David Kendziera, 4x100m Relay Win Big Ten Titles

Illini place sixth overall

Men's Track & Field May 14, 2017

David Kendziera, 4x100m Relay Win Big Ten Titles

Illini place sixth overall

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – David Kendziera scored 18 points in his two hurdles finals and the 4x100m relay team won the 4x100m relay, as the Fighting Illini finished sixth as a team at Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Kendziera won the 400m hurdles title with a time of 50.88, while the 4x100m relay unit of Cole Henderson, Josh Eiker, Mo Maat and Devin Quinn edged Iowa at the finish line with a time of 39.67.

With only 16 points separating fourth place and eighth place, the Illini fell just five points behind fourth-place Wisconsin. Penn State won the men's Big Ten title with 117 points on their home track.

"I really expect us to be in the top four, and we fell short," said Head Coach Mike Turk. "I think that's a goal we should have every year: to be in the top four. I'm disappointed that we finished sixth. However, we had a great effort and had a lot of people make contributions from underclassmen and first-time scorers. I thought our energy and our competitiveness was great, and I can't fault them for that. I think at the end of the day, the mark we left is that good teams know that we're going to lay it all out there."

The Illini redshirt junior hurdler led the team in points scored at Big Ten Championships, highlighted by his 400m hurdles title. In the 400m hurdles, Kendziera finished the race in 50.88 despite a heavy wind, and beat out Purdue's Obokhare Ikpefan's runner-up time of 51.11.

"David remained calm, let the race come to him, stayed focused and ran his race," Turk said of the 400m hurdles champion. "He didn't fall into the trap of trying to run someone else's race, and that was really the difference. It was a veteran move, and he's a guy that has a lot of confidence."

Earlier in the day, Kendziera took second place in the 110m hurdles with a wind-aided time of 13.47 to finish behind Iowa's Aaron Mallett.

Finishing second to Iowa at Drake Relays two weeks ago, the Illini got avenged their loss to the Hawkeyes on Sunday to win the Big Ten title. With Cole Henderson, Josh Eiker and Mo Maat putting the Illini into a good position following the final handoff, Devin Quinn caught and passed Iowa's Aaron Mallett in the final 20 meters to win the race with a time of 39.67. The victory marks the fourth time the Illini have won the 4x100m relay since to 2011. The Illini also won the event in 2012 and 2015.

"The first two hand-offs were much better," said Coach Turk. "The third hand-off was better, but still not where we need it to be. At the end of the day I think we just ran really fast once we got the stick, That was the difference, and it was pretty evident with Devin's anchor leg. The effort by him, the way he moved in front of two teams, was the difference."

Three of the legs of the sprint relay, Quinn, Henderson and Eiker each returned later in the day to score points in open sprint finals. Quinn led the way with a third-place finish in the 100m dash, finishing in 20.21 to score six points. Eiker added four more points in the 200m when he timed 20.64 to take fifth, while Cole Henderson placed eighth in the 100m dash with a time of 10.43.

"It was huge for Cole Henderson because he's a guy that's had some struggles, and it's his first time scoring as an individual," Turk said. "I know that makes a difference for him and the team. I'm sure it's something he can build on through the rest of this year and into next year. It has a big impact for the future."

The final sprint point came from the 4x400m relay team of Joe Haight, Doug Wilson, Konrad Eiring and David Kendziera. Running in section one, the Illini won the their heat of the race with a time of 3:13.03, and finished eighth overall.

After scoring five points on Saturday in the long jump, Jonathan Wells added four more points to his weekend tally on Sunday with a fifth-place finish in the high jump. After passing on the first three heights, Wells cleared two bars, the final one coming at 7'0.25" (2.14m).

Also in field events, redshirt freshman Jacob LaRocca scored at his first Big Ten outdoor meet with a clearance of 16'4.75" (5.00m) on his first attempt.

Rounding out the scoring for the Illini on Sunday was seven points in distance events. Jon Davis took fifth and Jesse Reiser seventh in the 1500m final, while Dylan Lafond added a point in the 5,000m race with an eighth-place finish.

On Saturday, the Illini scored 15 points as Dylan Lafond won the 3.000m steeplechase and Jonathan Wells placed fourth in the long jump. Both Lafond and Wells set new personal-best performances in the process, as Lafond crossed the finish line in 8:40.54 and Wells leaped 24'11" (7.59m) on his second attempt of competition.

Aaron Wilks scored Illinois' first point of the meet on Friday when the senior placed eighth in the javelin with a throw of 218'4" (66.56m).

Up next, the Orange and Blue will send its top athletes to Austin, Texas for NCAA West Prelims, May 25-27. Needing to be inside the top-48 of the West region in order to qualify, the Illini had 19 performances that met those standards entering the weekend.

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Team Scores:

1.Penn State – 117

2.Ohio State – 103

3.Nebraska – 97

4.Wisconsin – 73

5.Iowa - 70

6.Illinois – 68

7.Minnesota – 66

8.Indiana – 64

8.Michigan - 64

10.Purdue – 41

11.Michigan State – 28