CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini track and field team concludes the road portion of their indoor regular season with a two-day at the Iowa State Classic. Held in Ames, Iowa inside the Lied Recreation Center, the meet begins on Friday, February 9 at 12 p.m. central time and concludes the following day, February 10.
Meet Information
Schedule Format
The meet begins with two sessions on Friday, as field events, hurdles and 200m races comprise the majority of session one. Day one concludes with the remaining 3K and 5K sections, including the Invite races for both events, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday again starts at 12 p.m. followed by 60m, 400m, 800m, mile and relays which begin at noon.
Follow the Action
A live stream will be provided via subscription to FloTrack. Fans can follow live results throughout the meet by going to https://results.flotrack.org/?mid=1347 and receive live updates by following @IlliniMTrack and @IlliniWTrack on Twitter. A full recap of the meet will be posted on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of the meet.
A Glance at the Competition
The last large meet of the season for Big Ten Championships, the Orange and Blue will face some of the top teams in the region. In addition to Big Ten brethren Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska, the Illini will compete against athletes from Kansas, Iowa State, Tulsa and BYU among other athletes from across the country. Known for its distance competitions, the meet features four sections of both the 3,000m and 5,000m races.
Illini Competitions to Watch
Jon Davis // 3,000m
Men's Invite: Friday, Feb. 9 - 7:30 p.m. CT
After setting one of the top mile times in the country two weeks ago, the Illini redshirt freshman will take his first crack at the 3,000m this season. Davis will be racing alongside some of the best distance runners in the nation on Friday, as a number of top-ranked runners from BYU, Wisconsin, Indiana, Penn State and Michigan are in the field. Despite redshirting last year's indoor season, Davis contested the 3K at the Rod McCravy Memorial meet last January with a time of 8:04.80. Four-plus seconds off former Illini Dylan Lafond's 8:00.48 school record, Davis will have another opportunity to reset an Illini record. Wisconsin's Oliver Hoare owns the field's top time this season with a 7:54.91 clip at the Dr. Saunder Invite two weeks ago.
Weight Throw // Matsen Dziedzic and Michael Hyc
Final: Friday, Feb. 9 - 12:00 p.m. CT
Dziedzic and Hyc are both coming off personal-best performances at Kentucky last week that resulted in a combined 1-2 finish in the weight throw. Dziedzic tossed three PRs in his final four throws, marking 68 feet on his final throw for the first time in his career. Hyc's PR came on his fifth throw of the day, briefly taking the lead with a mark of 67'10.25" (20.68m) before Dziedzic surpassed him on each of his final two attempts. Both ranked in the top-35 nationally, the two Illini will face off against Nebraska's Nicholas Percy who mark 68'10.75" (21.00m) two weeks ago to rank 27th nationally. Iowa State's Vlad Pavlenko (34th nationally) and Wisconsin's Tucker Wedig (44th) are also entered.
60m Hurdles // David Kendziera and Jayla Stewart
Prelims: Friday, Feb. 9 - 12:00 p.m. CT // Final: Friday, Feb. 9 - 1:45 p.m. CT
Kendziera, a winner of three hurdles competitions in four tries this indoor season, will put his Big Ten-leading time of 7.76 up against Iowa's Chris Douglas, tied for first in the conference with Kendziera, and Antoine Lloyd of Nebraska who ranks third. Kendziera's lone runner-up finish this season came on Lloyd's home track when the Husker edged Kendziera for the Mark Colligan Memorial title. The three top-15 nationally ranked hurdlers will each meet again in two weeks at the conference meet in Geneva, Ohio.
For Stewart, the Illini junior is coming off her best time of the season, a 8.33 showing at Kentucky. Much like Kendziera, Stewart will see one of the top hurdlers in the Big Ten two weeks before the conference meet. It'll be the second time this season Stewart has competed against Nebraska's Jasmine Barge, both entering with a top-five time in the Big Ten.
400m // Chisom Nwoko
Final: Saturday, Feb. 10 - 1:50 p.m. CT
Now owning the sixth-fastest time in the event in Illinois history, Chisom Nwoko enters her top-40 nationally ranked time against a pair of other ranked sprinters in the field. The entries are led by Kierra Griggs of Nebraska who boasts the 11th best time nationally at 53.26. Middle Tennessee State's Abike Egbeniyi is also entered with a time of 53.89 that ranks eight spots ahead of Nwoko's.
