ROSEMONT, Ill. - Fighting Illini men's track & field sophomore Jon Davis was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week on Wednesday, the conference office announced.
Davis ran the second sub-four minute mile of his career at last weekend's Larry Wieczorek Invitational, hosted by the University of Iowa. His finish time of 3:58.06 earned him first place in the event, and the time also eclipsed both his original PR (3:58.46, Illini Classic, Jan. 27, 2018) and the Hawkeye Indoor Track facility record (4:02.34, Ken Popejoy, Michigan State, 1972).
This is the second Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week honor of Davis' career, after earning the honor for his first sub-four minute mile time of 3:58.46 at the Illini Classic on January 27, 2018. With that finish, Davis became the 498th American to run a sub-four minute mile since 1957. As of September 5, 2018, just 522 Americans since 1957 have acheived the feat. Davis' new PR of 3:58.06 set at Iowa currently stands as the fastest mile time in the NCAA.
Davis is in his sophomore season for indoor track with the Fighting Illini. He is a two-time All-American, earning Second-Team honors in his freshman outdoor track season in 2017, and again in his freshman indoor track campaign in 2018. He was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2018, earning a silver medal in the 3K at Big Ten Championships and placing 15th at NCAA's. In 2017 he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year for the outdoor season.
A native of Fithian, Ill. studying Finance, Davis was also named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the Year for Cross Country in 2017. He won the Midwest Regional Championships with a 10K PR of 29:06.2.
Davis and the No. 21 Fighting Illini are back in action this Saturday at home for the Illini Invitational at the UI Armory. Field events will begin at 9 a.m. CT, and final running events will start at 3 p.m. CT.
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