Day 1 Men's Results    |    Day 1 Women's Results

GENEVA, Ohio – The Illinois track and field team completed a successful Day One at the Big Ten Championships on Thursday, February 26. The men finished day one sitting in fifth place with 18 points, while the women ended in seventh place with seven points.

Action began for the Illini with Bret Dannis qualifying in the 60 meter hurdles semifinals with a time of 7.98 seconds, his fastest time of the year. Aman Thornton also qualified for the finals in the 600 meter with a 1:17.25. This mark is his personal best and moves him from ninth place to fourth place in the Illinois record book for the event.

The highlight of the day came from graduate transfer Manning Plater, who won the weight throw with a toss of 72-9. Plater has competed in four indoor meets for the Illini and won this event in each one. This win is Illinois' first Big Ten individual weight throw champion since the event was added in 1998.The first place finish gave the team ten points.

Men's events concluded with the distance medley relay where the Illinois squad of Tyler Cushing, Phillip Hall, Aman Thornton and Jon Davis took second place with a time of 9:36.55. This event secured eight points for the Illini.

The women's events were highlighted by a fifth place finish in the 3000 meter by Rebecca Craddock with a time of 9:22.82. This mark is a personal best for Craddock and improves her third place standing in Illinois history by 2.13 seconds.

Events concluded with the distance medley relay where the Illini team of Mikaela Lucki, Danni Stoughton, Tracy Towns and Emma Milburn took sixth place in the event. Their time was 11:30.54.

Action will continue all day Friday and Saturday. Follow @IlliniTrackXC for live updates or follow live results here: https://tf.deltatiming.com/big-ten/2021-big-ten-indoor-championships#d-2021-02-25