Full Results | Day 1 Recap
GENEVA, Ohio - Illinois men's track & field saw five student-athletes score points for the first time at a conference meet on the final day of competition at the 2020 Big Ten Indoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute. The Illini men's 4x400m relay team of freshman Jason Thormo, sophomore Jaden Jackson, freshman Robert Williams and sophomore Declan Rustay finished fifth to score four points, with Thormo, Jackson, and Williams all being first-time B1G meet scorers. Junior Thomas Saggau (Triple Jump) and sophomore Bret Dannis (60m Hurdles) also finished in the top-eight of their events to score for the first time at a B1G meet.
"We had a good meet with a lot of breakthrough performances," said director of track & field/cross country Mike Turk. "Some show on the scoreboard which is important, but some are indicative of our youth growth and where we are headed as a program."
Illinois finished 10th at the 2020 Big Ten Indoor Championships with 28 points. Redshirt senior Jonathan Wells contributed 14 points and earned All-Big Ten First Team honors, scoring 10 points on Friday night by winning the Big Ten title in the Long Jump. The Long Jump win was the third Big Ten title of Wells' storied career, and his first Big Ten Long Jump title. He had previously won Big Ten titles in the High Jump at Big Ten Outdoor Championships in 2018, and the High Jump at 2017 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Wells is the only athlete in Big Ten Indoor Championships history to have won titles in both the Long Jump and High Jump in a career. Dating back to 1944, Wells is the only Illini to have won Big Ten titles (indoor or outdoor) in both the Long Jump and High Jump in a career.
Wells added four points on Saturday with a fifth-place finish in the men's High Jump, tying his season-best height by clearing 7-1 3/4 (2.18 meters).
The 4x400m relay also tallied four points with its performance on Saturday. Thormo, Jackson, Williams and Rustay clocked a season-best finish time of 3:10.62 to close out competition at the conference meet.
Saggau earned a seventh-place finish in the Triple Jump to score two points for the Illini. He jumped a new indoor personal-best length of 48-4 3/4 (14.75 meters) to earn points at the conference meet for the first time in his career.
Dannis added a point by finishing eighth in the 60m Hurdles. His first time scoring at a B1G meet, Dannis tied his PR with a finish time of 7.97 in the event final on Saturday.
"Thomas Saggau, Bret Dannis, Tracy Towns, Olivia Howell, and Carolyn Nye had breakthrough performances, all being first-time scorers at Big Ten Championships," Turk said. "The relays performed extremely well, and we had several more performances that were just on the fringe."
The Illini will begin the outdoor season with the Willie Williams Classic hosted by Arizona on Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21.
"I am encouraged by the way we competed, the overall quality of performances and am excited to see our progress during the outdoor season," Turk said.
Illinois Scorers
Long Jump: Jonathan Wells, 25-1 1/4 (7.65 meters), 1st Place | 10 Points
Distance Medley Relay: Irwin Loud, Phillip Hall, Kashief King, Jon Davis, 9:45.43, 3rd Place | 6 Points
4x400m: Jason Thormo, Jaden Jackson, Robert Williams, Declan Rustay, 3:10.62, 5th Place | 4 Points
High Jump: Jonathan Wells, 7-1 3/4 (2.18 meters), 5th Place | 4 Points
Triple Jump: Thomas Saggau, 48-4 3/4 (14.75 meters), 7th Place | 2 Points
60m Hurdles: Bret Dannis, 7.97, 8th Place | 1 Point
Pole Vault: Jacob LaRocca, 16-7 1/2 (5.07 meters), 8th Place | 1 Point
Team Scores
1. Indiana- 120.5
2. Iowa- 107
3. Minnesota- 88.5
4. Nebraska- 76
5. Ohio State- 57
6. Purdue- 54
7. Wisconsin- 51
8. Michigan- 42
9. Penn State- 37
10. Illinois- 28
11. Michigan State- 26
12. Rutgers- 15
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.
