University of Illinois
Indiana State Gibson Invitational
@IlliniMTrack Underclassmen Shine at Gibson Invite
April 9, 2016 | Men's Track & Field
#Illini Total Six Event Titles
TERRE HAUTE, IND. – The Fighting Illini recorded six event titles over the course of the two-day Indiana State Gibson Invite to place second overall. Of those six event titles, four of them came from underclassmen. Overall, the Orange & Blue placed second as a team behind host Indiana State.
"It was very trying conditions, so I'm pretty pleased with the performances under the conditions for sure," said Head Coach Mike Turk. "We rested quite a few of our older guys, especially the guys there were out west last week and go out west next week. For our young guys, that's what we had this meet on the schedule for. A lot of teams take a week off between big meets, but I like to have something that's going to test us. I think this was a very appropriate meet that challenged us this weekend."
Sophomores Mo Maat, Cole Henderson and Trevor Kuehr led the underclassmen with the trio each taking home an event crown. Maat excelled in the 100m dash, clocking a 10.60 prelim time, followed by a 10.69 time in the final. Running in the 200m dash, Henderson clocked a time of 21.51 to take top honors.
"Mo not only had a good performance, but I think he showed some a little bit of leadership today," said Turk. "I think he was the spark for us."
"For Cole [Henderson] to pull out an event win was great to see," said Turk. "It's been a long road for him with a couple injuries, it was just a real positive thing for us to come away with that kind of performance today."
Kuehr's winning 800m time of 1:53.56 rounded out the three victories by second-year Illini.
"He's a guy that's been hurt," said Turk. "He was hurt a lot last year and has been hurt this year, and it was just a great race he ran today. It was tactically great and he really had a lot in him."
True freshman Isaiah Michl added another event title for the Illini with a 54.34 mark in the 400m hurdles that topped the field by nearly half of a second. The title is the first of the St. Louis native's career.
The Illini also added a title in the 4x100m relay, using two freshmen and two sophomores to run the four legs. With freshman Joe Haight running the lead leg, Maat running the anchor and Keveion Akins and Cole Henderson running the middle legs, the Illini won the event with a time of 40.74.
Although they did not win their respective events, true freshmen Jared Christiansen, Keveion Akins and Illini newcomer Joe Haight showed promise on the track with both securing top-five performances.
For Christiansen, his 3:57.48 time in the 1500m run placed him fifth overall. After joining the team earlier this semester, Joe Haight made his first appearance in competition with a third-place finish in the 200m, clocking in at 21.60, while Akins finished eighth. Haight also qualified for the final in the 100m in addition to his 200m performance.
"[Joe] had a great meet as we welcomed him to the team. He ran well in our relay and he ran great in the prelims of the 100m. His 200m was right there, he finished third, and a great race for him."
The team's strong performances by underclassmen continued in field events. Sophomore Michael Hyc placed third finish in the hammer throw with a mark of 179'7" (54.74m) that set a new personal-record. On Saturday, Ben Barnes set a new career-best performance in the long-jump with a leap of 21'11.75" (6.70m), while Hyc and Matsen Dziedzic placed third and fourth in the shot put.
"Ben didn't perform well indoors, so he's been working and he's made some improvements," said Turk. "He's got some ways to go, but it's a good step in the right direction. We saw some of the same things out of Dziedzic in the shot put."
The lone event crown from an upperclassmen came from senior Ben Dodds, who got the weekend off on the right foot Friday evening with his performance in the javelin throw. In his final attempt, Dodds topped his opening throw, a mark of 191'10" (58.49m), with a heave of 198'8" (60.55m) to win the event. Teammate Aaron Wilks placed second in the competition with a 190'9" (58.15m) throw in his second attempt.
"One of the most trying events of the weekend was the javelin throw because it started to rain, and the wind was swirling, and it's hard to control a javelin when the wind is swirling," said Turk. "Those guys were dominant, they really looked great and those throws will go a lot farther in better weather."
Other notable finishes came from junior Kenneth Allen, who placed second in the 400m with a time of 48.45, and senior Jereme Atchison placed third in the 5,000m with a time of 15:22.54.
"I think that the young team we're putting out there this spring, they need that kind of experience," explained Turk. "We need to get some wins under out belt; we need some success and those guys notched up some victories today."
Final Team Scores:
1) Indiana State 175
2) Illinois 132
3) Central Michigan 98.50
4) Eastern Illinois 71
5) Wis.-Milwaukee 55
6) Loyola (Ill.) 53
7) Illinois State 51.50
8) Marquette 38
9) Valparaiso 30
10) Bradley 18
