Wisslead Qualifies for NCAA 400m Hurdles Quarterfinal

Men's Track & Field May 27, 2010

Wisslead Qualifies for NCAA 400m Hurdles Quarterfinal

May 27, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas - At the NCAA West Preliminary Round, junior Cody Wisslead kicked off competition for the Illini with a personal-best time of 50.91 in the 400m hurdles, earning him a runner-up finish in his heat and advancing him to Friday's quarterfinal round. He will next run at the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. in hopes of finishing among the top 12 in order to advance to the NCAA Championships in Oregon.

"Cody ran a great race today," interim head coach Mike Turk said. "He has been working on his training and really picked up the pace today, which paid off for him. He really finished strong and was able to advance to the next round."

Wisslead came into the meet seeded 19th, but turned in the seventh-fastest time of the afternoon, which also ranks as the eighth-quickest mark in school history. The Sciota, Ill., native made a big move down the homestretch and finished only behind Texas Tech's Jamele Mason (50.74) in his heat, who turned in the third-fastest time of the day after Stanford's Amaechi Morton (50.20) and Washington State's Jeshua Anderson (49.47).

The Mickow brothers both competed in the field of 48 in the 10,000m on Thursday night. Colin Mickow clocked a time of 30:20.13 and finished in 21st, while Hunter Mickow came in four seconds later at 30:24.37 in 23rd place. The top 12 competitors advanced to the NCAA Championships in the event.

"This was a tremendous experience for the Mickows," Turk said. "They did a great job to get here, and now they got a taste of what the next level is like, so they know what they need to do in the future."

In the shot put, junior Casey Fonnesbeck tallied a throw of 54 feet 1 ¼ inches (16.49m), which placed him 32nd overall. Senior Brian Beaird wrapped up his career as an Illini with a time of 1:50.49 in the first round of the 800m, placing him 34th in the region.

"Casey has battled a back injury all year, so he did all he could to compete and make it this far," Turk said. "I was also really happy for Brian. He did a nice job at Big Tens to make it here, so it was a great way for him to finish his career."

Illinois action at the NCAA West Preliminary Round continues on Friday, beginning with junior Matt McHugh in the hammer throw at 3 p.m. Senior Greg Shroka competes in the high jump at 4 p.m. followed by sophomore Andrew Riley in the first round of the 110m hurdles at 4:30 p.m., Wisslead's quarterfinal competition of the 400m hurdles at 7 p.m., sophomore Stanley Azie in the first round of the 200m at 7:30 p.m. and sophomore Kyle Engnell closing out the day's competition with the 3,000m steeplechase at 8:30 p.m.

Live results along with a full recap following the day's action can be found on fightingillini.com while live updates will be made at twitter.com/IlliniTrackXC.

Illinois Thursday Results at NCAA West Preliminary Round
Q = qualified for Friday's quarterfinal

400m Hurdles (First Round)
7. Cody Wisslead 50.91 Q

10,000m (Semifinal)
21. Colin Mickow 30:20.13
23. Hunter Mickow 30:24.37

Shot Put (Prelims)
32. Casey Fonnesbeck 54-1 ¼ (16.49m)

800m (First Round)
34. Brian Beaird 1:50.49

Illinois Remaining Schedule at the NCAA West Preliminary Round
(All times Central)

Friday, May 28
3 p.m. Hammer (Matt McHugh)
4 p.m. High Jump (Greg Shroka)
4:30 p.m. 110 Hurdles First Round (Andrew Riley)
7 p.m. 400m Hurdles Quarterfinal (Cody Wisslead)
7:30 p.m. 200m First Round (Stanley Azie)
8:30 p.m. 3,000m Steeplechase (Kyle Engnell)

Saturday, May 29
6 p.m. Triple Jump (Oz Lifshitz)
6:15 p.m. 4x100m Relay Quarterfinal (Andrew Riley, Azeez Shogbuyi, Bai Kabba, Stanley Azie)
7:20 p.m. 110m Hurdles Quarterfinal
7:50 p.m. 200m Quarterfinal
9:45 p.m. 4x400m Relay Quarterfinal (Shane Daniel, Bai Kabba, Malcolm Taylor, Dan Jones)