Dec. 2, 1999
Experience...leadership...balance...These are the words that come to mind when describing the Illinois track & field team heading into 2000. The combination of those three things will have the Fighting Illini once again contending for a Big Ten title this season.
Head Coach Gary Wieneke, now in his 26th year in charge of the track and field program, likes what he sees in this year's team.
"We have probably more Big Ten placewinners to build around than we've had in previous years," Wieneke says. "I think that, coupled with the emergence of strong leadership, bodes well for this season."
The experience is obvious, as the Illini return 14 of 18 Big Ten placewinners from last year's team. The '99 team finished second at the conference indoor meet with 89 points. Athletes that helped score 57 of those 89 points return. In finishing fourth outdoors, the Illini scored 77 points. Sixty-seven of those 77 points return, making the Fighting Illini a mature and battle-tested group.
Wieneke believes all three areas of the program have picked up solid leadership. It comes from a variety of athletes, including Sherman Armstrong and Babatunde Ridley with the sprint and hurdle group, Ryan Eason with the middle distance and distance runners, and T.J. Jumper and Justin Norberg with the field events area.
The Illini will be led on the track by Armstrong, a junior from Chicago Luther South. In his first two years, Armstrong has won five Big Ten titles, including sweeping all three hurdle titles last season en route to being named the conference's outdoor athlete of the year. Armstrong, the school record holder in the 60-meter hurdles and 40-meter hurdles, will look to return to the NCAA Championships in hopes of earning All-American honors.
"Sherman's just a great talent," Wieneke says. "He's an exciting performer and highly competitive. What's most impressive is his range--he can cover the 200, 400, relays, and on top of that, all the hurdles. His range and multiplicity of covering events gives us a lot of latitude."
Illinois has three All-Americans on the roster in Armstrong, long jumper Babatunde Ridley, and sprinter Tyrone Jones. Ridley finished seventh at the NCAA outdoors in 1999 and was also an All-American in 1997. Armstrong and Jones earned All-American honors as part of Illinois' 4x400-meter relay team, which finished second nationally indoors in 1998. In addition to Armstrong, Jason Van Swol is another returning Big Ten champion. Van Swol won the 800-meter indoor title as a freshman. Three-fourths of the 4x400-meter indoor relay championship team also returns in Armstrong, Van Swol, and Jones.
Wieneke and his staff have strived to achieve the necessary balance throughout the event areas to have the Illini focused towards a championship run.
"It's pretty evenly dispersed," Wieneke says. "I think the sprint and hurdle area was deeper in the past and had a head start. But there's good depth in the distance group, and with the additions we've made in the field events, we're pretty even. That's the way you want it to be, and that's how it has to be to compete in the Big Ten."
Sprints and Hurdles
Associate Head Coach Willie Williams has talented and experienced runners returning in the sprint and hurdle events. The group is headlined by Armstrong, who is the defending Big Ten champion in the 60-, 110-, and 400-meter hurdles. Armstrong is a versatile athlete with the capability to compete for Illinois in not only hurdles, but also sprints and sprint relays. Armstrong scored for the Fighting Illini in seven events at the two Big Ten meets last season.
Junior Babatunde Ridley scored at the Big Ten indoors in the 200 (6th) and outdoors in the 100 meters (6th). Ridley has been a factor in the Big Ten sprints his entire career, scoring in the 100 and 200 in 1998 and in the 55 and 100 as a freshman. Ridley, who ran on the Big Ten championship 4x100 relay team in 1997, should again be a key component of the 4x100 relay team while contending for titles in the 60, 100 and 200 meters.
Senior Tyrone Jones has been a steady contributor throughout his career, most recently placing third in the Big Ten indoor 400 meters and fourth outdoors last season. Jones ran on the 1998 and 1999 championship 4x400-meter relay teams and will once again be a valuable contributor on the relay team in 2000.
