Wilks Scores for Illini Men’s Track on Day 1 of Big Ten Championships

Five Illini advance to event finals

Men's Track & Field May 12, 2017

Wilks Scores for Illini Men’s Track on Day 1 of Big Ten Championships

Five Illini advance to event finals

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Illinois javelin thrower Aaron Wilks placed eighth in the event final to get the Illini men's track and field team on the board on day one of Big Ten Outdoor Championships, hosted by Penn State. On the track, the Illini advanced five individuals to Sunday finals. Competition resumes on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. central time with multi events, while field events will begin at 2:30 p.m. A live stream of day two will be provided on BTN2Go beginning at 12:20 p.m.

"We had a really good day," Head Coach Mike Turk said following day one. "Overall, I think we're in a good position. We've got five qualifiers, and that's what the first two days are about."

The Illini senior javelin thrower scored for the first time at Big Ten Championships, placing eighth to give Illinois its first point of the meet. Wilks set his best mark of competition on his third attempt with a heave of 218'4" (66.56m), the second-best throw of his career.

"Aaron had a great performance; he competed and executed well," Coach Turk said of Wilks. "That's what it's all about for us. It doesn't matter how many points he scored; what matter is the way he competed. He's a senior, a walk-on that's been here four years. He's been close before, and today he stepped up and got it done."

In addition to Wilks, five Illini qualified for track finals on Sunday: David Kendziera (400m hurdles), Devin Quinn (200m), Josh Eiker (200m), Jon Davis (1500m) and Jesse Reiser (1500m).

The Big Ten leader in the 400m hurdles, Kendziera clocked his fastest time of the season in the event with a 50.13 finish to win heat one. The time was more than half a second better than Taylor McLaughlin's time of 50.88 who finished second overall in qualifying. Sunday's 400m hurdles final is scheduled for 2:18 p.m.

"David look great, and he's getting really close to running some special times," Turk said of the redshirt junior. "That's the best he's looked in quite awhile."

The 200m duo of Quinn and Eiker again proved to be amongst the best in the conference, as both earned automatic bids to the event final. Quinn led the way in heat two with a time of 20.98, third-fastest overall, while Eiker advanced with a 21.10 time that placed him second in heat three and fifth overall. Quinn and Eiker will compete in the event final on Sunday at 2:35 p.m.

"Those guys ran perfect races," said Turk. I thought they were really good and it's really nice to get both of them into the final."

Illinois also added a pair of middle distance runners to Sunday's round of final, as Jon Davis and Jesse Reiser swept the top two spots of heat three of 1500m qualifying. Davis edged out Reiser to win the heat, crossing the finish line in 3:48.02, a tenth of a second ahead of Reiser (3:48.13). The gun for Sunday's final will go off at 1:05 p.m.

"I thought the 1500m [race] was fabulous. I'm really excited about Jesse and Jon making the final, and I think we have a really good shot at mixing some points in there."

The Fighting Illini will continue competition at Big Ten Championships on Saturday beginning at 2:30 p.m. central time with the shot put, while track prelims and finals begin at 3 p.m. Fans can stream day two of the meet on BTN2Go beginning at 12:20 p.m.

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.

Illinois Individual Results (Full Results)

Hammer Throw

10. Matsen Dziedzic, 195'2" (59.50m)

11. Michael Hyc, 194'2" (59.18m)

Javelin

8. Aaron Wilks, 218'4" (66.56m) – 1 point

400m hurdles

David Kendziera, 50.13Q

200m

3. Devin Quinn, 20.98Q

5. Josh Eiker, 21.10Q

20. Joe Haight, 21.78