CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – After a week off, the Fighting Illini return to action at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The meet will feature 36 teams from across the country, including 11 from power-five conferences and four within the USTFCCCA Top-25. The meet commences on Friday at noon with the multi-events and continues at 4:30 p.m. with track and field competition. The action continues on Saturday beginning with the conclusion of the heptathlon at 9:30 p.m. before field events and track finals resume at noon.

Follow Live Stats and Watch on Big Ten Network (Tape Delay)

Live results can be found here: http://bit.ly/1JVy1fb (Link will activate on meet day). In addition to live results, the Big Ten Network will be filming Saturday's events to air on tape delay next Saturday, February 13 at 1 p.m.

Last Time Out

Two weeks ago, the Orange and Blue were in Lexington, Kentucky for the Rod McCravy Memorial 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, and finishing top-two in every event except the 1,000 meters. 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.

Competitions to Watch

High Jump:  Arguably the deepest field of competitors this weekend comes in the high jump where three of the top-10 and five of the top-15 marks this season will be competing against one another. Illinois' Jonathan Wells currently owns the 14th-best mark in the event after jumping 7-1 (2.16m) at the Border Battle to begin the season. Kansas State's Christoff Bryon leads the field with his 7-21/2 (2.20m). Joining him in the top-10 is teammate Mile Beardan and Texas Tech's duo of Trey Culver and Bradley Akins, all three tied for sixth in the nation (7-13/4). Nebraska's Landon Bartel and Kansas State's NaTron Gipson round out the top-15 competitors with a mark of 7-11/2.

600m: The middle distance event features four of the top-11 times in the country after the first month of the season. The field is led by Charles Jones (Texas Tech) who enters with a season-best time of 1:17.67. Nebraska's trio of Andrew Neal (1:18.33), Levi Gipson (1:18.39), and Sam Bransby (1:18.48) will look to challenge the Red Raider this weekend.

60m Hurdles: Three competitors enter the race with top-20 times on the season. Nebraska's duo of Antoine Lloyd and Oladapo Akinmoladun will push Chris Caldwell of Texas Tech and his 7.75 time, eighth-best in the country, in the event. Illinois' All-American Cam Viney will look to improve upon his 7.90 time at Rod McCravy two weeks ago.

400m: It'll be a Texan showdown in the 400m dash as Joseph Richards III (Texas Tech) looks to hold off Texas' Zack Bilderback. Richards III holds the third-best mark in the country (46.39), while Bilderback is just seven spots back with a time of 46.73.

Shot Put: Two of the nation's best will face off in the event this weekend, as Nicholas Scarvelis of UCLA battles Ryan Crouser of Texas for the title. Scarvelis enters with the nation's second-best mark to date with a 66-93/4 heave, while Crouser's 65-81/4 mark sits one spot behind him.

4x400m Relay: The Husker Invite will conclude with one of the best races of the weekend in the men's 4x400m. Texas, Texas Tech, and Nebraska enter with times that rank in consecutive order, led by Texas' 3:06.36 mark that places them fourth in the country.

Next Week

The Orange and Blue travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the Iowa State Classic. This will be the team's final road indoor meet before Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio on February 26-27.

Illini On the National Scene

Jonathan Wells currently ranks 14th in the nation in the hump jump after he cleared 2.16m at the Border Battle. In just his first-ever heptathlon, Wells' 5442 points ranks in the nation's top-20 to begin the season. On the track, Cam Viney returned last weekend and clocked the nation's 30th-best time in the 60m hurdles in his first competition of 2016. Finally, Dylan Lafond's record-breaking performance in the 3,000m (8:00.48) sits as the nation's 16th-best time.

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.

Wells Provides Stability

With numerous Illini beginning the season with injuries, Coach Mike Turk and leaned on sophomore Jonathan Wells to be the backbone of early season competitions. In the first three meets of the season, Wells has won three events (60m hurdles, long jump and high jump), while competing in his first heptathlon at the Rod McCravy meet two weekends ago. 

Illini Want Some Mo

Mo Maat, a First-Team All-American in the 4x100m last season, started off 2016 on a high note when he became the first Illini in 2016 to rewrite the indoor top-10 list. In the Border Battle on January 9, Maat sped to a 6.76 time in the 60m dash to move him into seventh on the school's all-time list.

2015-16 Headlines

Orange and Blue Continue to Progress at Rod McCravy

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).

Illini Open Season with Border Battle Split 

The Fighting Illini, hampered by a few early season injuries, split the opening meet of the season, besting Missouri 82-65 and falling to Iowa 81-73. Five event winners led the Illini, including a performance from Jonathan Wells that came close to breaking a school record. In addition to Wells, Michael Hyc (weight throw), Kenneth Allen (400m), Garrett Lee (mile), and Alex Gold (3,000m) each won event crowns. While Maat placed second in the 60m dash, his time of 6.76 was the seventh-best indoor time in school history.

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 a group that placed second at Big Ten Championships.

North Central to Honor Former Illini Al Carius - 50 Years of Coaching

Former Illini cross-country and track Big Ten Champion Al Carius will be recognized for his 50th year of coaching. Prior to coaching Carius, amassed five Big Ten championships, two in cross country and another three in the mile run at Illinois. As North Central's head coach, Carius has led the school to 16 NCAA Division III National Championships (a NCAA all-division record) and have claimed 42 straight conference titles, the longest active streak in the nation.