CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's track and field team returns home to host the Illinois Twilight on Saturday, April 22 at 3 p.m. Throwing events will kickoff the meet, followed by jumping and running events that will start at 4 p.m. The Illini will recognize its graduating seniors at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Meet Information
Promotions Packed Meet
A variety of promotions will be available to fans on Saturday throughout the meet, including inflatables and face painting for kids. Additionally, Illinois headbands, pizza and snow cones will be given out to fans during the meet. The lot west of the Illinois baseball field will be available for free parking throughout day, while the parking lot on the north side of Atkins will also be available.
Follow the Meet
Live results will be provided through fightingillini.com/track/livestats. Fans can also follow @IlliniMTrack on Twitter for updates throughout the competition. A full recap will be provided on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of competition.
Last Time Out
The Orange and Blue are coming off of a very successful weekend in California where they set 12 personal-best performances across the Mt. SAC Relays, Bryan Clay Invite and Beach Invite. David Kendziera led the team with event titles in the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles, while Jon Davis (5,000m) and Jesse Reiser (1500m) set times that rank amongst the top-10 in Illinois history.
Illini to Watch
110m Hurdles // David Kendziera and Jonathan Wells
One of the best hurdlers in the country, David Kendziera currently ranks among the top-10 in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles. Having won six of his seven races this season, Leading the conference in both events, Kendziera was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week on Wednesday (4/19) following his sweep of the two hurdles events at Mt. SAC Relays, including a season-best time of 50.17 in the 400m hurdles. Jonathan Wells will also compete in the event as he continues to develop in the multi events.
Jumps // Jonathan Wells
In addition to the 100m hurdles, Wells will compete in both the high jump and long jump on Saturday. An All-American in the vertical jump, Wells is yet to compete in the event since winning the indoor Big Ten title back in February and holds a personal-best mark of 7'1.5" (2.17m) outdoors. In the long jump, Wells set a new personal-record in the event on his way to taking eighth in the heptathlon at NCAA Championships, leaping 24'5" (7.45m). In his only outdoor competition in the horizontal jumps this season, Wells marked 23'8" (7.21m) at Eastern Illinois at the beginning of this month.
4x100m Relay // Mo Maat, Josh Eiker, Devin Quinn, Joe Haight and Cole Henderson
With Cole Henderson running in place of Mo Maat last week at the Mt. SAC Relays, the Illini matched their season-best time with a 39.68 showing last Saturday. Ranking fifth in the Big Ten so far this season, the Illini will look to drop their time on their home track before competing at Drake Relays next week.
800m // Konrad Eiring
After missing the 2017 indoor season, Konrad Eiring has quickly worked his way back to where he left off at the end of his freshman season last year. After clocking 1:52 in each of his first two races this season, the Illini sophomore dropped two seconds off of his time out in California last week. Setting a new personal-record time of 1:50.41 at Mt. SAC Relays, Eiring will look to keep the momentum going at home as the Illini build towards postseason competition next month.
Up Next
The Illini will conclude their 2017 regular season with a trip to Des Moines, Iowa for the annual Drake Relays. Competition begins April 27 and continues through April 29.
Illini Notes
David Kendziera Named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week For Second Time
For the second time this season, Illinois men's track and field hurdler David Kendziera was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday (4/19) afternoon. A redshirt junior, Kendziera led the Illini last weekend in California with a sweep of the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the Mt. SAC Relays. The Mount Prospect, Illinois native currently leads the Big Ten in both events and has won six of the seven competitions he's contest this season.
Illini Lead Big Ten in Five Events
Four Fighting Illini athletes currently lead the Big Ten in their respective events, led by David Kendziera's conference-leading 110m hurdles (13.60) and 400m hurdles (50.17) races. Freshmen Josh Eiker and Jon Davis both lead the conference entering the final two weeks, as Eiker clocked 20.45 at Illinois State and Jon Davis timed 13:49.55 at Mt. SAC Relays. Rounding out the four Illini is Jesse Reiser whose 3:42.37 time at Bryan Clay last weekend leads the conference in the 1500m.
Six Illini Nationally Ranked in Top-25
The Illini doubled the number of athletes ranked amongst the top-25 in Division I with three performances in California. Distance runners Dylan Lafond (3rd/steeplechase), Jon Davis (14th/5K) and Jesse Reiser (15th/1500m) each moved onto the list. Joining the three distance athletes are David Kendziera (110m hurdles and 400m hurdles) and the 4x100m relay team.
18 Illini Performances Rank Among Top-48 in West Region
Along with the six Illini marks that rank in the top-25 nationally, 12 others rank amongst the top-48 in the NCAA West region, which would qualify them for NCAA Prelims.
Illini Distance Crew Shines in Cali
In what Coach Turk called the most successful weekend for the distance group in awhile, the Illini distance crew set a handful of person-best performances and a strong steeplechase debut from Dylan Lafond. Freshman Jon Davis set the second fastest 5K time in school history in his first collegiate 5K, timing 13:49.55, while Jesse Reiser ran the sixth fastest 1500m race in Illini history with a 3:42.37 performance. Also setting PR times were Sean Pengelly, Dan Lathrop, Konrad Eiring, Zach Dale and Zack Smith.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Men's Track and Field, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniMTrack) and Instagram (@IlliniMTrack) and like Fighting Illini Men's Track and Field on Facebook.
