Full Results

NORMAL, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's track and field recorded nine events titles at the Illinois State Redbird Invite on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by Aaron Wilks' 220'4.75" (67.17m) mark in the javelin throw that ranks third in Illinois history. In addition to Wilks, the Illini added in three other titles in field events and five more on the track, including a sweep of both relays.

"He had a great series," Coach Turk said of Wilks. "I knew he was going to have a good day because his warm-up looked exceptional. I've never seen him quite this in tune with the delivery of his throw the way he was today. That was the big difference. He was very under control up until the delivery, and then he just let it loose."

A senior from Bothell, Washington, Aaron Wilks set a personal-record in the javelin throw by 10 feet to win the event. Wilks, whose previous best came at the Illini Open last year when he threw 210'1", set the lifetime-best mark on his fifth throw of the competition. Ranking third in Illinois history, Wilks' performance only trails Brad Lawton's school record throw of 225'2" (68.63m) back in 1993.

In addition to Wilks, the Illini recorded three other field event titles, including two more in the throws.

After setting a 10-foot personal-record last week, Matsen Dziedzic opened the meet on Friday with a victory in the hammer throw. The Illini junior nearly duplicated his personal-record performance (195'0") from a week ago at Eastern Illinois, as Dziedzic marked 194'11.75" (59.43m) on his third attempt of competition. Teammate Michael Hyc placed runner-up in the competition with a mark of 180'7.25" (55.04m).

"I see a different guy out there now than the guy that was out there a year ago," Turk said of the Dziedzic. "I think Matsen has just gotten to the position where he can take advantage of the opportunities he's had. His confidence is growing and he's become a better competitor because of that. I don't think his performance on Friday was particularly special, but it was fun to watch because he was in command. Even when he had one throw that wasn't so great, he didn't look rattled. Those are the things that show he's growing as a person and athlete."

On Saturday, Hyc was the Illini earning the victory as he took top honors in the shot put by marking 56'9.25" (17.30m) on his second throw of the competition. Dziedzic took third with a throw of 53'4.5" (16.27m) on his third attempt.

In the pole vault, Jacob LaRocca cleared 15'11" (4.85m), 10 inches better than runner-up Luke Nelson (Illinois State).

Illinois sprinters also brought home a handful event titles, as Josh Eiker, Kenneth Allen, David Kendziera and both sprint relays were victorious.

Freshman Josh Eiker and sophomore Devin Quinn clocked the second and third fastest wind-aided times in Illinois history to sweep the 200m dash on Saturday. With the wind blowing at 6.2 meters per second during the race, Eiker clocked 20.45 to win the event, while Quinn finished on his heels in 20.49. Both Illini sprinters beat out Illinois State's Derrius Rodgers, finishing in 20.69 for third place, who clocked a legal time of 20.89 in the event last week.

"Devin is really growing into quite a good sprinter, but is also taking on some leadership role on the team," said Turk. "He's really developing his personal skills. The big thing with Josh [Eiker] was that his first 100 [meters] was not very good. What Josh showed is that he's got a will to win. He wasn't going to accept being fifth in that race. He just put it down, competed and refused to be denied."  

Earlier in the day, both Eiker and Quinn ran legs of the 4x100m relay victory, teaming with Cole Henderson and Joe Haight, as the Illini clocked 40.30 to win the event by more than a half-second.

Quinn and Henderson also placed in the open 100m, clocking 10.57 and 10.59 personal-best times, respectively.

Later in the afternoon, the Illini added two more victories on the track, both coming at 400m – one in the open race and the other in the hurdles. In the open 400m, Kenneth Allen won the event with a time of 47.77, while freshman Doug Wilson took second with an outdoor season-best time of 48.89. David Kendziera followed with a title in the hurdles, winning the race with a time of 52.39.

Allen, Wilson and Kendziera returned at the end of the meet, teaming up along with Joe Haight to win the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:15.00.

Next up for the Illini is a trip out to California where they will divide the team between the Mt. SAC Relays, Bryan Clay Invite and Beach Invite from April 13-15.  

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.

Event Titles:

Aaron Wilks: Javelin, 220'4.75" (67.17m)

Matsen Dziedzic: Hammer Throw, 194'11.75" (59.43m)

Michael Hyc: Shot Put, 56'9.25" (17.30m)

Cole Henderson, Josh Eiker, Joe Haight, Devin Quinn: 4x100m Relay, 40.30

Kenneth Allen: 400m, 47.47

Jacob LaRocca: Pole Vault, 15'11" (4.85m)

David Kendziera: 400m hurdles, 52.39

Josh Eiker: 200m, 20.45

David Kendziera, Doug Wilson, Kenneth Allen and Joe Haight: 4x400m Relay, 3:15.00