University of Illinois
Drake Relays
MTrack Ties For Third in 2018 HyVee Cup
April 28, 2018 | Men's Track & Field
Illini score six points in three events
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Illinois men's track and field team tallied 18 points across five events to tie for third in the 2018 HyVee Cup competition at the 109th Drake Relays. Outside of relay competition, redshirt senior hurdler David Kendziera led the team with a 400m hurdle title.
Final Results
Scoring six points in three events, the 18 points by the Illini placed them tied for third with Ohio State behind Cup champion Iowa (32) and runner-up Iowa State (28).
"Overall, I think we showed some really good things," head coach Mike Turk said. "I don't think we looked real fresh this week, and there's a little bit of that to be expected coming off the [California] trip last week. We were a little flat this weekend overall, but that's an easy remedy: we'll get rest and will be off next week with finals. We'll come back just fine for Big Tens. The part I was most happy about for both the men and the women is that it came down to the last two events of the weekend, the 4x100m and 4x400m relays, and I saw some great things there. We showed some fight again."
Outside of the Hy-Vee Cup competition, the Orange and Blue's top performance of the day came from David Kendziera in the 400m hurdles where he won by more than a half-second.
"It's nothing to gloss over an individual Drake Relays title," said Turk. "He was dominant in the 400m hurdles. It was a commanding performance by a veteran athlete who knows what he's doing. He's really good at sticking to his plan and run his race."
Setting the fastest intermediate hurdle time at Drake Relays in a decade, Kendziera timed 49.94 to take the title over runner-up Chris Douglas of Iowa (50.52). Finishing in less than 50 seconds for the third time this season, the reigning Big Ten Champion in the event's time was the fastest since Justin Gamon timed 49.26 in 2008.
The biggest relay performance of the weekend came from Illinois' 4x400m relay that set its second season best performance in as many days, timing 3:07.64 in the event final to beat out Purdue for third place. Anchored by Kendziera's final leg of 46.50, the Illini received valuable performances from a pair of seniors, Parker Deloye and Kenneth Allen.
"With our quarter mile group being depleted, we got down to the 4x400m [relay] final and Parker Deloye, who had volunteered to run a 4x400m for us at Arizona and surprised us with how well he ran, had a fabulous performance and I'm really proud of him," Turk said of Deloye. "That's a great senior moment and I hope it's one that he can relish forever. We didn't end up winning the relay, but we sure made a good run at it and had our best time of the year."
Marking more than a second of improvement from Friday's time of 3:09.00, the Illini now rank fifth in the Big Ten in the event.
"Kenneth Allen also really gives us a shot in the arm being a fifth-year senior," continued Coach Turk. "He's been to national meets, he's been a steady performer for us for a long time. Having him back out there, even though not at a 100-percent, it means a lot to us. That played a significant role in the time drop we've had."
After edging Iowa for the top time in qualifying on Friday, the Illini returned on Saturday with the same first three legs, but substituted senior Mo Maat into the anchor leg. Led off by freshman Jason Shannon, followed by Cole Henderson and Joe Haight, the Illini stayed with Purdue and Ohio State into the final straight away. However, Ohio State's Zack Bazille edged both Maat and Purdue's Waseem Williams at the line to take the victory. Illinois' time of 39.89 is their third best this season.
"Mo Maat jumped really well in the long jump on a tough, windy day, and then filled in at the last minute on the 4x100m relay," Turk said of the Illini senior. "I thought he performed extremely well and I was really pleased to see him step up and do that."
The Illini also placed third in the sprint medley relay, timing 3:22.54 in the 1600-meter race. Devin Quinn and Jason Shannon each carried the baton 200 meters, followed by a 400-meter leg from Kenneth Allen and an 800-meter anchor leg from Konrad Eiring.
In Drake Relays field events, Cooper Jazo cleared the highest bar by an Illini, 16'2.75" (4.95m), Mo Maat leaped 23'5.5" (7.15m) to place fifth in the long jump and Matsen Dziedzic measured 200'7" (61.15m) in the hammer throw a day after setting a 201'10" (61.53m) personal record at the Kip Janvrin Open on Friday in nearby Indianola, Iowa.
Up next, the Fighting Illini will have a week off to prepare for the start of postseason competition. Big Ten Outdoor Championships will be held the following weekend, May 11-13, in Bloomington, Indiana.
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Final HyVee Cup Top-Five Standings:
1.Iowa – 32
2.Iowa State – 28
3.ILLINOIS – 18
3.Ohio State – 18
5.Tulsa – 13
5.Purdue – 13
