April 22, 2010

DES MOINES, Iowa - Sophomore Hunter Mickow got things started with a bang for the Illinois men's track and field team at the Drake Relays, winning the 10,000m with a personal-best time of 30:29.72. Mickow becomes the 63rd individual event champion in school history at the historic Drake Stadium and first since 2007 when Gakologelwang Masheto won the special invitational 400 meters.

"It was a great start to the Drake Relays for us," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "Hunter ran a very conservative race, took the lead with a mile to go and was able to hold on for the victory. This is a nice step in his progression, and it was good to get him some experience before Big Tens. It's always great to add another Drake champion for Illinois."

Hunter's twin brother, Colin Mickow, paced the Illini effort in the 5,000m, placing second with a time of 14:21 while junior Dan Kremske came in sixth with a personal-best time of 14:29. Sophomore Kyle Engnell also turned in a fourth-place showing in the 3,000m steeplechase with his second-fastest steeple-time of 9:02.27.

Illinois resumes competition at the Drake Relays on Friday at 9:48 a.m. with the 4x100m relay. Live results and a full recap can be found on fightingillini.com following the day's action.