Final Results

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Illinois men's track and field team began its indoor campaign Saturday at the inaugural Border Battle against Iowa and Missouri. The Illini upended both the Hawkeyes (103-56) and Tigers (109-43), earning wins in 11 events.

"Overall, I am very pleased with what we did today," said head coach Mike Turk. "I think it's a reflection of the training we did in the fall, and I think our guys did a good job of staying healthy and taking care of themselves over break. I thought our attitude and effort were good and the intensity was right. Overall, it was a really good performance, but we still have a long way to go to get to where we want to be."

The Orange and Blue dominated the field events, winning five of the six events held Saturday. Jonathan Wells was a double event winner, taking both the long jump and high jump titles. Wells leaped 7.33m (24' 0.75") in the long jump, outdistancing second-place by over one foot. He followed up that performance with a clearance of 2.13m (6' 11.75") to win the high jump, the fourth-best mark in Illinois history.

"I thought Jonathan was solid," said Turk. "I was really pleased with his long jump today. That was a good mark for him, and we really have done a lot of long jump specific work. He had three or four jumps that would have won today. In the high jump, he was really pretty dominant and he still had some more left in the tank."

Wells wasn't the only Illini to win a field event. Davis Fraker was victorious in the weight throw, registering a toss of 20.01m (65' 7.75") to win the event by over two feet. Mitch Mammoser earned the victory in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.85m (15' 11"), while teammate Blaze Galardy finished runner-up. Branden Tanthavong added a win in the triple jump, leaping 14.61m (47' 11.25").

A few Illini got a rare opportunity on Friday evening, as a discus competition was held during the indoor season. Brandon Noe, Michael Hyc and George Wayda each took part in the event, with Noe producing the top performance of the group.

On the track, the Illini were equally as dominant, winning six of nine running events. In the sprints, Brandon Stryganek and DJ Zahn each grabbed event wins. Stryganek won the 200m in :21.69, and Zahn followed suit in the 400m dash, winning in :48.60.

The middle distance events also produced a pair of wins for the Orange and Blue. Joe McAsey broke the tape in the 1,000m, stopping the clock in 2:26.21, while Bryce Basting won the mile in 4:07.08.

"Bryce ran an outstanding mile today," said Turk. "Strategically it was great and he brought a lot of life to our team. I think he ran a terrific race today, and he has given us a really big lift. I love his enthusiasm and his attitude, and he is a really hard worker who is really talented. It was a great opener for him."

A trio of Illinois runners finished 1-2-3 in the 3,000m run. Paul Zeman led the charge for the Illini, winning in 8:20.18. Will Brewster and Jannis Toepfer were right on Zeman's heels, finishing in 8:22.29 and 8:23.61, respectively.

"Paul has been in the program for a long time and has worked really hard," noted Turk. "He has just kept plugging away and doing the right thing, and today shows it is starting to pay off for him. He deserves a lot of credit for the things he has done over his career."

The Orange and Blue finished the day the same way they started it, winning the final event of the competition. The 4x400m relay quartet of Kenneth Allen, Molefi Maat, McAsey and Zahn nipped the squad from Iowa at the line to take the event title.

Illinois had a number of other strong performances throughout the day. Cam Viney finished second in the 60m hurdles, while Stryganek (60m), Allen (400m), Garrett Lee (1,000m), Ian Barnett (mile) and David Kendziera (60m hurdles) each recorded third-place finishes.

The Illini will be back in action next weekend when they host the Illini Classic at the UI Armory on Saturday, Jan. 17. Field events are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and running event finals will begin at 2:30 p.m.

"With another week of preparation, we will be able to let things out a little more," explained Turk. "Our guys love to perform at home, and put up some great performances for the home crowd. We will do our best to get all of our guys ready to do their thing next week, and I am sure all of the guys will bring a lot of energy to the meet."