University of Illinois
Illinois Twilight
Track & Field Hosts Twilight Meet Saturday
April 12, 2018 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
Bounce house, free pizza, t-shirt giveaway for fans
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini track and field returns to its home track to host the Illinois Twilight on Saturday, April 14, beginning at 3 p.m. central time. As part of the meet, head coach Mike Turk and coaching staff will honor its 20 graduating seniors at the beginning of the meet at 3:30 p.m.
| Illinois Twilight | |
|---|---|
| When | Saturday, April 14 |
| Where | Illinois Track & Field Stadium // Urbana, Ill. |
| Meet Information | Schedule | Meet Info | Live Results |
| 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 |
| 
| 
| 
Meet Information
Twilight Promotions
Fans attending the Twilight meet can take advantage of a bounce house, free pizza, t-shirts as well as watching races by our Illini wheelchair teams. Additionally, the Illini coaching staff will honor their graduating seniors at approximately 3:30 p.m. Entrance to the meet is free.
A Look at the Competition
The Orange and Blue will play host to six other schools on Saturday, led by Marquette and DePaul. Joining the Blue Demons from the Land of Lincoln will be Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois and UIC, while IUPUI rounds out the field from the state of Indiana. Throwing events will kick off the meet at 3 p.m., followed by jumping and running events at 4 p.m.
Senior Day
Head coach Mike Turk and staff will honor 19 graduating seniors on Saturday at the beginning of the meet, 14 men and five women. On the men's side, Kenneth Allen, Luke Brahm, Matt Burns, Joe Cowlin, Parker Deloye, Matsen Dziedzic, Alex Gold, Cole Henderson, Michael Hyc, David Kendziera, Trevor Kuehr, Garrett Lee, Mo Maat and Tony Zea will each be honored. On the women's team, Denise Branch, Nicole Choquette, Kristina Kladar, Miranda Marry and Sara McKeeman will be recognized.
Follow The Meet
Live results for the Illinois Twilight can be accessed by going to fightingillini.com/track/livestats. Additionally, fans and media can follow @IlliniMTrack and @IlliniWTrack on Twitter for updates throughout the meet. A full recap will be posted on FIGHTINGILLINI.com following the completion of the meet.
Illini to Watch
Matsen Dziedzic and Michael Hyc // Throws
The Illini senior throwing duo will contest both the shot put and hammer throw in their final home meet. Dziedzic comes in after surpassing 60 meters in the hammer throw in each of the first three outdoor meets of the season, highlighted by a 201'0" (61.26m) personal record at Ole Miss two weeks ago. For Hyc, last week's Jim Click Shootout was the best of the season for the 2017 NCAA West Prelims qualifier as he posted his best performances in both events, marking 55'10.25" (17.02m) and 194'2" (59.18m) in the hammer throw.
David Kendziera and Jonathan Wells // 110m Hurdles
The last chance to see the seven-time All-American compete at home for the Orange and Blue, Kendziera enters with the second-fastest time in the country in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles. The reigning Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week ran his fastest high hurdles time at Ole Miss, clocking 13.46, while his best time this season in the intermediate hurdles came last weekend at Arizona with a winning time of 49.92. Kendziera is yet to lose a race in either event this season. Joining Kendziera, Wells has made huge strides in the event, dropping his personal record below 14 seconds and currently ranks third in the Big Ten.
Nicole Choquette // 800m
Like Kendziera, three-time Big Ten medal winner Nicole Choquette will be competing for the final time at home after winning the event at the Jim Click Shootout. Owning an outdoor personal-best time of 2:06.25 from last year's Big Ten Championships, Choquette debuted at 2:09.63 in her race last weekend.
Sara McKeeman // Pole Vault
Competing for the final time at home, McKeeman is coming off an indoor season that saw her score for the first time at Big Ten Championships with a fifth-place finish. Outdoors, the Illini redshirt junior won the pole vault competition at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic and set a season-best 12'7.5" (3.85m) height at Ole Miss two weeks ago.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
The Illini men's team took home a runner-up finish at the Jim Click Shootout, scoring 161 points behind host Arizona's 171. Jonathan Wells (28 points), Devin Quinn (22) and David Kendziera (22) combined for 72 of Illinois' team tally and six of Illinois' nine men's individual titles. On the women's side, Nicole Choquette won her first 800m race of the outdoor campaign, while Chisom Nwoko set the fifth-fastest 400m time (53.11) in the 400m.
21 Illini Performances Rank Among West Top-50
The Fighting Illini currently have 21 performances, 18 individuals and three relays that would currently qualify for NCAA West Prelims in Sacramento, California. Led by hurdler David Kendziera's West-leading hurdle times, the Illini have seven performances that rank in the top-10 in the region: Kendziera (110H, 400H), Devin Quinn (100m, 200m), Chisom Nwoko (400m) and Jonathan Wells (110H, High Jump).
David Kendziera Named Track Athlete of the Week
Illinois men's track and field hurdler David Kendziera received the third Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Year honor of his career on Wednesday, April 11. The redshirt senior swept the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the Jim Click Shootout, and was named the Male Athlete of the Meet. Kendziera's teammate Devin Quinn won the award last week.
Lightning Quick
Illinois junior sprinter Devin Quinn continues to put his name in the national conversation, as well as among the Big Ten's best, in the 100m and 200m open events while also anchoring the Illini's 4x100m relay squad. Looking to advance to his first NCAA Finals in Eugene, Oregon this season, Quinn ranks second nationally in the 100m (10.20) and sixth in the 200m. Second in the conference in both events, Quinn's times both rank among the best in Illinois history with the 100m time ranking fourth and 200m second.
Double Threat: Kendziera Once Again Atop Both Hurdle Events
Named a preseason All-American in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles after earning First Team All-America honors at NCAA Championships last season, the Orange and Blue redshirt senior has staked claim to both the second-fastest 110m hurdle time (13.46) and second-fastest 400m hurdle time (49.92) in NCAA Division I this season. Both leading the Big Ten conference, Kendziera is looking to win his second intermediate hurdle conference title and his first in the high hurdles.
All Is Well(s): All-American Showing Versatility
A four-time All-American between the high jump and heptathlon, the Illini redshirt junior is again showing how versatile he is as he sits in the top-three in the Big Ten conference in three events after a 28-point output at the Jim Click Shootout on April 7. Primarily a jumper, Wells sits second in the conference with a leap of 24'11.75" (7.61m) and tied for third with a high jump of 7'0.5" (2.15m). The fourth-year junior's biggest breakthrough this spring though has come in the hurdles, returning to the event for the first time in two seasons. Entering the season with a personal best of 14.51, Wells has dropped the time each time out, currently ranking third in the conference with a time of 13.97. Nationally, Wells ranks in the top-30 in each of the three events.
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, and has subsequently dropped his 400-meter PR down to 46.85 which ranks third in the Big Ten to date.
Chisom Nwoko Breaks Out
Setting the second fastest 400m indoor race in Illinois program history at Big Ten Indoor Championships, Nwoko etched her name into the outdoor all-time list in her season debut at Ole Miss with a time of 53.59. A week later, Nwoko dropped .48 seconds off that time in a loaded Jim Click 400m race, timing 53.11 to move into fifth place on Illinois' all-time list.
Devin Quinn Named B1G Athlete of the Week
Illinois junior sprinter Devin Quinn was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week on Wednesday, April 4, following top-10 nationally ranked times at the Ole Miss Classic. Quinn won three events on the day, setting the second fastest 100m time (10.20) in the country and the sixth fastest 200m (20.45).
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.
