Illinois Tallies Three Distance Titles at LSU Invitational

Men's Track & Field April 2, 2011

Illinois Tallies Three Distance Titles at LSU Invitational

April 2, 2011

Results

BATON ROUGE, La. - On Saturday at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium, Illinois tallied 111 points, which included three victories in distance events from juniors Chris DeSilva, Kyle Engnell and Colin Mickow, and finished fourth at the LSU Invitational. Junior Andrew Riley also made his outdoor debut and scored 12 points individually, as the Illini competed against a loaded field, including No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 5 LSU.

"This was a big step forward for us," interim head coach Mike Turk said. "My challenge to the team was to go and compete while stepping up the performances to build momentum for the outdoor season. We had several outstanding performances and many personal bests. Ryan Lynn and Chris DeSilva stepped up big in the distance races and our 4x100m relay was solid with a great anchor leg from Stanley."

DeSilva cracked Illinois' top-10 list with his personal-best time of 8:57.51, which currently ranks fourth in the NCAA this season. The St. Charles, Ill., native dropped nearly 10 seconds off his outdoor opener of 9:07.32 from last weekend, which led the Big Ten heading into the meet.

In the 1,500m, Engnell (3:49.29) and junior Graham Farnsworth (3:49.35) both posted career-best marks and almost crossed the finish line simultaneously, as they were separated by just six hundredths of a second in a one-two finish. Mickow (15:15.86) and sophomore Nathan Bohne (15:22.26) also were the top-two finishers in the 5,000m, as the Illini racked up 46 points between the three distance events.

The 110m hurdles featured a showdown between two of the top hurdlers in the country, with Riley earning a runner-up finish behind LSU's Barrett Nugent. Riley opened his outdoor campaign with a time of 13.61, which ranks fourth in the nation, and crossed the line just three hundredths of a second after Nugent (13.58). The Kingston, Jamaica, native had won his last five outdoor hurdle races, dating back to his national title in the event last June at Hayward Field. Riley also led off the runner-up 4x100m relay and scored in the 100m dash, matching a career best with a time of 10.52 and placing fifth.

"Riley narrowly lost to the NCAA runner-up, but we was solid today," Turk said. "The weather has kept us inside, so this was his first time running a full flight of hurdles."

The 4x100m relay of Riley, senior Azeez Shogbuyi, sophomore Josh Zinzer and junior Stanley Azie turned in the second-fastest time of the day with a mark of 40.19 behind Texas A&M (39.11). In the 4x400m relay, the tandem of senior Shane Daniel, junior Nic Haab, sophomore Ryan Lynn and freshman Zebo Zebe took fifth with a time of 3:14.12.

Lynn also added six points with a third-place showing in the 800m after recording a personal-best time of 1:49.95 while Haab picked up five points with a fourth-place finish in the 400m hurdles after a time of 53.22. Azie chipped in five points individually after finishing sixth in the 200m (21.43) and seventh in the 100m with a personal-best time of 10.56.

In the field events, Illinois gained 12 points in the pole vault behind a pair of top-five finishes. Freshman Matthew Bane grabbed the runner-up spot with a mark of 16-8 ¼ (5.09m) while fellow freshman Cody Klein was fifth after clearing a height of 16-2 ½ (4.94m). Sophomore Brett Einbecker netted nine points in his two throwing events, finishing fourth in the shot put with a mark of 51-8 ½ (15.76m) and fifth in the discus with a distance of 155-9 (47.48m). Senior Matt McHugh also scored with a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw after notching a mark of 186-1 (56.71m).

"Our pole vaulters competed extraordinarily well, especially considering we were using borrowed poles since ours didn't arrive," Turk said. "As a team, we still have of lots of room for improvement in the coming weeks before Big Tens, but it was a good showing for us today."

Up Next: The Illini will head to Columbia, Mo., for the Tom Botts Invitational from April 8-9.

Illinois Results at the LSU Invitational

100m
5. Andrew Riley 10.52; 4 team points
7. Stanley Azie 10.56; 2 team points

200m
6. Stanley Azie 21.43; 3 team points
12. Boyea Lockett 21.94
16. Josh Zinzer 22.43

400m
14. Shane Daniel 48.17
15. Cody Wisslead 48.52
18. Zebo Zebe 49.46

800m
3. Ryan Lynn 1:49.95; 6 team points

1,500m
1. Kyle Engnell 3:49.29; 10 team points
2. Graham Farnsworth 3:49.35; 8 team points

5,000m
1. Colin Mickow 15:15.86; 10 team points
2. Nathan Bohne 15:22.26; 8 team points

3,000m Steeplechase
1. Chris DeSilva 8:57.51; 10 team points

110m Hurdles
2. Andrew Riley 13.61; 8 team points
9. Steve Monte 15.09

400m Hurdles
4. Nic Haab 53.22; 5 team points

4x100m Relay
2. Illinois 40.19; 8 team points
(Andrew Riley, Azeez Shogbuyi, Josh Zinzer, Stanley Azie)