CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois men's track and field hurdler
David Kendziera was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week for the third time this season, and for the second week in a row, as announced by the conference's office on Wednesday afternoon. Combined with two weekly awards for teammate
Devin Quinn, the Illini have won each of the last five weekly honors.
The seven-time All-American earned the honor this week by winning his first career Drake Relays competition. Individually only contesting the 400m hurdles this past weekend, Kendziera timed 49.94 to win the race by 0.58 seconds over Iowa's Chris Douglas. The 49.94 clip was the fastest at Drake Relays since 2008. In addition to the hurdle title, the Mount Prospect, Illinois native also anchored the team's 4x400m relay to a third-place finish at the 109th running of the Drake Relays.
His third Big Ten honor in the last five weeks, the Illini redshirt senior becomes the second in program history to win three Athlete of the Week honors in a single season, joining former Illini Sherman Armstrong who won it three times during the 2000 outdoor season.
The five straight honors for the Orange and Blue is the most by a Big Ten program since the creation of the award in 1990. Originally a monthly award, the award became a weekly honor in 1999 and then was separated out into two awards, one for track and one for field, in 2007.
David Kendziera has earned the honor on April 11, April 25 and May 2, while Quinn took home the award on April 4 and April 18.
The three individual awards for Kendziera is the most by a Big Ten athlete since Purdue's Chukwuebuka Enekwechi won Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week four times during the 2014 indoor season.
For the Illini, the five career Big Ten outdoor awards for Kendziera is the most in Illinois history. Only former Illini Andrew Riley and Gakologelwang Masheto have more total career honors, both totaling six. Masheto garnered four indoors and two outdoor, while Riley tallied four outdoor awards and two indoor.
The Illini track and field team is off from competition this weekend as they prepare for next weekend's Big Ten Outdoor Championships, May 11-13 in Bloomington, Indiana.
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