A pair of sophomores in Kendall McCroy and Ben Gault will provide necessary depth in the sprints and hurdles. McCroy had a promising freshman season a year ago and has come back more mature and determined. His events will range from the 60 through the 400. Gault competed in the 60 and 110 hurdles last season, scoring at the Big Ten outdoors with a 6th-place finish in the 110 hurdles. He will provide Illinois with another hurdle threat alongside Armstrong.
Middle Distances/Distances
Van Swol is the main cog in Illinois' middle distance unit. After being named the conference's indoor and outdoor freshman of the year and winning the 800 meters indoors, he built upon that success with a productive summer of training. Van Swol, who clocked Illinois' fastest outdoor 800-meter time last season in 1:47.24, has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and will look to return to the NCAA Championships in the half mile as well as claim another Big Ten title. Van Swol will also see be utilized in the 4x400 relay.
Senior Scott McClennan hopes to close out his Illini career in memorable fashion. McClennan, who has been the team's top distance runner the past two seasons, scored in the 10,000 meters last season. McClennan capped off a fine cross country career in the fall and will give the Fighting Illini a scoring punch in events ranging from the 3,000 to 10,000 meters.
Illinois is very deep from 600 meters through the mile. Seniors Matt Yesko and Greg Schultz are returning placewinners in the 600 and 800, respectively, while junior Ryan Eason finished fifth last season in the mile at the Big Ten indoor meet. Senior Jon Russell, who finished eighth in the steeplechase a year ago, looks to place higher in that event this season.
Field Events
Assistant coach Tom Doyle has a balanced group of athletes in the field events areas, highlighted by long jumper Babatunde Ridley. Ridley earned his second All-America honors in the long jump at the 1999 NCAA outdoor championships, finishing in seventh place. Ridley, who placed second at the outdoor Big Ten meet last year, should contend for a conference title this season.
Charles Burton was Illinois' top triple jumper a year ago as a freshman, scoring at both Big Ten meets. Having a year of collegiate experience under his belt should show this season for Burton as he aims for the top of the Big Ten in the triple jump, while continuing to advance in the long jump as well.
In the high jump, senior T.J. Jumper and sophomore Kyle Kopatz look to improve on their performances of a year ago. They will be joined by one of the premier newcomers to the Big Ten conference, freshman Brandon Lloyd of Blue Springs, Missouri. Lloyd, who is also a wide receiver on the UI football team, is a two-time state high jump champion with a personal best of 7-1. He also won the state 110-meter hurdle title as a senior and has long jumped 25-0 1/2.
Illinois is deep in the pole vault, led by senior Justin Norberg. Norberg, who redshirted in 1999, has the talent to win a Big Ten title in that event. He cleared 17-6 while competing unattached last spring. Norberg was a Big Ten placewinner, both indoors and outdoors, in 1998.
To bolster the throwing events, the Illini brought in one of the nation's top recruits in Bernard Grady. Grady, from Scripps High School in San Diego, finished second at the California state meet in the shot put and placed sixth nationally in the discus as a senior.
The Schedule
The Fighting Illini will have three home meets during the indoor season. The seasons begin Jan. 15 with the Illinois Invitational. On Jan. 22, two teams will come to the Armory Track for the Illinois Open, and on Feb. 5 the Illini Classic will feature five teams, including Iowa, Iowa State, and Indiana State. The Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships will be Feb. 26-27 at Indiana University while the NCAA Championships will take place March 10-11 in Fayetteville, Ark.
During the outdoor season, Illinois will host two meets. Iowa and Indiana will visit the UI Outdoor Track & Field Stadium April 22. On May 12, Illinois hosts the Illini Twilite meet. The Fighting Illini will once again be going to the prestigious Drake Relays in April in addition to trips to the Haywood Relays and Houston Quadrangular. Illinois will travel to Iowa for the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, May 19-21. The NCAA Championships are May 31 through June 3 at Durham, N.C.
