CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini track & field begins indoor postseason competition with Big Ten Indoor Championships on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, February 29. Held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, competition begins on Friday at 9:50 a.m. CT with the women's Pentathlon 60m Hurdles. The men's Heptathlon 60m Hurdles will start competition on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. Final heat sheets will be announced Thursday evening. Fans can watch both days of competition at the Big Ten Indoor Championships with subscriptions to either BTN + or FloTrack.
Meet Information
Follow The Action
Fans can follow live results throughout the Big Ten Indoor Championships at https://lightningtiming.com/ as well as by following @IlliniTrackXC on Twitter and illinitrackxc on Instagram. Fans will be able to stream the competition with subscriptions to either BTN + or FloTrack. A recap will be posted at the conclusion of competition on both Friday and Saturday on fightingillini.com.
Know The Field
13 Big Ten schools are set to compete at the 2020 B1G Indoor Championships. USTFCCCA nationally ranked opponents on the men's side include No. 14 Indiana, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 22 Iowa and No. 24 Wisconsin. Three Big Ten schools are nationally ranked in the women's field: No. 15 Penn State, No. 21 Iowa and No. 22 Minnesota. The Ohio State women (112 points) and Nebraska men (91 points) won the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships at Michigan.
Illini To Watch
Jonathan Wells
2020 Indoor Season: Placed first in both the High Jump and Long Jump for the second consecutive week at the Music City Challenge ... Cleared season-best 7-1 3/4 (2.18 meters) in Music City High Jump and tied season-best Long Jump with mark of 25-1 3/4 (7.66 meters) ... 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
2020 Indoor Season: Won her second event title of the season in the 400m at the Music City Invitational, recording finish time of 53.83 .. 53.83 finish time ranks second in the event in the Big Ten ... 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 ... 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.
Carolyn Nye
2020 Indoor Season: Cleared Pole Vault height of 13-1 3/4 (4.01 meters) on her first attempt at the Music City Invitational, her second highest clearance of the 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
2020 Indoor Season: Won second event title of the season in the Pole Vault at the Alex Wilson Invitational, recording a mark of 16-10 3/4 (5.15 meters) ... Set new Pole Vault PR at Music City Invitational, clearing 17-0 3/4 (5.20 meters) on his first attempt to place second at the meet ... 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
2020 Indoor Season: Clocked fifth-fastest Mile time in program history at the Music City Challenge, timing 4:42.64 ... 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.
Jon Davis
2020 Indoor Season: Won the Men's Mile at the Alex Wilson Invitational, recording a finish time of 4:06.68 ... Made season debut at the Music City Challenge, competing in the 3K.
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.
Amira Aduma
2020 Indoor Season: Had three top-10 individual performances at the Music City Challenge (LJ, 5th, 19-2 1/2 5.85 meters; 200m, 8th, 24.49 PR; 60m, 7.59, 8th) ... 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.
Bret Dannis
2020 Indoor Season: Set new PR in the 60m Hurdles at the Music City Challenge, timing 7.97 ... 7.97 finish time is tied for ninth-fastest in the Big Ten ... Recorded personal-best finish time in the 60m Dash at the Music City Challenge with finish time of 6.97 ... Timed 8.06 in the 60m Hurdles at the Husker Invite ... Finished second in the 60m Hurdles at the Illini Invitational, recording a finish time of 8.08.
Illini Notes
Last Meets: Music City Challenge and Alex Wilson Invitational
Illini Set Personal-Bests Across Several Events At Music City Challenge
Illinois track & field student-athletes had several personal-best and top-10 finishes on the final day of competition at Vanderbilt's Music City Challenge on Saturday, February 15. Redshirt junior Chisom Nwoko led the way with a first-place finish in the women's 400m, timing a season-best finish of 53.83. Sophomore Bret Dannis took second in the men's 60m Hurdles, clocking a personal-best finish of 7.97. Redshirt sophomore Rebecca Craddock ran the fifth-fastest Mile time in program history with her personal-best 4:42.64 finish time, placing her fourth in the event.
Wells Wins High Jump, Long Jump Titles For Second Straight Meet
On Day 1 at the Music City Challenge, Redshirt senior Jonathan Wells led the Illini, winning event titles in both the High Jump and Long Jump. It was the second consecutive meet Wells placed first in both events. Wells cleared a season-best 7-1 3/4 (2.18 meters) to take his third High Jump title of the season. He tied his season-best mark to win the Long Jump, jumping 25-1 3/4 (7.66 meters). Wells is tied for third in the Big Ten in the High Jump and 26th nationally. In the Long Jump, Wells ties for second in the conference and 22nd in the NCAA.
Nwoko's New 400m Season-Best
Chisom Nwoko earned her second event title in the 400m Dash this season at the Music City Challenge. Her new season-best finish time of 53.83 ranks second in the Big Ten.
Mighty Mile
The Illini saw personal-bests by each athlete competing in the women's Mile at the Music City Challenge. Craddock led the way, finishing fourth at the meet with the fifth-fastest time in school history as she crossed at 4:42.64. Freshman Olivia Howell also finished in the top-10, clocking a new PR finish time of 4:46.02 to place seventh. Senior Grace Rogers timed a personal-best finish of 4:50.37, good for 13th place. In the unseeded section of the Mile earlier in the day, freshman Katie Hohe clocked a new personal-best, timing 5:07.19.
Pole Vault Power
On Day 1, redshirt junior Cooper Jazo placed second in the Pole Vault at the Music City Challenge with a personal-best performance. Jazo cleared 17-0 3/4 (5.20) meters on his first attempt for the new PR in the event. Jazo ranks sixth in the Big Ten with the new personal-best height. Redshirt junior Carolyn Nye took fourth in Saturday's women's Pole Vault. Nye cleared 13-1 3/4 (4.01 meters) on her first attempt at the height, her second-highest clearance of the season. Nye ranks sixth in the Pole Vault in the conference with her personal-best height of 13'2.25" (4.02 meters) cleared at the Illini Invitational on January 25.
Final Tune-up At Notre Dame
The Illini sent a smaller contingency the week ahead of Big Ten Championships to compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday, February 22 at Notre Dame. Redshirt junior Jon Davis took home the event title in the Mile, recording a finish time of 4:06.68. In the Pole Vault, Cooper Jazo cleared 16-10 3/4 (5.15 meters) to place first in the event.
Up Next
NCAA Indoor Championships are up next for those who qualify. The Championships will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. The Illini will begin the outdoor season with the Willie Williams Classic hosted by Arizona on Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21.
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.
