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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini Men's Track and Field won the 2017 Illini Classic on Saturday (1/14) afternoon at the UI Armory. Scoring 180 team points to win the meet, Head Coach Mike Turk's squad was led by event titles from David Kendziera (60m hurdles), Devin Quinn (60m), Josh Eiker (200m) Jonathan Wells (high jump) and the 4x400m relay team. In the high jump, Wells attempted to break the school record after winning the event, but fell short of Gail Olson's 7'3" height.

"I'm extremely happy with the way the guys competed," said Coach Turk. "Their preparation and focus were on point and the performances reflected that. This team is coming together and, collectively, this was a step forward."

Leading the Orange and Blue was the short sprints and hurdles group, as the Illini swept the top two spots in the 60m hurdles, 60m dash and 200m dash.

"The sprint and hurdle crew was outstanding across the board," Turk said. "That's a pillar of our team. We have great people in every event group, but when the sprint and hurdle group is good, we as a team are usually pretty good. I'm so pleased with the maturity of the group as a whole."

In the 60m hurdles, Kendziera earned his second 60m hurdles victory in as many weeks, clocking 7.87 in prelims before dropping down to 7.82 in the final. Wells placed runner-up in the final with a time of 8.17.

In the 60m dash, Quinn earned the top time in prelims (6.84), and then dropped down to 6.78 to win the final. Placing runner-up was junior Cole Henderson with a time of 6.82 in the final after clocking 6.85 to win his preliminary heat.

Later, the duo of Eiker and Quinn took the top two spots in the 200m, Eiker getting top honors (21.57) and Quinn taking runner-up (21.71) after both Illini won their respective heats.

Arguably the most impressive performance of the day came in the high jump where Jonathan Wells again flirted with the Illinois school record of 7'3" (2.21m) set back in 1980 by Gail Olson.

Never missing more than once at his first three heights, Wells cleared 7'1.75" (2.18m) on his second attempt to outdo 2016 Olympic Trials finalist Kyle Landon of Southern Illinois. With Wells the only one still alive, the junior then made three attempts to tie Gail Olson's 1980 school record of 7'3" (2.21m), but was unsuccessful.

"Jonathan Wells had an outstanding day," explained Turk. "What might be overlooked was the big personal best he had in the pole vault. The win he got in the high jump was over an Olympic Trials finalist. He's progressing nicely."

The final event title came in the men's 4x400m relay as Mo Maat, Matt Burns, David Kendziera and Kenneth Allen led the Illini to victory with a time of 3:19.52, nearly four seconds better than second-place Notre Dame.

In addition to the five event titles, the Orange and Blue also tallied a handful of runner-up finishes to bolster the team score.

For the second week in a row, junior Michael Hyc posted personal-record marks in both the weight throw and shot put. Hyc started off his day with a runner-up finish in the weight throw where he marked 64'5.25" (19.64m) on his third attempt. Teammate Matsen Dziedzic followed Hyc in third with a personal-best performance of his own, marking 63'11" (19.48m).

Hyc returned in the afternoon session with another personal-best mark, again doing it on his third attempt, with a mark of 59'6.75" (18.15m) that bested his pervious shot put record by over three feet.

"Mike [Hyc] and Matsen [Dziedzic] were great in the weight throw," said Turk. "They are starting to figure some things out, and I believe there is much more for them to accomplish. Mike's performance in the shot put was extraordinary."

In the 400m dash, Kenneth Allen lowered his time from last week at the Border Battle with a 48.22 performance in heat three today, finishing runner-up. Joe Haight also scored for the Illini, finishing third with a time of 49.34.

Two more Illini runner-up finishes came from Cole Henderso (long jump) and Billy Magnesen (3,000m). Henderson earned a second place finish in the long jump on Saturday afternoon with a leap of 22'10.5" (6.97m) on his second to last attempt, while Magnesen clocked 8:22.79 in the 3,000m race.

"Cole Henderson has come a long way from his injury-plagued 2016 season," said Turk of the Pekin, Illinois native. "He is a talented athlete and has redeemed himself this year. The results are showing and his confidence is really growing. That's great to see."

Up next, the Orange and Blue travel south to Lexington, Kentucky to compete in the Rod McCravy Memorial meet on Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21. Other teams scheduled to compete against the Illini include Baylor, Clemson, Kentucky, Kansas, Penn State, Purdue, Texas and USC.

Event Titles

David Kendziera: 60m hurdles, 7.82

Devin Quinn: 60m dash, 6.78

Josh Eiker: 200m, 21:57

Jonathan Wells: High Jump, 7'1.75" (2.18m)

4x400m Relay: Maat, Burns, Kendziera, Allen, 3:19.52