University of Illinois
Stanford Invite
Illini Track & Field Takes to Meets in California, Mississippi
March 28, 2018 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
Stanford Invite Friday, Ole Miss Classic Saturday
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois track and field concludes the month of March with a split weekend between the Stanford Invite, San Francisco State Distance Carnival and the Ole Miss Classic. Five Illinois distance athletes will compete at Stanford Friday night, while the rest of the Illini compete in Oxford on Saturday.
| Stanford Invite // San Francisco Distance Carnival // Ole Miss Classic | |
|---|---|
| When | Friday, March 30 (Stanford Invite and San Francisco Distance Carnival) - Saturday, March 31 (Ole Miss Classic) |
| Where | Cobb Track & Angell Field // Ole Miss Track & Field Complex |
| Stanford Meet Information | Schedule | Live Results | Live Stream | Heat Sheets |
| San Francisco State Meet Information | Schedule | Live Results | Live Stream |
| Ole Miss Meet Information | Schedule | Live Results | Heat Sheets |
| Men's Team Information | Meet Notes | Performance List | Media Guide | Quick Facts |
| Women's Team Information | Meet Notes | Performance List | Media Guide | Quick Facts |
| Social Media |
@IlliniMTrack @IlliniWTrack |
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Meet Information
Schedule
Illinois will take nine distance runners to compete Friday at Stanford and San Francisco. At Ole Miss, the meet gets under way at 9 a.m. central time with field events while running events will begin at 2 p.m.
Follow The Meet
Live Results will be provided for both meets this weekend through Record Timing for the Stanford Invitational, San Francisco Distance Carnival through Timer Hub and Delta Timing for the Ole Miss Classic. Fans can follow @IlliniMTrack and @IlliniWTrack on Twitter for updates throughout the two meets. A full recap of the competition will be posted on FIGHTINGILLINI.com following the conclusion of the meet.
Illini to Watch
Joe Haight // 400m
The Illini junior continues to impress Illini coaches and teammates and has quickly become one of Illinois' more reliable sprinters. Coming off his first point-scoring performance at Big Ten Championships indoors, Haight ran his first sub-21 second 200m at Southern Illinois last weekend. Primarily a 400m sprinter, Haight will look to carry that success back into his main event at Ole Miss.
Nicole Choquette & Rebecca Craddock // Stanford Invite
The outdoor debut for both Choquette and Craddock, Choquette will be competing in the 1500m while Craddock opens her season with the 5K. Primarily a 800m runner, Choquette opened the 2017 outdoor season in the 1500m with a 4:33.58 showing at the 49er Classic. Craddock will run her longest track race as an Illini after running the seventh-fastest 3K time in school history at Iowa State. Craddock also cracked the school's indoor top-10 list in the mile at Big Ten Championships.
Luke Brahm, Garrett Lee and Denis O'Callaghan // 1500m
The other three Illini headed out to California will be the 1500m trio of Brahm, Lee and O'Callaghan. Brahm and Lee will both be making their second race appearance of the outdoor season after opening with the 800m last weekend at Southern Illinois, while O'Callaghan will be making his outdoor season debut. O'Callaghan twice ran a 4:04 mile indoors and will look to carry that into the 1500m outdoors.
Jayla Stewart // 100m Hurdles
The Illini junior hurdler finished her indoor season on a high note by setting season-best times in back-to-back races at Big Ten Championships, scoring her first career Big Ten medal with a third-place finish. Transitioning to the outdoor track, Stewart will make her season debut on Saturday. Stewart's best performance during the 2017 outdoor campaign came at the prestigious Drake Relays when she won the event with a personal record time of 13.14, ninth fastest in Illinois history.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
Illinois will be making its second meet appearance of the outdoor season after tallying eight event titles at Southern Illinois on March 24. The Orange and Blue received multiple event titles from David Kendziera (110m hurdles, 400m hurdles), Devin Quinn (100m, 4x100m relay) and Joe Haight (200m, 4x100m relay).
