May 24, 2011
NCAA West Preliminary Round Notes 
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2011 NCAA West Preliminary Round of Championship
Thursday, May 26 - Saturday, May 28
Historic Hayward Field // Eugene, Ore.
The Meet
The Illinois men's track and field team will send 10 student-athletes qualified in nine events to the NCAA West Preliminary Round of Championship at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., from May 26-28. Last season, the NCAA switched postseason formats for the outdoor track championships going from four regional sites to East and West preliminary round sites. The East NCAA Preliminary Rounds will be held at the same time in Bloomington, Ind.
Each preliminary round site will host the top 48 declared athletes -- or 24 relay teams -- in each event, with the exception of the decathlon. The preliminary round will serve as the first two rounds of competition for the NCAA championships, narrowing the field in each event to 12 from each region.
The top 12 performers from each preliminary round site will then advance to compete at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, from June 8-11.
The Illini are seeded among the top-10 competitors in six different events, with the school-record 4x100m relay (No. 2) holding the highest ranking behind only Texas A&M. Junior Kyle Engnell boasts the sixth-fastest seed time in the 3,000m steeplechase while defending champion Andrew Riley is listed at No. 7 in the 110m hurdles. Junior Stanley Azie is ranked ninth in both the 100m and 200m, and senior Cody Wisslead is No. 9 in the 400m hurdles. A full travel roster and schedule of Illini entries can be found in the attached PDF.
Coverage
Live results and video from www.goducks.com will be available during all three days and linked on www.fightingillini.com. Live updates from the meet will be posted to the @IlliniTrackXC Twitter account while a full recap and results can be found on fightingillini.com following the completion of each day.
Big Ten Outdoor Championships Recap
Three Big Ten titles highlighted the final day of competition at the outdoor conference meet for the Illinois men's track and field team, as the squad placed seventh overall with 62 points. Junior Andrew Riley led off the 4x100m relay to its first Big Ten title since 1997 before winning his second-straight crown in the 110m hurdles. Senior Cody Wisslead won his first career conference title with a victory in the 400m hurdles, and junior Stanley Azie ran the second-fastest times in school history during his runner-up finishes in the 100m and 200m.
Illini Athletes to Watch:
Andrew Riley, 110m Hurdles (Jr., Kingston, Jamaica)
Riley, who is the defending national champion in the 110m hurdles, is coming off a season-best performance in his repeat victory at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. He captured the conference crown in the 110m hurdles for the second year in a row with a time of 13.49, which is seeded seventh in the West. Riley will run his signature event in Oregon along with leading off the 4x100m relay squad, which broke the school record (39.17) and won the Big Ten title in the event.
During the regular season, Riley ran a mark of 13.61 in his outdoor opener at the LSU Invitational and twice timed 13.63 in his two other races, which included a victory at the Sea Ray Relays, where he was named outstanding performer of the meet, and a fourth-place finish in the special invitational at the Drake Relays, where he was the only collegian selected to compete.
Last June, he won the NCAA title in his last race at Historic Hayward Field. The two-time national champion easily advanced to the 2010 NCAA Championships from the West Preliminary Round in Austin a year ago before posting a breakthrough performance at nationals with an upset victory in the 110m hurdles. The five-time All-American posted a personal-best and school-record time of 13.45 in front of a sold-out venue at Hayward to win his first career national title.
The Kingston, Jamaica, native also notched an undefeated indoor season in the 60m hurdles. He capped off the year by winning his second NCAA title while also picking up his fifth career All-America accolade. At the Big Ten Indoor Championships, he made it a three-peat in the hurdles by winning the Big Ten title for the third consecutive year.
110m Hurdles - Personal-Best: 13.45 (6/12/10) // Season-Best: 13.49 (5/15/11)
4x100m Relay (Andrew Riley, Azeez Shogbuyi, Josh Zinzer, Stanley Azie)
The Illini 4x100m relay is the No. 2 seed heading into the meet after breaking the school record at the Drake Relays with a time of 39.17, which currently ranks ninth in the NCAA. The foursome, which won Illinois' first Drake 4x100m relay title since 1953, eclipsed the school record by nearly half a second, running .42 seconds faster than the old mark of 39.59 set in 1993. At the conference championship, the Orange and Blue relay won the Big Ten event title for the first time since 1997 after timing 39.90. The Illini relay returns three of it four legs (Riley, Shogbuyi, Azie) which advanced to the NCAA Championships a year ago and has a healthy Josh Zinzer, who missed the majority of the postseason as a freshman due to a hamstring injury.
