There may have been a lack of star power for the men’s track and field team on Friday night, but that did not stop the Illini from churning out a slew of top-five finishes.

The Friday Night Special at Eastern Illinois marked the team’s final tuneup before the Big Ten Championships. While the majority of the team’s top athletes had the week off to rest, including Gakologelwang Masheto and Dominique Worsley, their respective absences did not limit the number of standout performances.

Freshman Josh Gist handily beat his personal best in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in first with a time of 8.09 seconds.

“I had been struggling trying to PR (personal record), then I had this big of a PR before the Big Tens,” Gist said. “It moved me up in the Big Ten rankings, and it gave me a lot of momentum and confidence going into Big Ten.”

Gist’s time was good for ninth best all-time in school history.

“I had a really good start,” Gist said. “I haven’t been getting off the blocks very good, but in the finals I had one of my best starts so that really helped me a lot.”

Freshman Cody Wisslead added another strong performance for the Illini in hurdles, running a personal-best time of 8.23 seconds in the preliminaries before finishing seventh in the finals.

Pierre Bush also recorded a season-best time in the 60 meters. The senior finished fourth with a time of 6.91 seconds, adding to his second-place finish in the long jump. Bush jumped 22 feet, 8 1/2 inches to finish ahead of teammate Azeez Shogbuyi, who finished fifth.

“I’m very pleased with the strides that Gist, Wisslead and Bush are making,” head coach Wayne Angel said in a press release. “Their progress is coming in a timely fashion as we approach the Big Ten Championships. It’s great to see our athletes stepping up and helping to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”

The Illini had two top-five finishers in the 3,000 meters. Senior Mike Kelley finished second with a time of 8:44.90, while teammate Rob Pykosz earned fifth place with a time of 8:52.47.

In the field events, sophomore Casey Fonnesbeck placed second in the shot put with a mark of 54 feet, 6 inches. Sophomore Andy Ward recorded a personal best in the weight throw with a mark of 54 feet 6 1/2 inches. Ward finished eighth, but the mark was good for sixth on Illinois’ all-time list.

As the team continues to show promise and improvement, the Illini are strengthening their position as contenders for the title heading into this weekend’s Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis.