CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini Track and Field team will host their first home meet of the outdoor season this weekend at the newly finished Demirjian Park. With action spanning from Friday, April 23-Saturday, April 24, this meet will likely be a mirror image of what to expect from the Big Ten Championships in mid-May, also hosted by the Illini.
Follow the Action
Fans can follow live results throughout the Fighting Illini Big Ten Relays at https://pttiming.com/event.php?mid=270 as well as by following @IlliniTrackXC on Twitter for Illini updates. A stream will be available for each day of action, and a  full recap of the events will be posted on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of the meet.Â
Know the Field
Athletes from all 14 B1G schools currently have entries to compete in this weekend's action. On the women's side, the conference is represented in the top 25 by three schools: No. 16 Ohio State, No. 23 Indiana and No. 25 Iowa. No men's teams are currently ranked. The majority of teams have been competing together the past few weeks at the Big Ten Invites, the Husker B1G Invite, and the B1G North Florida Invite where no team scores have been kept.
ILLINI TO WATCH
Jonathan Wells
2021 Outdoor Season: Placed first in the long jump (25-7.5 ft.) and the high jump (7-1 ft.) at the B1G North Florida Invite... Placed first in the high jump (2.14 m) and the long jump (7.55 m) at the Husker B1G Invite...Leads the B1G in the high jump
Jon Davis
2021 Outdoor Season: Named B1G Track Athlete of the Week (4/14)...Won the 1500 m at the B1G Invite #2 with a time of 3:41.01, his personal best and the fifth fastest time in school history... Won the 800 m at the B1G Invite #3 with a time of 1:48.77, a personal best and the fastest time in the B1G
2021 Indoor Season: Second Team All B1G (DMR)...A part of the second place DMR squad at the B1G Championships...Won the 3000m at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational with a time of 8:08.85... Owns indoor mile (3:58.06) and 3K (7:49.92) school records
Manning Plater
2021 Outdoor Season: Named B1G Field Athlete of the Week (4/14)...Placed fifth in the discus at the B1G North Florida Invite with a 163-9 ft. throw...Took third place at the B1G North Florida Invite in the hammer throw with a 208-5 ft. toss...Won the hammer throw at the B1G Invite #2 with a 69.82 m toss, breaking the Illinois school record in the event
2021 Indoor Season: All-American - Weight Throw...Placed Third in the NCAA - Weight Throw B1G Champion - Weight Throw...First Team All Big Ten...Named B1G Field Athlete of the Week (1/17-1/23)...Placed third in the weight throw at the NCAA Championships with a toss of 74-7, earning him All-American Honors and the Illinois school record...Won the conference title in the weight throw with a 72'9" toss ...In his first action as an Illini, won the weight throw at the Badger Icebreaker with a toss of 73'6", four inches short of the school record...Won the weight throw at the Husker Quad with a throw of 72'8"...Won the weight throw at the Hawkeye B1G Invitational with a throw of 70'10.5"...Currently holds the weight throw record for the University of Illinois
Olivia Howell
2021 Outdoor Season: Won the 800m at the B1G North Florida Invite with a time of 2:09.55...Ran a 2:13.12 opening split as a part of the 2nd place 4x800 team for the Illini at the B1G North Florida Invite... Won the 1500 m at the B1G Invite #3 with a time of 2:18.61, setting a PR and moving into fourth place in school history in the event
2021 Indoor Season: B1G Champion - Mile...First Team All B1G (Mile)...Won the mile at the Big Ten Championships with a 4:43.36...Set the Illinois school record in the 1000 m while winning the event at the Badger Icebreaker with a time of 2:46.52...Won the 800 m at the Husker Quad with a time of 2:09.84...Won the mile at the Hawkeye B1G Invitational with a B1G leading 4:40.85...Anchored the first place distance medley relay team at the Hawkeye B1G Invitational
Jessica McDowell
2021 Outdoor Season: Took fourth place in the 100 m at the Big Ten Invite #1 to open the year with a 11.93...Placed fifth in the 200 m invite at the B1G North Florida Invite with a 24.07...Placed second in the 400 m invite at the B1G North Florida Invite with a 55.30... Placed second in the 400 m at the Husker B1G Invite, cementing herself in the Illinois record book with the ninth best time in school history
2021 Indoor Season: Second Team All B1G...Took second place in the 400 m at the Big Ten Championships with a PR of 53.51. This time is also good for third in school history...Secured second place for the Illini at the Badger Icebreaker in the 60 m with a time of 7.65...Placed second and broke her PR in the 400m at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational with a time of 55.67....Finished in third at the Husker Quad in the 200 m and the 400 m with times of 24.38 and 55.18, setting two personal records...Took third place in the 200 m dash and the 400 m dash at the Hawkeye B1G Invitational with respective times of 24.44 and 54.48...Her 400 m time added her to eighth place in school history in the event.
Next Up
Next weekend the Illinois track and field team will travel to Minneapolis, Minn. to take part in the Minnesota Meet on Saturday, May 1. Details regarding this meet will be released in the coming week.
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.
