CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois men's track and field team travels to University Park, Pennsylvania for the 2017 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Competition at the Nittany Lion Outdoor Track begins on Friday, May 12 and continues through finals on Sunday, May 14. Fans can stream the meet live on BTN2Go beginning at 12:30 p.m. central time on Saturday and continuing through the conclusion of the meet on Sunday.
Follow the Meet
A live stream of the meet will be provided through BTN2Go, beginning on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. central time and continuing through the conclusion of finals on Sunday. Saturday's stream will cover all infield finals, while Sunday will feature the conclusion of field event finals and all track finals.
In addition to the stream, fans can access live results through Prime Time Timing by going to live.pttiming.com/?mid=1177. Updates throughout the weekend will be posted via @IlliniWTrack on Twitter, while a full recap will be provided on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of each day's competition.
Last Time Out
The Illini scored 28 points across five relay events to tie Ohio State for second place in the Hy-Vee Cup standings at the 108th annual Drake Relays. Four-time reigning Hy-Vee Cup champions coming into the meet, the Illini finished runner-up to Iowa's 39 points. Illinois' top finish came in the sprint medley relay, a second-place finish with a time of 3:22.75.
Illini Lead Big Ten in Five Events
Five Fighting Illini athletes currently lead the Big Ten in their respective events, each coming on the track. Devin Quinn's facility record at the Illinois Twilight is the most recent addition to the leaderboard, clocking 10.20 to pass Deshawn Marshall (10.28) of Ohio State. Also taking over the lead in the Big Ten was the 4x100m relay team, as they clocked 39.42 at the Twilight meet. David Kendziera continues to lead the 400m hurdles with a 50.17 time at Mt. SAC Relays, while Jon Davis's 13:49.55 5,000m run and Dylan Lafond's 8:42.55 steeplechase lead Big Ten distance events. In total, 12 Illini events rank in the top-8 of the conference entering the final meet of the regular season.
Illini to Watch
4x100m Relay // Cole Henderson, Josh Eiker, Mo Maat, Devin Quinn
Final: Sunday @ 12:45pm CT
With four teams within a tenth of a second of one another coming in, the sprint relay could be one of the most tightly contested events of the weekend. Illinois' unit of Henderson, Eiker, Maat and Quinn currently hold the best time in the conference, setting a facility record 39.42 run at the Illinois Twilight back on April 22. Although Iowa and Ohio State defeated the Illini two weeks ago at Drake, Coach Turk sees the group as being a few small adjustments away from dropping the league-leading time again.
3K Steeplechase // Dylan Lafond
Final: Saturday @ 5:45pm CT
After placing runner-up in the steeplechase at 2015 Big Ten Championships, Lafond is seeking his first Big Ten title after redshirting last year's outdoor season. Although he's only contested the event once so far this season, Lafond holds the top time in the conference by more than six seconds and ranks fifth in NCAA Division I with a time of 8:42.55. Lafond's best time came two years ago at NCAA Championships when he timed 8:41.11 to earn All-America honors.
Hurdles // David Kendziera
110m Hurdles Prelims: Saturday @ 4:00pm CT // Final: Sunday @ 1:25pm CT
400m Hurdles Prelims: Friday @ 4:35pm CT // Final: Sunday @ 2:18pm CT
One of the best hurdlers in the country, and two-time Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week, David Kendziera is the Big Ten leader in the 400m hurdles and is third in the 110m hurdles. Prior to sitting out last season due to injury, Kendziera earned a silver medal in the intermediate hurdles at 2015 Big Ten Championships and helped the Illini win the team title. Kendziera's biggest competition in the 400m hurdles will come from Obokhare Ikpfan of Purdue, who won the event at Drake Relays two weeks ago and holds a season-best time of 50.36. Iowa's Aaron Mallet holds the top time in the high hurdles (13.47) after Kendziera (13.60) held the lead for the first month of the season.
Sprints // Devin Quinn and Josh Eiker
100m Prelims: Saturday @ 3:30mpm CT // Final: Sunday @ 1:50pm CT
200m Prelims: Friday @ 5:15 pm CT // Final: Sunday @ 2:35pm CT
Coming on strong down the stretch, both Quinn and Eiker posted their top times of the season at home on April 22. Quinn set a facility record in the 100m, clocking 10.20 to take over the Big Ten lead, while both Quinn and Eiker moved into the top five in the 200m with times of 20.80 and 20.82, respectively, at the Illinois Twilight as well. Both underclassmen, Quinn placed sixth in the 100m as a freshman, while Eiker is in his first year at Illinois after winning four IHSA state titles and setting a new state record in the 200m (20.83). Ohio State's Nick Gray (200m) and Deshawn Marshall (100m and 200m) both sit at the top of the Big Ten in the two events and will pose stiff competition for the two Illini.
Up Next
Illinois athletes that finish in the top-48 of the NCAA West region will travel to Austin, Texas for NCAA Prelims, held May 25-27. The Illini currently have 20 performances that would qualify heading into Big Ten Championships.
Six Illini Nationally Ranked in Top-25
Heading into the postseason, the Illini now have six performances that rank among the top-25 in the country. Dylan Lafond leads the Illini with the fifth-best time in the 3,000m steeplechase, clocking 8:42.55 in his season debut. David Kendziera ranks in the top-15 in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles, while Quinn's 10.20 time at the Illinois Twilight also ranks among the 15 best times. Also ranked in the top-25 entering the weekend is the 4x100m relay (16th) and Jon Davis in the 5,000m.
19 Illini performances Rank Among Top-48 in West Region
Along with the six Illini marks that rank in the top-25 nationally, 14 others rank amongst the top-48 in the NCAA West region, which would qualify them for NCAA Prelims. Dylan Lafond highlights the list with the second-best steeplechase time of 8:42.55 that he set at the Mt. SAC Relays.
David Kendziera Twice Named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week
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.
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