4x100m - Season-Best: 39.17 (4/30/11) *school record
Cody Wisslead, 400m Hurdles (Sr., Sciota, Ill.)
Wisslead won his first career Big Ten title in the 400m hurdles with a season-best time of 50.55, which earned him the No. 9 seed in the event heading into the meet. He has run the hurdles at four meets this season and dropped his time at each competition. Last season, he clocked a personal-best mark of 50.33 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin to earn his first career trip to the NCAA Championships. In his last race at Hayward Field at the 2010 national meet, Wisslead ran 50.61 during the 400m hurdles semifinal and missed advancing to the final by two spots.
400m Hurdles - Personal-Best: 50.33 (5/28/10) // Season-Best: 50.55 (5/15/11)
Stanley Azie, 100m & 200m (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.)
Azie is seeded ninth in the region in both the 100m and 200m following his standout performances at the Big Ten Championships. Azie notched runner-up finishes in both events at the conference meet, posting personal-best marks in the 100m (10.20) and 200m (20.70), which rank second in school history. The junior also will anchor the 4x100m relay, which broke the school record at the Drake Relays and won the Big Ten title. Last season, Azie missed qualifying to nationals in the 200m by just one spot, as his time of 21.01 was 13th-fastest at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin.
100m - Personal-Best: 10.20 (5/15/11)
200m - Personal-Best: 20.70 (5/15/11)
Kyle Engnell, 3,000m Steeplechase (Jr., Homer Glen, Ill.)
Engnell, who placed fifth in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships (8:51.65), will enter the weekend as the No. 6 seed in the event. The junior clocked the sixth-fastest time (8:48.45) in UI history during his runner-up performance at the Mt. SAC Relays. He also ran just four seconds shy of his PR at the Drake Relays, where he earned a victory lap at the prestigious meet following his steeplechase win with a time of 8:52.93.
3,000m Steeplechase - Personal-Best: 8:48.45 (4/10/11)
Qualifying Procedure for First Round and Final Championship Meet
100-Meters, 100-Meter Hurdles, 200-Meters, 400-Meters, 400-Meter Hurdles
Two rounds will be contested, a first round and a quarterfinal.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 6
Advancing to the quarterfinal round (24): Top 3 from each heat plus next 6 fastest times
The quarterfinal will consist of three heats. Twelve, the top three from each quarterfinal heat plus the next best three times, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarterfinal round to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
1,500-Meters
Two rounds will be contested, a preliminary and a quarterfinal.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 4
Advancing to the quarterfinal round (24): Top 5 from each heat plus next 4 fastest times
The quarter-final will consist of two heats. Twelve, the top five from each quarterfinal heat plus the next best two times, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarter final round to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
One round, a quarterfinal, will be contested.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 3
Advancing to the Final Championship Meet (12): Top 3 from each heat plus next 3 fastest times
Twelve, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarterfinal to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
5,000-Meters
One round, a semifinal, will be contested.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 2
Advancing to the Final Championship Meet (12): Top 5 from each heat plus next 2 fastest times
Twelve, after tie breaking, will qualify from the semi-final to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
10,000-Meters
One round, a semifinal run as a single race, will be contested. Twelve, after tie breaking, will qualify from the semifinal to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
4x100-Meter Relay and 4x400-Meter Relay
One round, a quarterfinal, will be contested.
# of teams: 24
# of 1st round heats: 3
Advancing to the Final Championship Meet (12): Top 3 from each heat plus next 3 fastest times
Twelve, the top three from each quarterfinal heat plus the next best three times, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarterfinal round to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
Long Jump and Shot Put
A single qualifying competition with one check-in, consisting of a round of three preliminary attempts followed by a round of three final attempts, will be contested. There is no automatic qualifying mark. The 16 best marks, after tie breaking, will qualify from the first round of three preliminary attempts to the final round of three attempts. The 12 best marks, after tie breaking, will qualify from each Preliminary Round site to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
High Jump
A qualifying competition will be contested. There is no automatic qualifying mark. Twelve, based on performance after tie breaking and possibly a jump-off, will qualify from the Preliminary Round competition to the Final Championship Meet in Des Moines.
Follow the Illini
Keep up with all the latest news and updates from the men's track and field team on the Internet.
Online: www.fightingillini.com
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