Riley Second, Relay Third at NCAA Championships

Men's Track & Field June 11, 2011

Riley Second, Relay Third at NCAA Championships

June 11, 2011

Complete Results |  Photo Gallery  | Riley Interview | 4x100m Relay Interview

DES MOINES, Iowa - On Saturday at the NCAA Championships, the Illinois men's track and field team tied for 12th overall with 18 points, marking the highest finish by an Illini squad in 23 years since placing seventh in 1988. Junior Andrew Riley just missed a repeat national title in the 110m hurdles, placing second in 13.33 behind LSU's Barrett Nugent (13.28). The 4x100m relay, which competed in the NCAA final for the first time since 1964 when the Illini won the national title in its first year as an NCAA event, earned first-team All-America honors with a third-place finish following a time of 38.96.

"I'm ecstatic with a 12th-place team finish," interim head coach Mike Turk said. "It is a testament to all the hard work put in by the athletes and coaches this year. The five guys here this week have put the program on their back. We will miss Cody and Azeez next year, but knowing the character of Stan, Andrew and Josh, I know they'll set the bar even higher for next year."

Riley, who garnered his sixth career All-America accolade, ran out of lane six and stretched across the finish line just after Nugent in lane eight. After beating out Nugent in each of the last two national finals, Riley came up short of clinching a third national title in the hurdles. The Kingston, Jamaica, native ran 13.45 and edged Nugent (13.49) in last year's 110m hurdles national final, and then finished just in front of him in the 60m hurdles at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships.

"I came up just short, but Nugent is a very good competitor," Riley said. "The field was stacked with great guys, but I am still disappointed in second place. I obviously wanted to win, but that's the way it goes sometimes. My start was awful, and I was the last one out, so I saw a lot of guys in front of me. I had to dig deep and just focused on my lane and my hurdles to get to the line second."

Riley tallied eight team points with his runner-up finish and recorded the second-fastest time of his career behind only his school-record mark of 13.32. The race featured a 3.6 m/s tailwind and boasted five times under 13.40.

"Andrew's start wasn't as strong as usual," Turk said. "He got it going by the end of the race and really finished well, moving up a couple spots from the last hurdle to the finish. It was a tough race with strong winds and guys running fast. Even though some guys fell around him, Andrew held it together well."

Starting out of lane four in the 4x100m relay, Riley flew out of the blocks on the first leg and handed off to senior Azeez Shogbuyi, who kept the Illini among the front of the pack. After Zinzer took the baton for the third leg, he maintained the pace before junior Stanley Azie anchored the final leg with a solid finish, crossing the line just behind Texas A&M (38.91) and national champion Florida State (38.77). The team notched six points with their second-fastest time of the season, which trailed only their Big Ten and school record mark of 38.72 from the semifinal.

"The 4x100m relay was a thrilling race," Turk said. "The guys had terrific handoffs and competed at the highest level from start to finish. They embody teamwork to the point that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I am so proud of how they do things the right way and represent Illinois."

Up Next: The Illini will send athletes to the USA Outdoor Championships from June 23-26.

NCAA Championships Top-12 Team Scores
1. Texas A&M - 55
2. Florida State - 54
3. Florida - 53
4. LSU - 46
5. Virginia Tech - 36
6. Stanford - 29
7. Arizona - 28
8. BYU - 27.50
9. Texas Tech - 26
T-10. Oregon - 25
T-10. Arkansas - 25
T-12. Texas - 18
T-12. ILLINOIS - 18
T-12. USC - 18
T-12. Liberty - 18