Kendziera Wins Silver, Illini Score Seven in B1G Finals

Quinn scores in 60m, 200m and 4x400m relay

Men's Track & Field February 24, 2018

Kendziera Wins Silver, Illini Score Seven in B1G Finals

Quinn scores in 60m, 200m and 4x400m relay

GENEVA, OH – Illinois men's track and field redshirt senior David Kendziera won the silver medal in the 60m hurdle final with a time of 7.76 at Big Ten Indoor Championships on Saturday. Joining Kendziera on the podium were point-scoring performances in three sprint events, the men's weight throw and the 4x400m relay. In total, the Illini tallied 48 points on the weekend, placing eighth.

With five entries in open sprint finals, seniors David Kendziera and Cole Henderson, junior Devin Quinn and sophomore Joe Haight combined to score 23 individual points on Saturday to lead the Orange and Blue.

"We're built to do well in the sprints. I think we might have left a couple points out there, but not too many," head coach Mike Turk said. "The bottom line is we need more people. We have to figure out how to get more people in the program. That's a coaching thing that we have to figure out. The marks that they put up today were outstanding. We can't say we underperformed because we didn't. We performed very well. When you finish where you finish and you performed well, that tells you everything you need to know. We have to make some changes to our roster to address some of the holes that have developed."

Placing runner-up in the 60m hurdles for the second straight year, Kendziera tied his best time of the season on Saturday in the final. Racing in lane seven, Kendziera clocked 7.76 for the third time this season to place second behind Nebraska's Antoine Lloyd who timed 7.68.

Illinois' biggest single-event scoring performance came in the 60m dash final where senior Cole Henderson and junior Devin Quinn combined to add nine points to the team total. Coming off a 6.70 personal record in prelims, Henderson timed 6.722 to edge Quinn at the line who finished five thousandths (6.727) behind in fifth. The fourth-place finish marks the best finish at the conference meet, indoors or outdoors, for Henderson.

Quinn came back in the 200m and doubled his total with a new personal record time that ranks second in Illinois indoor history. Timing 20.87 in section two of the sprint final, Quinn finished in less than 21 seconds for the first time indoors bypassing former Illini Anthony Moorman (20.89) on the all-time list. D.J. Zahn holds the school record with a time of 20.75.

Continuing to climb his way up the Big Ten ranks in the 400 meters, sophomore Joe Haight set his second straight personal record in the event this weekend. Haight timed 47.15 to advance to the final on Friday afternoon, and then lowered it by eight hundredths on Saturday to take home seventh place in the final.

Finals point-scorers Kendziera, Quinn and Haight returned at the conclusion of the race, teaming up with redshirt freshman Aaron Harris, to place sixth in the 4x400m relay. With Haight leading off and Kendziera anchoring, the Orange and Blue lowered their season best time by more than three-and-a-half seconds to win section one of the race.

Matsen Dziedzic scored Illinois' lone field event points of the day, placing in the top eight for the first time in his career with a seventh-place finish. Dziedzic's best throw came on his third attempt when he marked 67'9.75" (20.67). Classmate Michael Hyc placed tenth with a throw of 66'8.5" (20.33m) on his final attempt.

High jumper Parker Deloye barely missed scoring, placing just off the podium in ninth place with an indoor best performance. Clearing three heights on the afternoon, Deloye tied his outdoor personal-best bar of 6'9.75" (2.08m) on his second attempt.

The Orange and Blue entered Saturday's finals with 20 points behind three medal performances on Friday. Redshirt freshman Jon Davis scored eight points with a silver medal in the 3,000m, while pole vaulter Jacob LaRocca, with a personal record of 17'1.75" (5.23m), and the distance medley relay, clocking 9:46.12, won bronze medals.

Up next, the Illini will await official word on who has qualified for NCAA Indoor Championships, held March 9-10 in College Station, Texas. Taking the top-16 performances in each event, 60m hurdler David Kendziera (7.76) and 3,000m runner Jon Davis (7:49.92) both sit within the top-10 through Saturday's finals.

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.

Team Scores:

1.Ohio State – 101.5
2.Nebraska – 93.5
3.Indiana – 86
4.Penn State – 84
5.Wisconsin – 70
6.Michigan – 57
7.Iowa – 51
8.Illinois – 48
9.Minnesota – 37
10.Purdue – 32
11.Michigan State – 21
11.Rutgers – 21

Saturday Results

60m Hurdles

2. David Kendziera, 7.76 – 8 points

60m

4. Cole Henderson, 6.73 (6.722) – 5 points

5. Devin Quinn, 6.73 (6.727) – 4 points

200m

5. Devin Quinn, 20.87 – 4 points

400m

7. Joe Haight, 47.08 – 2 points

4x400m Relay

6. Joe Haight, Aaron Harris, Devin Quinn, David Kendziera, 3:08.14 – 3 points