University of Illinois
Orange and Blue Open
@IlliniMTrack Hosts Orange & Blue Open Saturday
February 19, 2016 | Men's Track & Field
Final Tune Up For #Illini Before Big Ten Championships
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – The Fighting Illini will host their final meet of the indoor season at the UI Armory this Saturday. Meet will serve a tune up for next weekend's Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio. The meet begins with field events at 9 a.m., followed by track events at noon.
| Orange and Blue Open | |
|---|---|
| When | Feb. 20 // Field Events: 9 a.m. // Track Events: 12 p.m. |
| Where | Champaign, Ill. // UI Armory |
| Live Links | Live Stats |
| Meet Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Meet Notes | Meet Schedule & Heat Sheets |
Last Time Out
The Orange and Blue concluded the road portion of their indoor season with the Iowa State Classic. The top performance of the two-day meet came from Dylan Lafond, who set his second school record this season with a 5,000m time of 13:46.72. The mark bested Jeff Jacob's time of 13:52.35 in 1984. Also highlighting the weekend was Cam Viney, winning the 60m hurdles and Devin Quinn's top-five finishes in both the 60m and 200m. Overall, Turk applauded his team for "passing the eye test" and believes they're making the progress needed to perform at their best next weekend against the best of the Big Ten.
Competitions To Watch
60m: While some of the Illini are resting for Big Ten Championships next week, Mo Maat will look to fine tune his 60m time heading into Big Ten Championships. After missing a couple meets due to injury, Maat has improved his time in each of the last two weeks. Also appearing in the event for the Illini will be Ben Dodds, Thomas Harris, and Aaron Wilks.
Shot Put: A week after setting personal-best marks in the shot put, Matsen Dziedzic and Michael Hyc will look to build off of their Iowa State Classic performances. The duo finished 1-2 in the event during the previous two home meets this season.
800m: Three Fighting Illini will compete in the event, including Konrad Eiring and Garrett Lee who hold the best two times in the event on the team entering Saturday. Joining those two will be 3,000m Border Battle winner, Alex Gold, and will be competing in the event for the first time this season.
3,000m: After breaking the school record in the 5,000m last weekend, now two school records this season, Dylan Lafond will compete as he aims to stay fresh for next weekend's Big Ten Championships. In addition to Lafond, Ian Barnett will continue to ramp it up after missing the first few weekends of the season. Jereme Atchison, Sean Pengelly and Zack Smith will also don the Orange and Blue in the race.
Long Jump/Triple Jump: Freshman Ben Barnes will take part in both the long jump and triple jump on Saturday, as he prepares for Big Ten competition next weekend. The last time Barnes competed at the UI Armory, he set his best marks of the season so far with a 21-8 mark in the long jump and a 42-101/4 mark in the triple jump.
Next Week
The Fighting Illini travel to Geneva, Ohio for Big Ten Championships where they will pit their best against the conference's best. Last season the Illini placed second behind defending indoor champion Nebraska.
Illini Notes
Illini On The National Scene
Jonathan Wells currently ranks 7th in the nation in the hump jump after he cleared 7-2 1/4 (2.19m) at the Husker Invite. In just his first-ever heptathlon, Wells' 5442 points ranks in the nation's top-30 this season. On the track, Cam Viney clocked the nation's 24th-best time in the 60m hurdles at the Husker Invite, while Dylan Lafond's record-breaking performance in the 5,000m (13:46.72) is currently 14th in the NCAA.
Lafond Rewrites Indoor Record Book
After setting a school record and earning All-America honors during cross-country season, Lafond has continued his success during the indoor track season. During the past three meets, the Manchester, New Hampshire native set the Illinois school record for the 3,000m (8:00.48) at the Rod McCravy meet, and then followed it up by breaking the Illini 5,000m record at the Iowa State Classic (13:46.72).
Cam Viney Times Third-Best 60m Hurdles Mark in Illinois History
The Fighting Illini got Cam Viney back from an early season injury at the Rod McCravy meet three weeks ago. Last weekend, Viney tied for the third-best 60m hurdle time in Illinois history, clocking a 7.82 time in the prelims. The time beat out his personal-record time (7.85) set last season just two meets into his senior campaign.
