University of Illinois
Drake Relays
@IlliniMTrack Wins Fourth Consecutive Hy-Vee Cup
April 30, 2016 | Men's Track & Field
#Illini Score 24 Points Across 5 Scored Events
DES MOINES, IA – On the final day of Drake Relays, the Fighting Illini notched runner-up finishes in both medley relays to secure their fourth Hy-Vee Cup title in as many seasons. In the sprint medley, the Illini clocked a 3:23.05 clip, while the distance medley group finished in 9:48.94. The two second-place finishes gave the Illini three on the weekend to score 24 points, edging second-place Texas.
"I'm proud of this team because it's been a year with a lot of adversity," said Coach Turk. "It's just been a rough go for us. Even coming into the relays, this week we were moving lineups around, working around people that are still hurt. I think we showed that we may not be in top form, but we have a lot of fight in us. The guys rallied and for us to come in here and do what we did without advancing in the sprint relays says a lot."
In the sprint medley relay, Mo Maat, Joe Haight, Cam Viney and Konrad Eiring ran the 1600m in 3:23.05, finishing behind event winner, Minnesota. With three of the four legs being ran by two freshmen and a sophomore, Coach Turk sees a lot of potential from this group.
"The young guys ran great," said Turk. "Joe Haight stuck his nose in there and did a fine job. Konrad Eiring just ran a solid race. He wasn't rattled by the environment. It's was a rough day out here in a pretty competitive field. I think those guys competed extremely well and I'm proud of them."
Viney, the lone upperclassmen in the sprint relay, impressed Turk with the way he was able to put Eiring in a position to compete in the final leg.
"Cam Viney had a big weekend for us. His performance, he ran another 46-second split in the sprint medley, was really key for us. He gave Konrad a chance to compete [in the final leg]."
Equally the second-place finish by the sprint group was the veteran-led distance medley team. Freshman Jesse Reiser ran the opening 1200m before giving way to senior Joe McAsey. McAsey, who's strength comes in the longer middle distances, was subbing in for a banged up Kenneth Allen.
"Joe McAsey ran a 47.5 [400 meters,] which was just a really special performance for him," explained Turk.
With Illinois and Akron battling for top honors in the final two legs, seniors Bryce Basting and Liam Markham took the reins for the final 2400m, but fell short in their bid for the event title.
Although the group fell short of winning the event, Coach Turk was pleased with the way the team's distance group is evolving.
"Part of us maturing as a program is having [the distance success] happen," said Turk. "I'm not so sure [the distance success] would have happened two or three years ago. Basting ran a great 800m leg and Liam probably ran the best race he's ran in a long time. [Liam ran] just a smart competitive race. Those three seniors really stepped up."
The Fighting Illini return home for their second home meet in less than two weeks to wrap up the regular season. The Illini Open on May 4 is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. with field events, and continues at 5:30 p.m. with track events.
Final Hy-Vee Cup Standings:
1) ILLINOIS 24 2) Texas 20 3) Minnesota 17 4) Air Force 16 5) Illinois State 14 6) Nebraska 13 7) Kent State 12 8) Northern Iowa 11 8) Iowa 11 10) Eastern Michigan 9
