CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 19 Fighting Illini men's track and field team sends seven athletes to NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Finals in Eugene, Oregon. NCAA Track semifinals will be contested on Wednesday, June 6, with finals on Friday, June 8, while field event finals will be held across both days. Coverage of the Championships can be found on ESPN, ESPN2 and online on ESPN3.com.
Watch NCAA Championships Live
Each evening of NCAA Championships will be broadcast live on either ESPN or ESPN2, while all action can be streamed on ESPN3.com. Wednesday's men's coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. central time on ESPN2, while Friday's finals broadcast will begin at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. Live results for all four days can be found on NCAA.com.
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.
Seven Illini Compete in Eugene
With the top-12 athletes from both the West and East Prelims two weekends ago, seven Fighting Illini advanced to Eugene: David Kendziera (110H, 400H), Jonathan Wells (HJ, LJ), Devin Quinn (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Mo Maat (4x100m), Jason Shannon (4x100m), Joe Haight (4x100m) and Cole Henderson (4x100m).
Illinois Meet Schedule
Illini Notes
• The Illini advanced seven athletes and seven performances to NCAA Finals: Jonathan Wells (long jump, high jump), Devin Quinn (100m, 200m) and David Kendziera (110m hurdles, 400m hurdles) and 4x100m relay (Maat, Shannon, Haight, Quinn, Henderson)
• The seven performances qualified for NCAA Finals is the most since 2015 when the Illini qualified 11 performances and tied for 10th in Eugene
• The Illini are one of five NCAA programs to send at least one men's hurdler to NCAA Finals each of the last five years, joining Florida, Nebraska, Houston and Texas A&M.
• Illinois has sent a hurdler to Eugene in nine of the last 10 with its 16 performances over the time frame ranking third in NCAA Division one behind Nebraska (23) and Flordia (16).
• The five medals the Illini have won at NCAA Finals since 2009 ranks second nationally to Florida (6).
• David Kendziera was named 2018 Midwest Track Athlete of the Year On Friday, June 1. He joins teammate Jon Davis, the indoor honoree, in garnering this year's honor.
• Quinn is the first Illini to qualify for NCAA Finals in three events sine D.J. Zahn reached Eugene, Oregon in the 400m, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay.
• The 4x100m relay qualification marks the sixth time since 2010 that the Illini 4x100m relay has reached Eugene
• David Kendziera qualified in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles for the second straight year. Kendziera placed third in the high hurdles and seventh in the intermediate hurdles last season
• Devin Quinn becomes the first Illini 100m sprinter to reach NCAA Finals since Andrew Riley won the 100m NCAA title in 2012 and the first 200m sprinter to reach Eugene since Brandon Stryganek in 2014
• Jonathan Wells becomes the first Illini to advance to NCAA Finals in the long jump since Nick Brown advanced in 2007 in both the long jump and triple jump
A Look Back at 2017 NCAA Finals
Three Illini earned All-American honors, as 110m hurdler and 400m hurdler David Kendziera earned First Team honors in both events and Jonathan Wells and Jon Davis earned All-America honors in the high jump and 5,00m, respectively. Kendziera was one of two hurdlers in the country to make the final in both hurdle events, while Davis was the only freshman to earn All-America honors in the 5K.
Last Time Out
The Fighting Illini took 23 athletes to NCAA West Prelims in Sacramento, California, and advanced seven to NCAA Finals. Three Illini qualified in multiple events, as David Kendziera (110H, 400H), Jonathan Wells (HJ, LJ) and Devin Quinn (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) each advanced along with the 4x100m relay. Kendziera led the list of Illini performances with his 13.40 time in the high hurdles that led all qualifiers in the West and was one-thousandth of a second shy of his personal record. On the women's side, the 4x100m relay fell just two spots shy of advancing to Eugene, while Nicole Choquette reached her first NCAA Quarterfinal in the 800m.
Illini Ranked No. 19 Entering NCAA Finals
The Illinois men's squad enters NCAA Finals with a No. 19 ranking according USTFCCCCA. The Illini first entered the rankings back on April 23, entering at No. 17, and have toggled between No. 17 and No. 19 in the four weeks since. Trailing the Illini are Big Ten foes No. 20 Nebraska, No. 23 Penn State and No. 24 Indiana.
David Kendziera Named USTFCCCA Midwest Track Athlete of the Year
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named Illinois men's track and field hurdler David Kendziera its 2018 Midwest Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year on Friday, June 1. Kendziera joins teammate Jon Davis, this year's indoor honoree, in receiving the accolade to create an Illini sweep of the USTFCCCA Midwest regional track award. Kendziera is the first Illini outdoor recipient since D.J. Zahn in 2015.
