CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A pair of Fighting Illini men's track and field athletes will compete against the nation's best in their respective events at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10, in College Station, Texas. Redshirt senior David Kendziera will contest the hurdles, while redshirt freshman Jon Davis runs in the 3,000-meter race.
Both coming off silver medal performances at Big Ten Championships two weekends ago, Kendziera and Davis both finished in the top-16 nationally to clinch qualification for the indoor national meet. Kendziera holds the 14th best time in the hurdles, timing 7.76 on three different occasions, while Davis' 7:49.92 school record in the 3,000 meters ranks sixth nationally.
In his final season with the Illini, Kendziera is a six-time All-American who will clinch his seventh honor this weekend by finishing as one of the top-16 in the country. The trip to College Station is the second for Kendziera in the 60m hurdles after he took fourth place as a junior last season. Kendziera qualified for the national meet in 2017 with a personal record time of 7.69 that moved him into second place on the Illinois all-time list.
Making his indoor Championships debut, Jon Davis has put himself in the national spotlight in his first indoor season. Redshirting the 2017 indoor season prior to earning All-America honors in the 5,000 meters at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Davis earned his spot in College Station with a 7:49.92 performance in the 3K at the Iowa State Classic on February 9.
Davis also broke the Illinois school record in the mile on January 27, becoming the 498th American to break the sub-four-minute mile mark. With the 3:58.46 time coming on an indoor, 200m flat track, Davis' time converts to 3:55.46 on a banked track, good for second in the country.
Fans can follow Kendziera and Davis on Friday and Saturday through the meet's live stream on ESPN3.com. Kendziera competes Friday, March 9, at 6:55 p.m. central time. in the 60m hurdles semifinal, while the final is the following evening, March 10, at 5:10 p.m. Davis will compete in the 3K at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday.
Live results for both events can be accessed by going to NCAA.com.
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.
