CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams each finished in second place at the Illini Invitational and multi, held at the UI Armory on Saturday (January 22), with the men totaling 199 points and the women scoring 163 points.

"We had solid performances from many individuals, showing lots of really encouraging signs for our program," said head coach Mike Turk. "We've got a close-knit group and it shows in their energy and enthusiasm. I love it!"

"Overall, I was not pleased with the team scores. We are much better and competed much better than the results showed."

The Illini earned 18 event titles, with 12 coming in running events and four in field events, while freshman Kenli Nettles took the heptathlon with 3,126 points on day one of the invitational on Friday and junior Aiden Ouimet winning the pentathlon with a personal best 5,297 points.

Ouimet won three of seven events, including long jump (6.95m), pole vault (4.80m) and the 1000m run (2:54.70), and set personal records in five events, including the long jump and pole vault as well as the shot put (12.26m), high jump (1.92m) and 60m hurdles (8.80).

"It was a lowkey, but pretty special weekend for our multi-eventers with Kenli Nettles getting a win in her first meet in two years due to injury and the guys showing huge improvements. I loved watching the team get behind them on day two. Aiden Ouimet's progress from just last spring is incredible."

The Illini came out strong to start the day with wins in both the men's and women's long jump as freshman Daniel Mboyo took the event with a jump of 6.65m, while senior Nya Carr won her first of two events with a jump of 5.39m.

After coming in second place a week ago, senior Reed Marshall won the men's triple jump with a mark of 13.94m, with the Illini adding a one-two finish in the women's pole vault as sophomore Kelsey Rothas turned in a personal record of 3.77m on her first attempt and freshman Tori Thomas added her second runner-up performance of the season after reaching a mark of 3.77m on her second attempt. 

Freshman Tacoria Humphrey had another impressive showing in the women's high jump, besting her debut in the event from a week ago with a jump of 1.75m to finish second after a head-to-head battle with Illinois State's Kameesha Smith.

"Tacoria Hunphrey didn't get a win but she was terrific in the high jump and is just so fun to watch progress and compete."

Senior Bret Dannis earned his second 60m hurdles title of the season with a time of 7.99 to kickstart the Illini in the running events. From there, the Illini took wins in both the women's and men's races in the 60m, 600m, mile, 3000m and the 4x400 relay, while senior Jaden Jackson added a win in the 400m run with a time of 50.86.

Carr registered a personal best 7.56 in the 60m dash for her second event title of the day, while classmate Declan Rustay won the men's event with a time of 6.94.

Juniors Danni Stoughton (1:37.30) and Jason Thormo (1:22.59) posted wins in the 600m, with Thormo running a personal best in victory. Freshman Amalia Malecek (5:01.87) and junior Eddie Lennon (4:18.56) secured wins in the mile for the Illini, while sophomore Ben Giblin set a personal record with a time of 8:45.66 in the men's 3000m and freshman Maggie Gamboa turned in a 10:02.49 performance in the women's event.   

The Illini rounded out the day with back-to-back 4x400 relay wins as the women's team of freshmen Mia Abraham and Logan Neely, Stoughton and senior Kionnah Weaver won its race in a time of 3:54.48 and the men's foursome of Thormo, Jackson, junior Robert Williams and freshman DeVontae Ford posted a time of 3:19.42 to secure victory.

Illinois Event Champions
Men's long jump: Daniel Mboyo // 6.65m
Women's long jump: Nya Carr // 5.39m
Men's triple jump: Reed Marshall // 13.94m
Women's pole vault: Kelsey Rothas // 3.77m
Men's 60m hurdles: Bret Dannis // 7.99
Women's 60m: Nya Carr // 7.56
Men's 60m: Declan Rustay // 6.94
Men's 400m: Jaden Jackson // 50.86
Women's 600m: Danni Stoughton // 1:37.30
Men's 600m: Jason Thormo // 1:22.59
Women's Mile: Amalia Malecek // 5:01.87
Men's Mile: Eddie Lennon // 4:18.56
Women's 3000m: Maggie Gamboa // 10:02.49
Men's 3000m: Ben Giblin // 8:45.66
Women's 4x400 relay: Mia Abraham, Logan Neely, Danni Stoughton, Kionnah Weaver // 3:54.48
Men's 4x400 relay: Jason Thormo, Jaden Jackson, Robert Williams, DeVontae Ford // 3:19.42
Women's pentathlon: Kenli Nettles // 3,126 points
Men's heptathlon: Aiden Ouimet // 5,297 points

Next Up
Illinois will next travel to Louisville, Ky., for the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on Saturday, January 29.

For more Fighting Illini Track & Field news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniTrackXC on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.