illini an early lead and classmate Dan Jones held on for the victory, edging out the quality competition with a time of 3:11.17. A group of unattached post-collegiate athletes, including former Illini Abe Jones, Gary Miller and Gakologelwang Masheto, pushed the Illini and posted a runner-up showing with a mark of 3:11.31.

"The 4x400m relay was a very exciting race," Turk said. "They beat out four post-collegiate guys, who have been All-Americans and Big Ten Champions and really pushed us. It was a great job by Dan Jones to hold on for the victory."

Junior Matt McHugh earned the top spot in the hammer throw for the second straight year at the Twilight, posting a mark of 191-8 (58.43m). The win marked McHugh's second victory on the season, with the other coming at the Mike Poehlein Invitational when he reset his own school record with a mark of 202-10 (61.83m). Last year at the Twilight, McHugh initially broke the school record in the event, notching a throw of 190-4 (58.02m).

The Orange and Blue took the top spot in a pair of jumping events, with senior Greg Shroka in the high jump and junior Oz Lifshitz in the triple jump. Shroka turned in a season-best leap of 6-11 (2.11m) while Lifshitz recorded a winning bound of 49-6 ¼ (15.09m).

In the 800m, Illinois filled three of the top four spots, as senior Scott Phelps picked up the victory with a season-best time of 1:52.91 after surpassing runner-up Brian Beaird (1:53.06) down the stretch. Taylor was fourth overall with a time of 1:55.22.

The Illini swept the top-five spots of the 1,500m, with senior Mike Murray crossing the finish line first at 3:50.14. Sophomore Colin Mickow ran a personal best by over four seconds and came in second at 3:51.68. Sophomore Kyle Engnell bested his old personal record in the event by three seconds and placed third at 3:51.82. Junior Dan Kremske also turned in a lifetime best by nearly four seconds, as he finished fourth at 3:52.35. Sophomore Graham Farnsworth was fifth with a time of 3:55.14.

"Mike Murray ran an excellent race and a lot of those guys ran solid personal bests," Turk said.

Sophomore Hunter Mickow, fresh off his 10,000m victory at the Drake Relays, easily won the 5,000m at the Twilight with a time of 14:47.26. Sophomore Chris DeSilva posted a personal best in his 3,000m steeplechase victory, running a time of 9:12.77.

Sophomore Alex Baldwin tallied a runner-up finish in the pole vault, recording a mark of 15-11 (4.85m). Shogbuyi was the top Illini in the 100m, placing third with a time of 10.59, while Jones led the way in the 400m for the Illini, coming in fourth overall and as the top collegian at 47.92. In the shot put, junior Casey Fonnesbeck turned in a third-place finish, recording a throw of 55-6 ½ (16.93m).

Up Next: Illinois is off next week before it heads to Bloomington, Ind., for the Big Ten Championships, hosted by Indiana, from May 14-16.

Illinois Event Winners
Stanley Azie, 200m..........20.94
Scott Phelps, 800m..........1:52.91
Mike Murray, 1,500m..........3:50.14
Hunter Mickow, 5,000m..........14:47.26
Andrew Riley, 110m hurdles..........14.21
Cody Wisslead, 400m hurdles..........52.04
Chris DeSilva, 3,000m steeplechase..........9:12.77
4x100m relay (Riley, Shogbuyi, Kabba, Azie)..........3:07.59
4x400m relay (Daniel, Kabba, Taylor, Jones)..........9:12.77
Greg Shroka, high jump..........6-11 (2.11m)
Oz Lifshitz, triple jump..........49-6 ¼ (15.09m)
Matt McHugh, hammer throw..........191-8 (58.43m)