CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois men's track and field redshirt freshman Jon Davis was named the Big Ten Men' Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the Big Ten office on Wednesday. Davis earns the honors after becoming the 498th American to run a mile in under four minutes, doing so in an Illinois record time of 3:58.46.
The Fithian, Illinois native made history on Saturday at the Illini Classic when he used splits of 58.0, 59.2, 1:01.6 and 59.66 to break the 44-year-old UI Armory facility record set by Rick Wohlhuter (3:59.30) back in 1974. The performance also broke Graham Morris' school record of 4:00.17 set in 2013.
The unadjusted time of 3:58.46 ranks fourth in the country and tops in the Big Ten. Accounting for the flat UI Armory track, the 3:58.46 mark converts to an NCAA-leading time of 3:55.46 on a banked surface.
Historically, Davis is one of four Illini to accomplish the feat and owns the top time amongst the exclusive club. Lee LaBadie was the first to break the four-minute barrier, the 43rd American overall, timing 3:58.8 at an outdoor meet on May 11, 1971 in Carbondale, Illinois. Mike Durkin followed suit three years later when he finished in 3:59.4 on June 1, 1974. The only Illini besides Davis to accomplish the feat indoors was Len Sitko a year after he graduated. Sitko timed 3:59.29 on March 14, 1992 in Birmingham, Alabama while running unattached.
The weekly Big Ten honor is the first of Davis' career, and is the first for an Illini this season. All-American hurdler David Kendziera twice won the award during last year's outdoor season, first on March 22 and again on April 19. Former Illini middle distance runner Joe McAsey is the last Illini to earn the honor during the indoor season, receiving the accolade on February 16, 2015.
The Illini are back in action this weekend at the Rod McCravy Invite on Saturday, February 3, in Lexington, Kentucky. The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Track and Field, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniMTrack and @IlliniWTrack) and Instagram (@IlliniMTrack and @IlliniWTrack) and like Fighting Illini Men's Track and Field and Fighting Illini Women's Track on Facebook.
2017-18 Men's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week
Dec. 6
T: Will Agodu, Jr., MSU
F: Jerimiah Evans, Fr., MSU
Dec. 13
T: Ben Veatch, Fr., IND
F: Jyles Etienne, Fr., IND
Jan. 10
T: Nick Gray, Jr., OSU
F: Nick Demaline, Sr., OSU
Jan. 17
T: Colin Abert, Jr., PSU
F: Bryce Williams, Jr., PSU
Jan. 24
T: Isaiah Harris, Jr., PSU
F: Joe Ellis, Jr., MICH
Jan. 31
T: JON DAVIS, ILL
F: David Lucas, So., PSU