Next Up
The Fighting Illini will conclude the regular season with their final indoor home meet, the Orange and Blue Open, on Saturday, February 17, at 10 a.m.
ILLINI NOTES
Last Time Out
The Orange and Blue tallied five individual titles between men and women at the Rod McCravy Memorial meet on February 3. Led by Devin Quinn's 60m and 200m sweep, and two big personal records in the weight throw, the men scored 97 points to place second ahead of No. 23 Kansas (95). Nicole Choquette led the women's squad with a victory in the 800m, while sprinter Chisom Nwoko set the sixth-fastest 400m time in program history with a time of 54.16.
Illini In the Big Ten
Two Fighting Illini rank atop the Big Ten in their respective events, as Jon Davis (mile) and David Kendziera (60m hurdles) both lead the Big Ten. In addition to the two Illini at the top of the conference, Devin Quinn sits third in the 60m dash with a personal-best mark of 6.69 and third in the 200m with a time of 21.18. Elsewhere in the Big Ten rankings, nine other performances rank among the top-10 in the conference: Jayla Stewart (60m hurdles, 4th), Sara McKeeman (Pole Vault, 7th), Josh Eiker (200m, 7th), Nicole Choquette (600m, 8th), Jacob LaRocca (Pole Vault, 7th), Matsen Dziedzic (weight throw, 8th) Denis O'Callaghan (mile, 8th), Michael Hyc (weight throw, 9th) men's and women's 4x400m relays (9th), Chisom Nwoko (400m, 9th), Jacob LaRocca (pole vault, 10th) and Konrad Eiring (800m, 10th).
Good Mileage
While Davis' performance in the mile at the Illini Classic is historically significant, it also puts the Illini redshirt freshman in position to do big things in 2018. The 3:58.46, which converts to 3:55.46 on a banked track, leads the Big Ten conference so far this season. Nationally, Davis' unadjusted time ranks fourth in NCAA Division and the adjusted time leads NCAA Division I, slightly ahead of Syracuse's Justyn Knight.
Kendziera Leads Big Ten Hurdlers
A six-time hurdles All-American, David Kendziera started the season with a 7.80 performance in the 60m hurdles that ranked top-10 nationally, and then shaved four seconds (7.76) off the time last weekend at the Illini Classic. Kendziera is tied with Chris Douglas (Iowa) for the lead in the Big Ten. Through four meets, Kendziera has won three races and placed runner-up in the other.
Lightning Quick
Illinois short sprinter Devin Quinn is quickly putting himself into the ranks of all-time great sprinters in Illini history. After a 6.69 performance in the 60m dash at Nebraska on January 20, Quinn ranks third behind former Illini Andrew Riley (6.57) and Dominique Worsley (6.62). The junior from Punta Gorda, Florida also stakes claim to the third fastest indoor 200m mark in program history, a 21.01 mark at 2017 Big Ten Indoor Championships. Quinn timed 21.18 at the Mark Colligan Memorial meet, third in the Big Ten this season.
Chisom Nwoko Shining Early
With a full year under belt, Illini sophomore sprinter and pole vaulter Chisom Nwoko is starting to turn her potential into on-the-track results. At the Illini Classic Nwoko broke out for two personal-record times. In the pole vault, Nwoko cleared 12'7.5" (3.85m) for the first time in her career, which ranks ninth in the Big Ten. Nwoko returned the following week, February 3, to set the sixth-fastest 400m time in program history at Kentucky.
Vaulting Forward
Comprised primarily of underclassmen, the Fighting Illini pole vault group is showing to be one of the Illini's deepest event groups. Led by Sara McKeeman on the women's side and Jacob LaRocca on the men's, the Illini have three vaulters that rank in the top-10 in the Big Ten. LaRocca's season-best 16'6.75" (5.05m) ranks seventh for the men, while McKeeman sits in sixth with a height of 13'0.75" (4.98m) sits in sixth and Chisom Nwoko's 12'7.5" (3.85m) is ninth. Joining them are personal-best performances at the Illini Classic from Cooper Jazo (16'2.75"), Eddie Smoliak (15'11") and Alyssa Morello (12'3.5") each rank in the top-20.
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.
