CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After honoring 14 graduating seniors, the Illinois men's track and field team won 10 event titles to win the Illinois Twilight meet on Saturday, April 14. Devin Quinn led the list of Illini winners by breaking his own 100-meter facility record with a time of 10.11. The Orange and Blue tallied seven titles on the track and added three more in field events.
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"I have a very personal feeling about this meet because, while it's not the end, it's our last home meet with a lot of really special seniors, men and women both," said head coach Mike Turk. "I love them all to death. It's really sad for me to know that we're at the point [of the season], but it's gratifying to know that they're the people that they are. I'm so proud of them all. The goal now is to finish the season really strong and have a great experience."
The Illinois track athletes all held serve on their home track on Saturday, as the Orange and Blue won seven running events on the day to spur the team victory.
Junior Devin Quinn highlighted the six sprint victories with his facility record in the 100m dash. Moving into third place on Illinois' all-time list with a time of 10.11, Quinn's time is the fastest in the NCAA entering the weekend, surpassing Sam Houston State's Chris Jefferson, as well as Purdue's Waseem Williams (10.19) for the Big Ten lead.
Former Illini Andrew Riley (10.02) and Anthony Jones (10.10) hold the top two 100-meter times in Illinois history.
The 100m performance by Quinn also marks the best time by an athlete under the tutelage of assistant coach Adrian Wheatley. Wheatley's fastest coached time was former Illini Stanley Azie's 10.18 time that ranked third in Illinois history prior to Quinn passing him.
"Devin is really elevating himself to a higher level in the sport and within the NCAA, said Coach Turk. "As he grows, he's going to see new challenges so meets like this are nice where he can be free and easy and go and compete. He's feeling really confident, and there's not a lot of pressure on him, and I hope that he can remain that way as we go into these bigger meets at the end of the year."
Joining Quinn atop the 100-meter finishers were teammates Jason Shannon (10.42) and Cole Henderson (10.52). Shannon's time marks a new personal record for the Illini freshman, a two-tenths improvement from the Ole Miss Classic earlier this season.
Prior to sweeping the top three spots in the open 100-meter dash, the Illini trio teamed with junior Joe Haight to set the team's fastest 4x100m relay of the season. Led off by Shannon and anchored by Quinn, the unit won the race by more than second, clocking 39.72 and dropping more than two tenths off their season-best performance.
"I thought our 4x100m relays were both very solid today. I think our men hit a really nice grove today," said Turk. "They weren't great, but I thought they were really solid. The exchanges last week weren't good, and I wasn't happy about it. But, they did something about it; they fixed it. They were much better today."
Illinois also added victories in the 200-, 400- and 800-meter competitions, as juniors Joe Haight and Denis O'Callaghan each crossed the line first for the Orange and Blue.
Haight won both of his open competitions, first taking home top honors in the 400 meters, and then adding a 200-meter title at the end of the meet. In the 400 meters, Haight circled the track in 47.60. The junior came back at the end of the meet to score 10 more points with a 21.06 time in the 200m dash.
O'Callaghan added another title for the Illini by circling the oval twice in one minute, 51.07 seconds. Graduate student Luke Brahm took runner-up in the event with a time of 1:52.64.
Rounding out the individual titles on the track was seven-time All-American David Kendziera in his final home race. His seventh individual victory of the outdoor season, the redshirt senior remained undefeated with a 13.52 time in the high hurdles. Kendziera was joined in second place by teammate Jonathan Wells who posted a 14.13 runner-up performance.
The 13.52 time for Kendziera makes it three straight weeks with a time of 13.52 or better. The hurdler's best time came at Ole Miss with a time of 13.46 that ranks second in NCAA Division I.
The Illini added their seventh running victory in the 4x400m relay, as the team of Isaiah Michl, Denis O'Callaghan, Aaron Harris and Parker Deloye timed 3:22.34, easily beating out second-place Marquette.
The Orange and Blue added three more winning victories in the field events, as well as a pair of personal records.
Junior Jacob LaRocca cleared four bars in the pole vault, and cleared 16'8" (5.08m) on his final attempt to win the event. LaRocca was joined by teammate Cooper Jazo who finished runner-up with a height of 16'4" (4.98m).
Matsen Dziedzic added a victory in his final home competition, throwing the hammer throw 198'3" (60.43m) on his second attempt, a mark that stood for the remainder of his series.
"He competed really well," said Turk. "The first three years with Matsen there were a lot of struggles and not much success. And then last year he started to show some glimpses. This year, he's won a bunch of track meets and performed really well. It's a great sign of the growth that we have in him and the program."
Classmate Parker Deloye also managed a win on his final vertical jumps competition on the home track, clearing 6'2.75" (1.90m) on his second attempt.
Finishing in the top-three in their respective events, senior Michael Hyc set a personal best in the shot put, 56'3.25" (17.15m), while long jump senior Mo Maat moved his best jump up a tick to 23'10.25" (7.27m).
The Fighting Illini will continue the 2018 regular season with a trip to California for a trio of meets next weekend. Their annual trip to the Sunshine State, the Illini will compete at the Mt. SAC Relays, Beach Invite and Bryan Clay Invite Thursday, April 19 through Saturday, April 21.
The regular season concludes the following week at the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, April 26-28.
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.
Event Titles:
4x100m Relay: Shannon, Henderson, Haight, Quinn, 39.74
110m Hurdles: David Kendziera, 13.52
100m: Devin Quinn, 10.11*
200m: Joe Haight, 21.06
400m: Joe Haight, 47.60
800m: Denis O'Callaghan, 1:51.07
High Jump: Parker Deloye, 6'2.75" (1.90m)
Pole Vault: Jacob LaRocca, 16'8" (5.08m)
Hammer Throw: Matsen Dziedzic, 198'3" (60.43m)
4x400m Relay: Michl, O'Callaghan, Harris and Deloye, 3:22.34
*Facility Record
