March 26, 2011

Results

STARKVILLE, Miss. - At the first-ever SEC/Big Ten Challenge, Illinois tallied 78 points to help the Big Ten knock off the SEC by a score of 399-337 at Mississippi State's Carl Maddox Track. Senior Matt McHugh and juniors Chris DeSilva and Graham Farnsworth were the top point scorers at the Illini's first outdoor meet, as they each earned eight points following runner-up finishes. McHugh turned in a mark of mark of 187-9 (57.22m) in the hammer throw, DeSilva posted a personal-best time of 9:07.32 in the 3,000m steeplechase and Farnsworth timed 3:56.16 in the 1,500m.

"This meet really showed the strength of our conference, especially in the field events," interim head coach Mike Turk said. "We probably surprised some of the SEC coaches with how well the Big Ten did overall. Our team received some good early season performances from McHugh, DeSilva and Shogbuyi. We were a little depleted, but established a good starting point for the rest of the year."

The Illini racked up 14 points total in the 1,500m after Colin Mickow ran a time of 3:56.57 to finish in third behind Farnsworth. In the 3,000m, sophomore Nathan Bohne (8:32.75) added five points following a fourth-place finish while sophomore Jim Riddle (8:37.20) chipped in three points with a sixth-place showing. Junior Kyle Engnell came in two spots behind DeSilva with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase and time of 9:23.31.

Illinois' relay teams combined to total 10 points on the day. The 4x100m relay squad of sophomore Josh Zinzer, seniors Azeez Shogbuyi and Shane Daniel and junior Stanley Azie took third with a time of 40.32 while the 4x400m relay tandem of Daniel, junior Nic Haab, sophomore Ryan Lynn and freshman Zebo Zebe finished fifth with a mark of 3:15.08.

Haab also finished fifth in the 400m hurdles with a 54.31 to tally four points while Shogbuyi scored three points individually for the conference after placing sixth in the 200m with a personal-best time of 21.37 and eighth in the 100m with a mark of 10.67.

In the field events, junior Brett Einbecker was the next best point scorer behind McHugh, gaining six points total after placing sixth in both the discus [163-4 (49.78m)] and shot put [49-4 ½ (15.05m)]. Junior Alex Baldwin notched five points after clearing 15-7 (4.75m) in the pole vault to take fourth while freshman Justin Boone finished fifth in the long jump with a bound of 22-8 (6.91m) and earned four points. Sophomores Ryan Michel and Steve Monte each added a point after placing eighth in the high jump [6-4 (1.93m)] and javelin [167-2 (50.95m)], respectively.

The inaugural conference showdown pitted four Big Ten schools against four SEC schools. Ohio State led the Big Ten with a meet-high 117 points followed by Indiana with 112 and Purdue with 92. On the opposite side, host Mississippi State paced the SEC with 116 points followed by Ole Miss with 109, Auburn with 66 and Georgia with 46. Points were awarded to the conference's top-four finishers in each event using a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring format. A full list of Illinois results from the SEC/Big Ten Challenge can be found below.

Up Next: The Illini will travel south again next weekend, as they will head to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU Invitational on Saturday, April 2.

SEC/Big Ten Challenge Standings
1. Big Ten - 399
2. SEC - 337

Scoring Breakdown By Teams
Big Ten
Ohio State - 117
Indiana - 112
Purdue - 92
Illinois - 78

SEC
Mississippi State - 116
Ole Miss - 109
Auburn - 66
Georgia - 46

Illinois Results at the SEC/Big Ten Challenge

100m
8. Azeez Shogbuyi 10.67; 1 Big Ten point
10. Stanley Azie 10.70

200m
6. Azeez Shogbuyi 21.37; 3 Big Ten points
9. Stanley Azie 22.04
10. Boyea Lockett 22.09
12. Josh Zinzer 22.22

400m
12. Shane Daniel 49.42
17. Josh Zinzer 50.74
22. Boyea Lockett 52.09

800m
9. Zebo Zebe 1:56.54
-- Ryan Lynn 1:55.16
-- Kyle Engnell 1:55.39
-- Chris DeSilva 1:56.35

1,500m
2. Graham Farnsworth 3:56.16; 8 Big Ten points
3. Colin Mickow 3:56.57; 6 Big Ten points

3,000m
4. Nathan Bohne 8:32.75; 5 Big Ten points
6. Jim Riddle 8:37.20; 3 Big Ten points

110m Hurdles
-- Steve Monte 15.25

400m Hurdles
5. Nic Haab 54.31; 4 Big Ten points

3,000m Steeplechase
2. Chris DeSilva 9:07.32; 8 Big Ten points
4. Kyle Engnell 9:23.31; 5 Big Ten points

4x100m Relay
3. Illinois 40.32; 6 Big Ten points
(Josh Zinzer, Azeez Shogbuyi, Shane Daniel, Stanley Azie)

4x400m Relay
5. Illinois 3:15.08; 4 Big Ten points
(Shane Daniel, Nic Haab, Ryan Lynn, Zebo Zebe)

High Jump
8. Ryan Michel 6-4 (1.93m); 1 Big Ten point

Pole Vault
4. Alex Baldwin 15-7 (4.75m); 5 Big Ten points
-- Matthew Bane 15-7 (4.75m)
-- Steve Monte 14-7 ¼ (4.45m)

Long Jump
5. Justin Boone 22-8 (6.91m); 4 Big Ten points
-- Steve Monte 20-11 ¾ (6.39m)

Triple Jump
9. Justin Boone 44-8 ¾ (13.63m)

Shot Put
6. Brett Einbecker 49-4 ½ (15.05m); 3 Big Ten points

Discus
6. Brett Einbecker 163-4 (49.78m); 3 Big Ten points
11. Steve Monte 100-3 (30.55m)

Hammer Throw
2. Matt McHugh 187-9 (57.22m); 8 Big Ten points
15. Brett Ramirez 158-4 (48.25m)

Javelin
8. Steve Monte 167-2 (50.95m); 1 Big Ten point