CHAMPAIGN, IL – Following their first Big Ten outdoor title in 21 years, the Orange & Blue enter the 2016 Big Ten Championships with hopes of putting a complete meet together after an injury-riddled regular season. Despite suffering injuries throughout the year, the 2016 squad enters postseason play with multiple individuals in contention in their respective events, including hurdler Cam Viney who leads the Big Ten in the 400m hurdles and ranks second in the 110m hurdles. Festivities kick off Friday afternoon with the decathlon and continues through Sunday's event finals.
Competitions to Watch
Hurdles: All-American Cam Viney will compete in his final Big Ten Championships meet and is a favorite to medal in both the 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles. In the shorter distance, Viney sits second in the Big Ten with a season-best mark of 13.75, a quarter-second behind Aaron Mallet of Iowa and almost a tenth of a second ahead of Nebraska's Antoine Lloyd. However, his best chance at a title is in the 400m hurdles where he sits atop the Big Ten with a 50.66 performance at the Illinois Twilight. Viney's biggest threat to winning the event comes from Mitch Wolff and Taylor McLaughlin of Iowa and Michigan respectively, both of whom are more than three tenths behind Viney with their season-best marks.
100m: After scoring points in both the 60m and 200m during the indoor season, freshman Devin Quinn will look to pad his freshman season resume in the 100m dash. Quinn has had a shortened outdoor season due to a nagging injury, but still is tied for fifth-best in the conference. His 10.42 time is tied with James Harrington (Iowa) and Cornelius Strickland (Indiana), while Nick Gray (Ohio State) and Vinnie Saucer (Iowa) sit a few shades better in third with a time of 10.36. Malcolm White's league-leading 10.20 was set this past weekend at the 2016 Nebraska Invite.
1500m: The Fighting Illini feature three middle distance runners that are in contention to score points in the event, highlighted by senior Liam Markham. Markham owns the top time on the team with a 3:44.96 clip that places him fifth in the Big Ten, just shy of Michigan's Mason Ferlic. Freshman Jesse Reiser sits eighth in the conference with a 3:45.15 time at the Stanford Invite, while Bryce Basting sits two-tenths behind at 3:45.35 in 11th.
10,000m: Senior Ian Barnett provides Illinois' best shot at a distance event title this weekend, as he stands as the current leader with a 29:10.83 time set back on April 1 at Stanford. Barnett's time sits three seconds ahead of Michigan's Ben Flanagan. Illinois will also likley field Billy Magnesen in Friday night's event as he stands sixth in the confrence with a season-best time of 29:34.94.
Javelin: Illinois features two potential point scorers in the event, senior Ben Dodds and junior Aaron Wilks. Dodds is coming off his best throw of the season, a 215'8" (65.75m) mark at the Illinois Twilight. Dodd's teammate Wilks seeks a top-eight finish after also setting a season-best mark of 210'1" (64.04m) at the home meet two weeks ago. A big PR from Wilks or a slip up from one of his competitors could give Illinois two top-eight finishes.
Next Up
Fighting Illini NCAA regional qualifiers will begin preparation for the West Regional in Lawrence, Kansas. The meet is scheduled for May 26-28 on the campus of the University of Kansas. Currently, 17 individual Illini and both relays have qualified.
Illini Notes
Hyc Leads Illini in Season Finale
Sophomore set PRs in both the hammer throw and shot put, winning the later event at the Illini Open. The Orange & Blue also received event titles from Cam Viney, Joe Haight and top collegiate performances from Mo Maat (100m) and Mitch Mammoser (pole vault).
Illini Relays win Fourth Straight Hy-Vee Cup Trophy
Mike Turk's squad secured the the Hy-Vee Cup title for the fourth straight year after their 4x800m, sprint medley and distance medley relays each finished runner-up in their respective events. Illinois' 24 wins bested second-place Texas' 20.
Fighting Illini Win Twilight; Viney Takes Two Titles
The Orange & Blue cruised to a team title with a 172 points over the course of the day to best the 10-team competition. Cam Viney led the Illini with titles in the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles, setting a new PR in the latter. In addition to Viney, Devin Quinn clocked a 200m winning time of 21.44, while the Illini notched a season-best 4x400m relay time to win the event.
Sprints Group Leads Illini in California
Kenneth Allen and Mo Maat led the Illini on Friday and Saturday at the Clay and Beach Invites with season-best performances. Allen topped his season-best 400m mark on back-to-back days, first with a 47.66 performances on Friday, and then followed it up with a 47.40 time on Saturday. For Maat, the Memphis native set a personal-best time of 21.24 in the 200m to finish as the top collegian at the Beach Invite. Joining the two sprinters was the 4x100m group. Although discounted due to a timing issue, the 4x1 ran a 39.63 mark. The next day, the team of Akins, Henderson, Maat and Haight followed it up with an official season-best mark of 40.50 in the elite section at Mt. SAC.
Young Illini Shine at Gibson Invite
the Orange & Blue were led by underclassmen, totaling four of the team's five individual titles. Sophomores Mo Maat (100m), Cole Henderson (200m) and Trevor Kuehr (800m) each chipped in an event title for the Illini, while freshman Isaiah Michl (400m hurdles) added the fourth crown. In addition to the individual titles, the Illini used two sophomores and two freshmen to win the 4x100m relay competition.
Viney & Barnett Top Performances at Stanford Invite
Cam Viney and Ian Barnett combined for three individual titles to open the season at the Stanford Invite. Viney took titles in both hurdles events, the 110m and 400m. Although neither times for Viney were personal-bests, he won each event with ease. In the 10,000m, Barnett set the seventh-best time in school history with a 29:10.83 time.
Barnett in Elite Company
With Barnett's 29:10.83 time at Stanford, the senior is now on five top-10 lists, tied for the current best among past and present Illini. He currently ranks in the top-10 in the indoor 3K and 5K and the outdoor 1,500m, 5K and 10K. The other Illini to have the same honor: Dorian Green, Babatunde Ridley, Sherman Armstrong and Jannis Toepfer.
Wells, Kendziera, Lafond & Lee to Red-shirt This Spring
With the rash of injuries during the indoor season and long-term planning for the defending champs, Coach Turk will red-shirt four Illini during the outdoor season. Although he stayed healthy throughout the indoor slate, 2016 indoor high jump All-American Jonathan Wells will use the spring to focus on multi events as he seeks to increase his versatility in the second half of his Illini career.
Jonathan Wells Earns First Team All-America Honors
Sophomore high jumper Jonathan Wells posted his second highest mark of the indoor season at NCAA Championships with a clearance of 7'1.75" (2.18m) to place eighth in the field. The First Team All-America honor is the first of Wells career after he competed at indoor championships last season, but finished 13th.
