CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini Men's Track and Field Head Coach Mike Turk announced Tuesday morning (11/22) the signing of three student-athletes to the 2017 class. All hailing from the state of Illinois, the trio has combined for two individual IHSA state championships and six other top-eight finishes.
"Although not complete yet, this has the makings of a great class for us," explained Coach Turk. "We started forming this class by finding the right guys from a character standpoint that have talent in areas of need. We really needed to address the field events first this year, and we've done that. We also wanted to continue to build on the great recruiting we've done on the distance side of things. Finally, as has been all along, we focused our efforts in the state of Illinois."
Bill Matzek // Throws
Prospect High School // Mt. Prospect, Ill.
- Placed third in the discus at 2016 IHSA state championships
- Finished eighth in the shot put at IHSA 2016 state championships
- Discus PR – 152'10" (46.58m)
- Shot Put PR – 57'6" (17.52m)
Turk's Take: "Billy had a breakout junior season and threw his personal-best mark at the state meet. He comes from a program we are very familiar with, and his coaches have established really good fundaments in him. Combined with the fact that he is young for his class, he has a very high ceiling."
Curtis Gordon // Pole Vault
Vandalia High School // Vandalia, Ill.
- 2016 IHSA 1A pole vault state champion
- Three-time state placer in the pole vault
- Placed third in the 110m hurdles at 2016 IHSA state championships
- Pole Vault PR – 16'0" (4.87m)
- 110m Hurdles PR – 14.81
- 60m Hurdles PR – 8.26
Turk's Take: "Curtis was the first commit in this class and he's a good one. I've had my eye on Curtis since he burst onto the scene, placing at state in the pole vault as a freshman. He is a very talented hurdler as well. Curtis' combination of speed and technical ability projects very well for him at this level. In addition, Curtis is a high character guy that fits great within our team culture."
Brayden Hamblen // Distance
Rock Falls High School // Rock Falls, Ill.
- 2016 IHSA Class 1A Cross Country State Champion
- 2016 IHSA Class 1A 800m Runner-Up
- 2015 IHSA Class 1A Cross Country 3rd Place
- 800m PR: 1:58.85
- 1600m PR: 4:29.04
- 3 Mile PR: 14:23.00
- 5K PR: 15:48.90
Turk's Take: "We're very excited about Brayden. Coach Stewart saw him run last year and told me he was a guy that would fit well in our program. He was a little under the radar coming into this year, but the thing that really impressed us about Brayden was his attitude; he is gritty and tough. He really blossomed this fall, winning a state title in cross country. He's not been trained with a lot of mileage, and we're excited about what he has left from a developmental standpoint."
