Jan. 7, 2010
Illinois-Iowa Meet Schedule and Heat Sheets (PDF) 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois men's track and field team opens its season with a dual meet against the University of Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 9, with the field events beginning at noon and the running events at 1 p.m. The meet will be held at the University of Illinois Armory, with free admission to the public.
"This dual is a great way to start the season against Big Ten competition," interim head coach Mike Turk said. "It will serve as a barometer for us to see how we how we compete versus a Big Ten level team and to see how our young team performs at this point."
This meet has become an annual rivalry between the Illini and Hawkeyes. Last season, Iowa won the dual, scoring 92 points to Illinois' 77 at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. The Illini look to avenge last year's defeat and start the season off strong with a victory.
"We are not taking this dual lightly," Turk said. "We want to come out strong and do our best to overcome Iowa."
Illinois has 35 athletes competing, including returning All-Americans Andrew Riley and Greg Shroka. Riley, who won the 60m hurdles title at the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championships and set the Illinois school record with a time of 7.72, will compete in the 60m and 60m hurdles. The Kingston, Jamaica native will also participate in the high jump along with Shroka, who become Illinois' first All-American in the event since 1979 when he garnered the honors at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Illinois has next week off but returns to action on Jan. 23 for another home meet at the Armory, the Carle/Health Alliance Classic.