Hurdle U
With David Kendziera advancing to NCAA Finals in two hurdle events for the second straight season, the Illini have now qualified an an athlete for Eugene in a hurdle event each of the last five years and nine of the last 10. The five medalists by the Illini rank second in that span to Florida (6).
Overall, the Orange and Blue have sent 16 hurdle performances to Eugene since 2009, third most in NCAA Divison I:
NCAA Finals Qualifying Hurdle Performances
Nebraska - 23
Florida - 17
Illinois - 16
Iowa - 15
USC - 15
Texas Tech - 15
Illinois Hurdle NCAA Finals Qualifiers Since 2009
2018 - David Kendziera (110H, 400H)
2017 - David Kendziera (110H, 400H)
2016 - Cam Viney (400H)
2015 - Cam Viney (110H, 400H); David Kendziera (110H, 400H)
2014 - Cam Viney (400H)
2012 - Andrew Riley (110H)
2011 - Andrew Riley (110H); Cody Wisslead (400H)
2010 - Andrew Riley (110H); Cody Wisslead (400H)
2009 - Andrew Riley (110H)
Wells Wins B1G High Jump Title, Named B1G Field Athlete of Championships
Illinois men's track and field high jumper Jonathan Wells won the 2018 Big Ten Outdoor Championships high jump competition with a new school-record height of seven feet, five inches (2.26 meters). On the weekend, Wells scored 20 points between the high jump, long jump and 110m hurdles, and was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships. The second high jump title, and first outdoors, Wells becomes just the sixth Illini to win a Big Ten outdoor high jump championship, Wells is the first in the Orange and Blue to do it since Ernie Haisley in 1958. Not only a historic performance in Illinois history, the 7'5" (2.26m) winning jump is the second best winning height in Big Ten Outdoor history. The only higher winning height came in 2012 when Indiana's Derek Drouin cleared 7'7" (2.31m). The performance currently ranks third in the West region and third nationally.
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 is going back to Eugene in both events. Kendziera's looked in pristine form in the high hurdles at NCAA Prelims, timing 13.40 in the final to lead the West by 0.32 seconds over the next fastest time. In the 400m hurdles, Kendziera timed 50.30 to finish eighth overall among qualifiers. In his final season, Kendziera has beaten 2012 Olympic Champion Aries Merritt with a time of 13.47, and then won the 400m hurdles at Drake Relays the following week, setting the fastest time at Drake Relays (49.94) since 2008.
Lightning Quick
Illinois junior sprinter Devin Quinn will be competing in his first career NCAA Finals in Eugene after coming up short in 2017 as a member of a 4x100m relay unit that placed 14th at West Prelims. Leading the team in the 100m and 200m, and anchoring the 4x100m relay, Quinn advanced in all three events at West Prelims. Quinn advanced to Eugene in the 200m with a time of 20.63 that won his heat, while his time of 10.28 in the 100m ranked sixth overall. The three qualifying performances for Eugene by Quinn is the most by an Illini sign D.J. Zahn (400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay) did so in 2015.
All Is Well(s): All-American Shows Off Versatility
A four-time All-American between the high jump and heptathlon, the Illini redshirt junior has shown how versatile he is throughout the 2018 outdoor season, resulting in a trip to NCAA Finals in both the high jump and long jump and just missing in the 110m hurdles. Wells' abilities shown brightest at Big Ten Championships where he won the men's high jump, placed runner-up in the long jump and took seventh in the 110m hurdles. 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 eighth in the conference with a time of 13.97 and placed 15th in the West Quarterfinal with a time of 14.01.
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 and advanced to NCAA Finals outdoors as part of the 4x100m relay. The Wadsworth, 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 tied for third in the Big Ten to date. On the relay, Haight has ran the third leg for Coach Wheatley's unit, taking the stick from freshman Jason Shanno and handing it off to junior Devin Quinn.
Illini Win Big Ten Track honor of the Week Five Straight Weeks
For five straight weeks, April 4-May 2, the Big Ten conference named an Illinois athlete Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week, as David Kendziera won the honor three times and Devin Quinn twice. The Illini became the first school to win the Big Ten weekly track award in five consecutive weeks since the conference began handing out honors in 1990. Kendziera's three awards in a single season is the most since Purdue's Chukwuebuka Enekwechi won Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week four times during the 2014 indoor season.
