March 24, 2001

CARBONDALE, IL -

The University of Illinois men's track & field team opened up their outdoor season competing at the third annual Southern Illinois University Collegiate Series Track & Field Meet today. The Illini placed fourth out of four teams with 73 team points. However, Illinois competed short-handed, sending only their distance squad, throwers and pole-vaulters. Indiana State won the meet with 199 points. Eastern Illinois placed second (174 points), while Southern Illinois placed third (108 points).

Freshman Peter Knaus won the javelin with a throw of 197 feet, 6 inches (60.20m), which was the sixth best throw in school history. In the pole vault, junior Marty Keifer placed second with a vault of 15 feet, 5 1/2 inches (4.71m).

The distance squad ran well for Illinois, as senior Dan Horyn won both the 1,500m run and the 5,000m run. Horyn won the 1,500m in a time of 3:58.50, with junior Jason Van Swol (4:01.20), sophomore Aaron Wahls (4:01.90) and junior Nick Gow (4:04.30) placing 2-3-4 respectively. Horyn won the 5,000m in a time of 14:59.52, with senior Mike Lucchesi placed third in a time of 15:04.62. Gow also competed in the 800m run, placing third in a time of 1:58.37.