NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams opened competition at the Indoor Music City Challenge in the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility on Friday (February 11), with the Illini winning a pair of event titles as well as school records set by junior Olivia Howell and graduate student Jon Davis.

"It was a great day for our team," said head coach Mike Turk. "Once again we are seeing improvement in performances across the board in each event area. Of course, performances like those of Olivia Howell and Jon Davis highlight the day but student-athletes like Bret Dannis, Tacoria Humphrey, Brian Keyes, Daniel Mboyo and Tyler Sudduth are all progressing well. So many new PRs, it's hard to keep track!"

For the third-straight week Howell set a new school record with a facility record and personal best time of 4:33.75 to win the mile event. Howell's time sits as the top time in the Big Ten Conference and the third-best time in the nation through five weeks of the indoor season.

Joining her with a record-breaking performance was Davis as he broke his own school record from 2019 with a time of 3:54.59 to place third in the men's mile event, with his time coming as the fifth-best time this season in the NCAA. Davis along with Mario Garcia Romo (3:53.36) of Ole Miss and Alabama's Eliud Kipsang (3:54.36) made history as three collegians ran sub-3:55 in one race for the first time, indoors or outdoors.

"We continue to move the program forward every weekend," said assistant distances coach and cross country head coach Sarah Haveman. "It's great to see great performances, but even better to see how the student-athletes are competing and the attitudes they are bringing to great opportunities. Howell and Davis have had many performances on the same day that have been very special for our program and today was another one of those days."

Freshman Tacoria Humphrey continued her strong rookie season as she registered the seventh-best jump in program history with a personal best 1.78m to win the women's seeded high jump. Classmate CJ Shoaf then turned in a personal record mark of 2.02 to finish in fourth in the men's high jump.

Redshirt-junior Brian Keyes turned in the sixth-best throw in program history with a personal record 19.10m to place third in the men's open weight throw.

Junior Danni Stoughton then posted a personal record with a time of 1:34.35 to finish fifth in the women's 600m race.  

Illinois Event Champions
Women's High Jump: Tacoria Humphrey // 1.78m
Women's Mile: Olivia Howell // 4:33.75

Personal Bests
Women's high jump
Tacoria Humphrey » 1.78m

Men's high jump
CJ Shoaf » 2.02m

Men's weight throw
Brian Keyes » 19.10m

Women's long jump
Mia Abraham » 5.47

Men's long jump
Daniel Mboyo » 7.27

Women's mile
Olivia Howell » 4:33.75
Emma Milburn » 4:44.89
Halle Hill » 4:47.82

Men's mile
Jon Davis » 3:54.59

Women's 600m
Danni Stoughton » 1:34.35
Abby Lynch » 1:38.48

Men's 600m
Robert Williams » 1:20.99

Women's 200m
Mia Abraham » 25.31

Men's 200m
Bret Dannis » 22.22

Women's 5000m
Allison McGrath » 16:43.56 (indoor)

Men's 5000m
Jack Roberts » 14:23.99
Tyler Cushing » 14:31.06 (indoor)

Next Up
The Indoor Music City Challenge continues on Saturday (February 12) with running events starting at 9 a.m. CT with the women's unseeded 3,000m race and field events slated to begin at 11 a.m. CT with the men's shot put and the women's pole vault.

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