May 12, 2006

EAST LANSING, Mich. - On a cold and rainy Friday in East Lansing, Mich. the Fighting Illini men's and women's track and field teams kicked off the 2006 Big Ten Championship meet on the campus of Michigan State University. Highlighting the day for both squads was a second-place finish by sophomore Ashley Hanshaw in the pole vault and a fourth-place finish in the 10,000-meters by sophomore Trent Hoerr.

With the wind and rain playing a major effect on many of the athletes competing, Hanshaw stayed determined and focused to successfully clear a height of 3.65-meters (11-11.75), tying a season high and tying for a second-place finish. Minnesota's sophomore Laura Massey took first in the event with a height of 3.80-meters (12-5.50).

"I'm extremely excited because I really wanted to score and make a difference for the team," Hanshaw said. "When we heard the weather was going to be bad, we were very excited because we all know that we could keep our heads and many girls can't. The weather was definitely the difference today."

Women's head coach Gary Winckler was satisfied with the sophomore's performance in such horrible conditions.

"Ashley did a great job today," Winckler said. "She competed through great adversity and pulled it through. There were some pretty tough conditions to compete in today and all three pole vaulters did a great job."

Sophomore Amanda Pintaro placed eighth overall with a height of 3.50-meters (11-05.75), while sophomore Samantha Scheidegger also cleared a height of 3.50-meters (11-05.75), good for 13th overall.

Hoerr had the Illinois men's most impressive performance on the day in the 10,000-meter run. The sophomore placed fourth overall with a personal-best of 29:13. The time topped his lone 10,000-meter performance of the year of 29:54, which he ran in mid-April at the Mt. Sac Relays.

Men's distance coach Wendel McRaven could not have been any happier with Hoerr's 10,000-meter performance.

"He put himself out in great position early on and gave himself a chance for a great race," McRaven said. "It's a huge personal best for him. Trent has had some health issues during the past month, so I am very proud of him. It was a very inspiring performance."

Red-shirt freshman Maggie Carroll led the women in the 10,000-meters with a personal-best performance of 35:42. Carroll's performance ranks her as the third fastest 10,000-meter performer in Illini history.

Women's distance coach Karen Harvey was satisfied with Carroll's performance as she raced a good portion of the race separate from the pack.

"It was the first 10,000-meter race of her career," Harvey said. "I was impressed with the toughness she showed throughout the entire race. We will be seeing some great 10,000-meter performances from her in the future."

Junior Ed Mastny and sophomore Andrew Zollner were Illinois' two competitors in the Decathlon. Mastny finished the day eighth overall with 3,276 points after five events completed. Zollner is currently 10th with a point total of 2,924.

Mastny's best performance on the day came in the 400-meter run when he placed second with a time of 53.05. The sophomore also took third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.31 (wind aided 1.8).

On Saturday, May 13 the 2006 Big Ten Championship Meet continues at 9:30 a.m. with the Decathlon 110-meter hurdles. All results from today's competition can be found on www.bigten.org.