Riley and Ramirez Win on Final Day of Tyson Invite

Men's Track & Field February 12, 2012

Riley and Ramirez Win on Final Day of Tyson Invite

Feb. 12, 2012

Tyson Invitational Final Results | Tyson Invite Hurdles Finals

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Andrew Riley won the 60m hurdles for the second consecutive year and sophomore Brett Ramireztook home the weight throw crown on the final day of competition at the Tyson Invitational. Riley recorded another NCAA automatic qualifying time of 7.53 in the finals while Ramirez threw a distance of 59-8 ½ (18.17m), the second farthest mark the Woodstock, Ill., native has thrown this season.

"Our older guys showed a lot this weekend and demonstrated their readiness for the Big Ten meet and the championship season," head coach Mike Turksaid. "Andrew was dominant tonight and ran the race he has been training and preparing for the last couple of weeks. Brett had a special day. He's an unsung hero and today was his day and he got a hard earned victory."

The 200m had many significant performances, highlighted by top finisher freshman Brandon Stryganek, with a time of 21.66 to place 11th out of nearly 60 competitors. In the 800m Olympic development section, sophomore Ryan Lynn set a career-best time of 1:49.42 to take third place while in the college section freshman Joe McAsey (1:51.47) and Graham Farnsworth (1:52.75) both set personal-records in the event, finishing sixth and 14th, respectively. Freshman Ian Barnettwas another Illini to set a career-best with his 8:20.51 time in the 3,000m earlier today.

Sophomore Cody Klein performed well, taking second in the championship section, with a mark of 17-1 (5.21m). Fellow teammates Josh Hodur (16-1 ¼) tied for second and Alex Baldwin(15-7 ¼) tied for seventh place in the college sections.

The group of distance runners who competed at the Husky Classic had outstanding performances over the two-day meet, with four of the five setting new personal-bests. In the 5,000m, seniors Phil Pompei (14:02.35) and Jim Riddle (14:03.16) took top-10 finishes, placing fourth and eighth. Pompei finished with a 34 second personal-best while Riddle improved his personal-record by 17 seconds, the two times rank fourth and fifth best in school history. Senior Colin Mickow set an indoor personal-best with a time of 14:16.27, ranking tenth fastest at Illinois. In the mile, Kyle Engnellrecorded a new career-best mile time of 4:06.44.

"The guys in Seattle really made a big step forward," Turk said. "Our distance crew has improved by leaps and bounds this indoor season. Pompei and Riddle, once again showed they can contend to score at conference. Engnell ran a nice personal record in the mile but we know he is ready to drop more time going into Big Tens."

A full list of Illini results from Saturday can be found below. Illinois will be off next weekend before heading to Lincoln, Neb., for the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 24-25.

Illinois Saturday Results at the Tyson Invitational
A= NCAA Indoor Championships automatic qualifying mark

60m Hurdles (FINALS)
1. Andrew Riley, 7.53 A

200m
16. Brandon Stryganek, 21.66
30. Stanley Azie, 21.96
32. DJ Zahn, 21.99
53. Jade Ackerman, 22.70
56. Josh Zinzer, 23.15

800m (Olympic Development)
3. Ryan Lynn, 1:49.42

800m (College Section)
6. Joe McAsey, 1:51.47
14. Graham Farnsworth, 1:52.75
21. Zebo Zebe, 1:54.26
23. Josh Jones, 1:54.41

3,000m
11. Ian Barnett, 8:20.51

Weight Throw
1. Brett Ramirez, 59-7 ½ (18.17m)

Pole Vault (Championship Section)
2. Cody Klein, 17-1 (5.21m)

Pole Vault (College Section)
T-2. Josh Hodur, 16-1 ¼ (4.91m)
T-7. Alex Baldwin, 15-7 ¼ (4.76m)

4x400m Relay
14. DJ Zahn, Cody Wisslead, Ryan Lynn, Joe McAsey, 3:17.21

Illinois Results from Husky Classic

Mile
11. Kyle Engnell, 4:06.44