Friday Full Results | Saturday Heat Sheets
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Fighting Illini track and field redshirt junior Jacob LaRocca earned a fifth-place finish in the men's Pole Vault to lead the Illini on day one at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at the University of Iowa. LaRocca recorded a season best mark of 5.11 meters to earn the fifth-place finish and score four points for the Illini men.
The fifth-place finish for LaRocca is the highest at the outdoor conference meet in his career. This is LaRocca's fifth-career podium finish at Big Ten Championships, with his best finish being a bronze medal performance at the 2017 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
The Illini men also saw two athletes advance to Sunday's finals after qualifying in their preliminary events Friday night. Senior Devin Quinn won his heat in the 200m dash with a time of 20.69 to automatically qualify for Sunday's 200m final. Junior Jesse Reiser finished second overall in the 1500m to qualify for the Sunday event final, clocking a prelims finish time of 3:44.87.
In the evening's last event, sophomore Allison McGrath recorded a new personal-best finish time in the women's 10K, clocking a time of 35:16.16. McGrath's finish ranks as the fifth-fastest 10K time in Illinois program history. Earlier this season, she timed the ninth-fastest finish in program history with her time of 35:46.99 recorded at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic on March 28.
In the men's 200m dash sophomore Jason Shannon was the next fastest Illini finisher after Quinn, recording a time of 21.28 to place 12th. Senior Joe Haight finished 13th with a season-best 200m time of 21.40. Junior Josh Eiker also recorded a season-best finish with his time of 21.77.
In the women's 200m, senior Janile Rogers set a new personal-best with her finish time of 23.92, placing 10th overall in the preliminary event.
Senior Denis O'Callaghan also placed in the top-10 in the men's 1500m. O'Callaghan placed 10th overall with a time of 3:46.85.
Three Illini freshmen set personal-bests in the first day of action at Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Freshman Jaden Jackson recorded a new PR finish in the 400m Hurdles with his time of 53.02. In the women's 1500m, Emma Milburn set a personal-best with a finish time of 4:29.70. In the men's Pole Vault, Jackson Pompe recorded a new personal-best with a mark of 4.81 meters.
The Illini will resume competition tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. CT, as senior Ben Barnes will open the day for the Illini competing in the men's Long Jump. Running events will begin at 4 p.m. CT with the 400m, with Illini senior Joe Haight contesting the event. FloTrack will begin coverage of the Big Ten Championships at 4 p.m. CT.
Illini Event Finishes and Scores
Pole Vault: Jacob LaRocca (5.11 meters)- 5th Place, (4 points)
Illini Finals Qualifiers
200m: 4. Devin Quinn (20.69)
1500: 2. Jesse Reiser (3:44.87)
For complete coverage of Fighting Track & Field, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniTrackXC) and Instagram (illinitrackxc) and like Fighting Illini Track and Field & Cross Country on Facebook.