Illini in the Rankings
Four Illini performances rank in the top-20 nationally through two weeks of the outdoor season. Seven-time All-American David Kendziera leads the Illini, ranking fourth in the 110m hurdles (13.81) and 17th in the 400m hurdles (51.53). Devin Quinn's debut 100m time of 10.37 sits ninth nationally, while the 4x100m relay set the 18th fastest time (39.96).
Not Your Average Joe
A walk-on to Coach Turk's program in the Spring of 2016, Joe Haight has taken the opportunity and ran with it, literally. Now a junior, Haight scored at Big Ten Championships for the first time in his career during this year's indoor season with big personal best times in the 400m. The Lake Forest, Illinois native bridged the success to the outdoor track with his first sub-21 second 200m race at Southern Illinois on March 24, clocking 20.95. In addition to the open race success, Haight has also stepped in as the third leg on Illinois' relay team that aims to defend their Big Ten title and reach Eugene for the first time since 2015.
Double Threat: Kendziera Pre-Season 110H and 400H All-American
A dual threat in the outdoor hurdle events, redshirt senior David Kendziera ranks in the top-five of both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles after earning First-Team All-America honors in both events in 2017. Flo ranked Kendziera third in the high hurdles and fourth in the intermediate hurdles, both tops in the Big Ten to begin the season. Kendziera opened with a victory in both races last weekend in the SIU Bill Cornell Spring Classic.
All Is Well(s): All-American Jonathan Wells Returns
After the redshirt junior sat out the indoor season to even up his eligibility between indoor and outdoor, the Illini add four-time All-American Jonathan Wells back into the mix this spring. Also a 110m hurdler, Wells will be a postseason point-scoring threat in the high hurdles, long jump and high jump this season. While redshirting, Wells blew away his previous best marks in the horizontal jumps with a 25'6" (7.77m) performance at USA Indoor Championships. Already an All-American in the high jump, Wells will look to continue to show his versatility this spring.
Lightning Quick
Illinois short sprinter Devin Quinn is quickly putting himself into the ranks of all-time great sprinters in Illini history, and will look to continue his ascent outdoors. 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 second fastest indoor 200m mark in program history, a 20.87 mark at 2018 Big Ten Indoor Championships. Last spring, Quinn timed 10.20, breaking the Illinois Track Stadium facility record and leading the Big Ten regular season rankings.
Chisom Nwoko Breaks Out
Lowering her time in all-but-one 400m race this season, the Illini sophomore sprinter quickly climbed the Big Ten and NCAA lists all the way through Big Ten Championships. Nwoko ended the indoor season with the second-fastest time in Illinois history, 53.26, to score at the conference meet for the first time. Ranking 31st nationally, Nwoko is primed to carry the success onto the outdoor track.
Freshman Phenom Begins Sophomore Season
Racking up awards from Big Ten Freshman of the Year to NCAA Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year this past indoor season, Jon Davis begins his sophomore outdoor season after earning All-America honors in the 5K last season and 3K this indoor season. Setting the second-best 5K mark in school history at the Mt. SAC Relays, Davis set program indoor records in the mile and 3K. Davis earned his second career All-America honor at NCAA Indoors in the 3K.
Illini Sprint Relay Eyes Eugene
After falling a couple spots shy of qualifying for NCAA Finals last spring, the Orange and Blue return their entire unit from last year's Big Ten title. Featuring three upperclassmen, including two seniors, the Illini return a top time of 39.42 from last season that ranks fifth in program history. Led by seniors Mo Maat and Cole Henderson, the relay will be primarily anchored by juniors Joe Haight and Devin Quinn.
Illini Women Return Prelims Qualifiers Choquette and Stewart
A women's squad that features 22 newcomers to the team in its first season under head coach Mike Turk, the Illini will be led by 2017 NCAA West Prelims qualifiers Nicole Choquette and Jayla Stewart. A two-time qualifier in the 800m, Choquette clocked 2:06.25 at Big Ten Championships last season, seventh fastest in Illini history, to place sixth. Like Choquette, Stewart moved up the Illini all-time list with a 13.14 victorious 100m hurdle time at Drake Relays and placed seventh at Big Ten Championships. Both Illini took bronze in their respective events at last month's indoor conference meet.
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.
