Full Results

LINCOLN, Neb. – Illinois Men's Track and Field's Jonathan Wells broke the school record in the heptathlon, totaling 5,685 points across the seven events at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite. Placing third overall in the event, Wells won the 60m hurdles competition and finished in the top-four of five of the seven events. Also finishing in the top-five today for the Illini was David Kendziera (60m hurdles), Josh Eiker (200m), Michael Hyc (shot put) and the 4x400m relay team. 

"This is a tough trip for us," said Turk of the Husker Invite. "We're the only school hoping on a bus and driving nine and a half hours to get to a track meet. The other teams all fly in with the exception of Kansas. With the travel and the level of competition, it's a different game. Our team performed extremely well this weekend. This is about as good of a meet as we've had here ever. This is one of the meets that makes them battle-tested heading towards Big Ten Championships. It may not seem like it now, but it'll pay off because it creates a little adversity. We were very well represented and noticed at this meet among some really big names in this sport. I'm proud of our team and I thought they did a great job."

After scoring 3,329 points through the first four events on Friday, Wells returned to add 2,356 in the remaining three events on Saturday. Wells began day two of competition by winning the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.04, edging out Kentucky's Tim Duckworth 8.10 time. Later in the morning, Wells took sixth in the pole vault, clearing four bars to finish with a height of 15'1.75" (4.62m) before rounding out the three events with a time of 3:07.95 in the 1,000m race.

"Jonathan had a very productive meet," Coach Turk said of the new school recorder holder. "It was a real learning and growth experience for him. I'm really proud of how he handled things. He learned what it's like this weekend to be a multi-event athlete and be successful in that endeavor. You have to roll with the punches, overcome the ups and downs. A lot of that was about his pre-meet preparation and his warm up. He was on point with every detail today and paid attention to what he needed to do."

Yesterday, Wells finished runner-up in the high jump (6'10.75"), third in both the 60m dash (7.00) and long jump (23'7.5") and fourth in the shot put (43'10").

The 5,685 points surpasses former Illini Steve Monte who totaled 5,577 points back in 2013.

Also setting a personal-best today was Michael Hyc in the shot put. After taking third in the weight throw yesterday (65'5"), the Illini junior returned on Saturday with a 60'3" (18.36m) heave on his second attempt of the day.

"He went against a very competitive field and opened with a great throw," said Turk. "I think he had a good approach. His second throw was his bomb for the day and was a great attempt. He showed how great of a competitor he is after losing the lead in round five. In his last throw, round six, he fouled but he went for it and put it all out there. It showed some poise of not backing down despite already having a personal-record."

The 60'3" mark moves Hyc from seventh on Illinois' indoor all-time list up to fifth, passing Rich Baader and Jim Lenzini both finished their careers with 59'7" (18.16m).

Freshman Josh Eiker entered the Illinois record books for the first time, as he clocked 21.34 in heat nine of the 200m dash. The time is the 10^th-fastest indoor 200m in school history, which improves upon on his previous lifetime indoor best of 21.38 set on January 7 at the Border Battle. Eiker's time placed him fourth overall in the 40-sprinter field.

"It was big for him to get out there and not feel pain and realize he's healthy enough to perform," explained Turk. "He didn't feel well conditioned because he hasn't trained a whole lot the last few weeks, but he was really good today. He had a tough lane draw, way on the inside, and I was proud of his effort and his execution today."

Also in the 200m, Devin Quinn set a season-best time of 21.51 in heat ten, placing sixth overall, and Joe Haight won his heat with a personal-record time of 21.58.

"Joe won his heat by half a second. He's come on to be one heck of a performer. He's really added something special to our team in the last year. Now that he's a chance to train with us this year, he's really come along. I can't say enough how much I appreciate the effort he's put out and how much he's improved. It's really a huge boost to our program."

David Kendziera placed third in the 60m hurdles final for the Orange and Blue with a time of 7.93. Kendziera tied his personal-best 7.77 time on Friday evening in prelims.

"The race was a little sloppy through the first couple hurdles for all of the guys in the race," explained Turk. "Dave did not have a real good start, but he stayed in it and he competed right through the line."

The Fighting Illini concluded the Husker Invite with a season-best performance from the 4x400m relay team of Kenneth Allen, David Kendziera, Devin Quinn and Joe Haight. The quartet timed 3:10.49 in heat four to finish fifth overall.

"I think we've solidified three of our four legs right now," Turk said of the relay group. "We have to figure out who's going to fill that fourth spot. I think there are probably four guys that can legitimately lay claim to that over the next couple of weeks. I still feel like we can drop some significant time in the next few weeks."

Three other Illini athletes set personal-best times on Saturday, as Luke Schroer finished the mile in 4:12.84, Matt Burns crossed the finish line of the 600m with a time of 1:21.82 and Joe Cowlin clocked a personal-best 3,000m time of 8:24.87. 

Top-Five Finishes:

2.Michael Hyc, Shot Put, 60'3" (18.36m)

3.Jonathan Wells, Heptathlon, 5,685 points

3. Michael Hyc, Weight Throw, 65'5" (19.94m)

3.David Kendziera, 60m Hurdles, 7.93

4. Josh Eiker, 200m, 21.34

4. 4x400m Relay, 3:10.49