University of Illinois
Indiana University Relays
Illini Track & Field Competes At Indiana Relays This Weekend
January 30, 2020 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini track & field travels to compete at the Indiana University Relays on Friday, January 31 and Saturday, February 1. The Illini will begin action on Friday at 4:10 p.m. CT with the women's 60m Hurdle trials. On Saturday, the Illini will open competition at 10:10 a.m. CT with the women's Mile.
| Indiana University Relays | |
|---|---|
| When | Friday, January 31 & Saturday, February 1 |
| Where | Gladstein Fieldhouse // Bloomington, Ind. |
| Follow | Live Results | Event Schedule | Entries |
| Meet Information | Meet Notes | Men's Quick Facts | Women's Quick Facts |
| 2019 Indoor Results | Men's Indoor Performance List | Women's Indoor Performance List |
| Social Media | @IlliniTrackXC  | #Illini | illinitrackxc  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
Meet Information
Follow The Action
Fans can follow live results throughout the Indiana University Relays at http://sidearmstats.com/indiana/track/index.htm , as well as by following @IlliniTrackXC on Twitter. A full recap of the meet will be posted on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of the meet.
Know The Field
Illinois will compete along with 15 other teams at the two-day meet at Indiana. Four other ranked men's teams join No. 21 Illinois in the field, including No. 1 Florida State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 20 Iowa State. Additional schools competing at the meet include Alabama, California Riverside, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Indiana State, Miami Ohio, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, Tulsa, and Xavier.
Illini To Watch
Carolyn Nye
Pole Vault Final: Saturday, February 1, 11:00 a.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Set the fourth best indoor mark in program history at the Illini Invitational, clearing 4.02 meters and winning the event title ... Cleared 3.95 meters to finish third at the Larry Wieczorek Invite, which tied for the fourth best indoor mark in program history.
2019 Indoor Season: Set a new PR clearing 12' 5.5"(3.80m) in pole vault at the Iowa St Classic (2/9) ... Competing at Big Ten Championships, recording a mark of 3.79 meters ... Competed at each meet for the Illini, placing in the top-three three times.
Cooper Jazo
Pole Vault Final: Friday, January 31, 5:00 p.m. CT
2020 Indoor Season: Cleared personal-best mark of 5.16 meters to win the event title at the Illini Invitational on January 25.
2019 Indoor Season: Placed eighth at Big Ten Championships in the pole vault ... Competed in 5 meets for the Illini ... Set a career-best 16'10.75" (5.15) in the pole vault at the Wieczorek Invitational (1/19).
Rebecca Craddock
3K Fast Section: Saturday, February 1, 12:20 p.m. CT
2020 Indoor Season: Finished fourth in the 1,000m exhibition at the Larry Wieczorek Invite with a finish time of 2:51.05.
2019 Indoor Season: Ran on the Distance Medley Relay that won the Bronze Medal at Big Ten Championships ... B1G Championships DMR clocked a finish time of 11:21.85, the fourth-fastest in Illinois program history ... Contested the Mile at B1G Championships ...Set a new personal-best in the 3K at the Iowa State Classic, running the sixth-fastest time in Illini history with a 9:30.97 finish to place second ... Placed third in the 800m at the Illini Open, recording a finish time of 2:16.63.
Irwin Loud
Mile (Seeded): Friday, January 31, 5 p.m. CT
2020 Indoor Season: Took third in the Mile at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational with a personal-best finish time of 4:14.84.
2019 Indoor Season: Competed in the Mile (Illini Invitational and the 3K (Husker Invite) for the Illini.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
Illinois track & field captured 14 event titles, with both the men's and women's program winning seven events a piece. Sophomore Declan Rustay took home two individual event titles on the men's side (60m Dash, 60m Hurdles), along with anchoring the winning 4x400m relay. Junior Amira Aduma collected three event titles for the Illini women. Aduma won her second Long Jump title of the year, took home the 60m Dash title and ran on the winning 4x400m relay.
Nwoko Tops The Big Ten In the 400m
Chisom Nwoko was victorious in the 400m Dash at the Illini Invitational. Nwoko conversion time, clocked at 54.10, currently ranks first in the conference by nearly a full second. Nwoko ranks 21st nationally in the event.
Pole Vault Power
Illinois swept both the women's and men's Pole Vault at the Illini Invitational, as senior Carolyn Nye and redshirt junior Cooper Jazo both recorded new PR's in the event. Nye's event-winning mark of 4.02 meters gives her the fourth best indoor mark in Illini program history. Jazo cleared a new personal-best mark of 5.16 meters to win the title on the men's side. Nye and Jazo each rank fifth in the Big Ten in the event.
Wells Wins High Jump In Final Competition At UI Armory
Redshirt senior Jonathan Wells made his season debut in the High Jump at the Illini Invitational. The 2019 U.S. Outdoor Championships bronze medalist in the event jumped 2.17 meters to win the title in the final meet of his collegiate career at the Armory. Wells currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten is tied for the 18th best mark nationally in the High Jump.
Illinois Promotes Turk, Haveman
Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced on January 16 promotions for two leaders of the Illini track and field and cross country program. Mike has been named as Director of Fighting Illini Track and Field/Cross Country and will remain head coach of the men's and women's track and field programs. Sarah Haveman, meanwhile, is being promoted to head coach of the Illini men's and women's cross country teams. Both changes were approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its meeting earlier today.
"We are implementing this new leadership structure to ensure the program stability and to continue building toward our vision for national caliber track and field and cross country at the University of Illinois," Whitman said. "Coach Turk has overseen the merger of our men's and women's programs with grace and begun laying the foundation for combined success. Our combined programs have demonstrated significant growth in recent years with 24 student-athletes having competed at NCAA Championship events, and 56 student-athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten accolades during the last two semesters.
"Sarah Haveman has been instrumental to the cross country program's development since joining the coaching staff in 2017," Whitman continued. "Her promotion to head coach will allow for continued growth and competitiveness in these programs, and our distance events in track and field."
Turk's contract will be extended through Aug. 15, 2023, with Haveman also earning a multi-year agreement through the same date.
Turk Adds Lynn Smith To Coaching Staff
Illinois head track & field and cross country coach Mike Turk announced the addition of Lynn Smith to the track & field coaching staff. Smith will serve as an assistant coach working with the Illini multi-event and vertical jumps student-athletes.
Smith most recently served as the men's sprints & hurdles coach for Team USA at the 2019 Pan American Games, where he coached 10 top-three finishes and two gold medal winners. He was the head coach for Team USA at the 2018 Athletics World Cup. In 2016 he served as an assistant coach for the USA World Indoor Team.
Smith spent six years as a head coach for Central State University, serving as the women's head coach from 2007-2009, and the men's and women's head coach from 2009-2012. In his time at Central State, he coached athletes to a total of 10 NAIA National Titles.
In 2008 Smith coached heptathlete Hyleas Fountain-Vaught to a Silver Medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. Smith is only one of two coaches in the history of USATF to coach an athlete to an Olympic Medal in the Heptathlon. Smith is the only coach in the history of USATF to coach an athlete to an Olympic Medal in the Heptathlon, and a World Indoor Medalist in the Pentathlon, after coaching Fountain-Vaught to a Bronze Medal in the Pentathlon at the 2011 World Indoor Championships.
Up Next
The Illini head to Nebraska to compete once again at the annual Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational next weekend. The two-day meet will take place on Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8.
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.
