CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini track & field heads to Nashville to compete at the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt on Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15. Illini competition on Friday begins at 4 p.m. with the men's High Jump and women's Weight Throw. Competition will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the women's unseeded 3K.
Meet Information
Follow The Action
Fans can follow live results throughout the Music City Challenge at http://www.cfpitiming.com/liveresults/2020_Indoor/MCC_2020/ as well as by following @IlliniTrackXC on Twitter. A recap will be posted at the conclusion of the meet on Saturday on fightingillini.com.
Know The Field
16 teams are set to compete at the Music City Challenge. USTFCCCA nationally ranked opponents include No. 20 Alabama and No. 23 Wisconsin on the women's side, and No. 21 Wisconsin on the men's side. Big Ten foes competing with Illinois include Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin.
Illini To Watch
Jonathan Wells
High Jump Final: Saturday, February 14, 4:00 p.m.
Long Jump Final: Friday, February 14, 5:00 p.m.
60m Hurdles Prelims: Saturday, February 15, 1:20 p.m
60m Hurdles Finals*: Saturday, February 15, 3:15 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Took first place in the High Jump (7-0 1/4 | 2.14 meters) and Long Jump (25-1 3/4 | 7.66 meters) at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational ... New Long Jump season-best set at Husker Invite ties for second in Big Ten and 18th nationally ... Won the High Jump title at the Illini Invitational, clearing 7-1 1/2 (2.17 meters) ... Ranks 5th in the Big Ten, 27th nationally ... Finished third in the Long Jump at the Larry Wieczorek Invite with a mark of 7.49 meters ... Timed 8.03 in the 60m Hurdles at the Larry Wieczorek Invite to finish fifth.
Chisom Nwoko
400m Seeded: Saturday, February 14, 3:25 p.m.
4x400m Finals: Saturday, February 15, 4:55 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Clocked personal-best 200m time of 24.40 at Husker Invite to finish 10th ... Placed second in 400m at Nebraska, finishing in 54.88 Timed 54.81 to win the Illini Invitational 400m Dash ... Converted Illini Invitational time of 54.10 ranks her first in the 400m in the Big Ten ... Clocked 54.46 in the 400m at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational ... Set new PR in the 200m at the Larry Wieczorek Invite, timing 24.57.
Jon Davis
3000m Seeded: Saturday, February 15, 4:40 p.m.
2019 Indoor Season: Second Team All-America honors running on the Men's Distance Medley Relay that placed 12th at NCAA Indoor Championships ... Set school record with the men's DMR at the Alex Wilson Invitational, clocking 9:29.19 to place third ... Ran second-career sub-four minute mile at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational, winning the event with a new personal-best finish time of 3:58.06 ... Won three event titles on the season, two in the 800m (Illini Open and Illini Invitational) and one in the Mile (Iowa/Wieczorek) ... Set PR in the 800m at the Illini Invitational with first-place finish time of 1:52.17
Carolyn Nye
Pole Vault Seeded: Saturday, February 15, 2:00 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Finished fifth at Frank Sevigne Husker Invite with mark of 13-0 3/4 (3.98 meters) ... Moved into fourth in program history with mark of 13-2 1/4 (4.02 meters) to win the Pole Vault title at the Illini Invitational ... 4.02m ranks sixth in the Big Ten ... Cleared 3.95 meters to finish third at the Larry Wieczorek Invite, which is tied for the fourth best indoor mark in program history.
Cooper Jazo
Pole Vault Final: Friday, February 14, 5:00 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Finished fifth at Husker Invite in Pole Vault with mark of 16-7 1/4 (5.06 meters) ... Set personal best Pole Vault mark of 16-11 (5.16 meters) at the Illini Invitational, winning the event title ... 5.16m ties for sixth in the Big Ten ... Finished third in the Pole Vault at the Larry Wieczorek Invite, tying his personal-best by clearing 5.15 meters ... Tied for 28th nationally, third in the Big Ten in the event.
Rebecca Craddock
Mile Seeded: Saturday, February 15, 2:10 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Set new personal-best in the 800m at the Husker Invite, timing 2:11.78 to place ninth ... Ran fifth-fastest 3K in program history at the Indiana Relays, timing a personal-best finish of 9:29.46 ... 3K finish ranks eighth in the Big Ten ... Finished fourth in the 1,000m exhibition at the Larry Wieczorek Invite with a finish time of 2:51.05.
Amira Aduma
Long Jump Final: Friday, February 14, 5:00 p.m.
200m Final: Friday, February 14, 6:50 p.m.
60m Prelims: Saturday, February 15, 1:35 p.m.
60m Dash Final*: Saturday, February 15, 2:55 p.m.
4x400m Final: Saturday, February 15, 4:55 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Competed in the 200m for the first time this season at the Frank Sevigne Invite, timing 25.04 ... Won the event title in the Long Jump at the Larry Wieczorek Invite, jumping 6.14 meters ... First collegiate Long Jump appearance at Larry Wieczorek .. Mark ties as the fifth best indoor jump in program history, and ranks third in the Big Ten this season ... Won event titles in the 60m Dash and the Long Jump at the Illini Invitational.
Declan Rustay
60m Dash Prelims: Friday, February 15, 1:50 p.m.
60m Dash Final*: Saturday, February 15, 3:15 p.m.
200m Final: Friday, February 14, 7:15 p.m.
4x400m Final: Saturday, February 15, 5:20 p.m.
2020 Indoor Season: Anchored Illinois' season-best finish in the 4x400m relay at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite, which timed 3:13.56 to place second ... Finished 10th in the 200m at the Frank Sevigne Invite with finish time of 21.67 ... Won the 60m Dash and 200m event titles at the Illini Invitational ... Anchored 4x400m relay that won the event title at the Illini Invitational.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out: Wells Leads Illini With Two Event Titles At Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational
Illinois track & field competed at the two-day Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on February 7 and February 8 at Nebraska. Redshirt senior Jonathan Wells led the way for the Illini with event titles in the men's Long Jump and the High Jump. Wells captured his second High Jump and first Long Jump title of the season this weekend. In Saturday's High Jump, Wells cleared 7-0 1/4 (2.14 meters) to take first. In Friday's Long Jump, Wells jumped a season-best 25-1 3/4 (7.66 meters) to win the event. His long jump mark set last week is tied for second in the Big Ten and 18th nationally.
Women's Middle Distance making Moves
In women's middle distance and distance events at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite, the Illini saw a number of top-five finishes. In the women's 600m junior Mikaela Lucki timed 1:36.58 to place fourth, while senior Vanessa Flaherty recorded a time of 1:37.69 to finish fifth.
In the 800m, the Illini saw a pair of top-five performances. Freshman Olivia Howell clocked a finish time of 2:09.40 to place second, while fellow freshman Tracy Towns timed 2:09.55 to place third. Also in the 800m, redshirt sophomore Rebecca Craddock finished ninth with a personal-best time of 2:11.78, and junior Madeline Bruce timed a personal-best 2:19.78 to finish 20th.
In Distance, senior Grace Rogers turned in a top-five finish in the women's 3K. Rogers clocked a new PR finish time of 9:44.64 to place third.
Nwoko Tops The Big Ten In the 400m
Chisom Nwoko was victorious in the 400m Dash at the Illini Invitational. Nwoko's conversion time, clocked at 54.10, currently ranks first in the conference.
Pole Vault Power
Illinois swept both the women's and men's Pole Vault at the Illini Invitational on January 25, 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 ranks sixth and Jazo is tied for sixth in the Big Ten in the event.
Up Next
The Illini travel to Notre Dame for the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday, February 22. Competition will begin at 10 a.m. CT.
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.