Wells Provides Stability
With numerous Illini beginning the season with injuries, Coach Mike Turk has leaned on sophomore Jonathan Wells to be the backbone of early season competitions. During the indoor season, Wells has won three events (60m hurdles, long jump and high jump), while competing in his first heptathlon at the Rod McCravy meet three weekends ago. Last week, Wells marked his second-best high jump (7-2 1/4) at the Husker Invite, the seventh-best mark in the nation.
Quinn Shines Early
Freshman Devin Quinn has already made an impact on the track with impressive times in both the 60m and the 200m dashes. Like teammate Mo Maat, Quinn entered the program's top-10 list with an Illini debut time of 6.76 in the 60m. Quinn won his first career victory in the 200m at the Illini Classic, and then followed that up with a runner-up finish at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet on January 22. After missing the Rod McCravy Memorial and the Husker Invite, Quinn returned for the Iowa State Classic where he placed in the top-five in both the 60m and 200m, setting a new PR in the latter event.
2015-16 Headlines
Dylan Lafond Breaks School Record at Iowa State
The Orange and Blue concluded the road portion of their indoor season with the Iowa State Classic. In addition to Lafond's record-setting 5K time, the Illini were led by Cam Viney, winning the 60m hurdles and Devin Quinn's top-five finishes in both the 60m and 200m. Overall, Turk applauded his team for "passing the eye test" and believes they're making the progress needed to perform at their best next weekend against the best of the Big Ten.
Wells, Viney, & Lafond Lead Illini at Husker Invite
The Fighting Illini competed at the 41st Annual Frank Sevigne Invite against some of the nation's top competition to begin the month of February. On Friday, Cam Viney highlighted the opening session with a new personal-record time in the 60m hurdles prelims. His 7.82 time moved him into third-place on Illinois' all-time record list. On Saturday, Viney came back to run a 7.83 time in the 60m hurdles final to place third. Elsewhere on the track, Dylan Lafond won the men's one-mile special with a time of 4:04.87. In field events, sophomore Jonathan Wells capped off the meet Saturday evening with a 7-2 1/4 (2.19m) clearance in the high jump, the best among collegiate competitors.
Lafond Sets School Record at McCravy Invite
The highlight of the two-day event came in the 3,000m run when All-American Dylan Lafond broke the Illinois school record with a time of 8:00.48. In addition to Lafond's performance, Alex Gold and Dan Lathrop continued the distance success with a 1-2 finish in the 5,000m on Friday evening. In the multi-events, Jonathan Wells got his first taste of the heptathlon, placing second in the event. On the track, freshman Devin Quinn continued his impressive start to the season with a runner-up finish in the 200m, while Cam Viney made his season debut with a third-place finish in the 60m hurdles.
11 Event Titles Propel Orange and Blue at Illini Classic
The Fighting Illini finished up their back-to-back home meets to begin the season with a dominating team 185 points to win the team score. Anchored by Jonathan Wells' two event titles, the Orange and Blue racked up 11 individual crowns on the day, including three freshman winning their first collegiate events: Devin Quinn (200m), Konrad Eiring (600m) and Jared Christiansen (800m).
Coach Turk Inks Four to Class of 2016
On November 20, the team welcomed four new faces into the Illini family with the 2016 recruiting class. Noah Adams (Blue Mound, Ill.) posted the 25th-best high jump mark in the nation last spring at IHSA State Championships, while Cooper Jazo (Lake Villa, Ill.). On the track, sprints coach Adrian Wheatley will add Josh Eiker (Galseburg, Ill.) to the group next fall. Eiker set a new IHSA state record in the 200m in 2015 with a mark of 21.20. Finally, distance coach Jake Stewart welcomes four-time defending IHSA 1A Cross-Country State Champion Jon Davis (Fithian, Ill.) to the team, adding on to a group that placed second at Big Ten Championships.
