In a season with many key athletes redshirted, the Illinois men’s track team went into its weekend meet in California hoping to see some of the younger members of its team succeed.

Instead, one of the team’s more accomplished athletes, senior sprinter Cam Viney, found success, taking titles in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles at this weekend’s Stanford Invite in Stanford, California.

While Viney’s finishes may seem impressive, head coach Mike Turk thinks his performance left room for improvement.

“He wasn’t really on top,” Turk said. “He did show some progression, but he has a way to go yet.”

Turk, on the other hand, was extremely pleased with the performance of his distance unit that held their own against a very strong field of competitors. Runners like Ian Barnett, Billy Magnesen and Jesse Reiser put together strong performances in the highly-competitive 5000 and 10000 meters.

Turk also applauded his young sprinters, Devin Quinn and Mo Maat, who placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in their events. However, Quinn, who played a critical role in the indoor season, may have strained himself slightly in the race.

Overall though, Turk still feels that his team has a fair amount of rust from not competing in about a month. While their performance at Stanford might not have been the slow start he warned about, he believes there is a lot of improvement to come.

“We didn’t do anything to set the world on fire,” Turk said.“It was really solid. There is a lot left for us to accomplish with this group in the coming weeks.”

The Illini will attempt to fulfill Turk’s words in the upcoming week when they head to Terre Haute, Indiana, to compete in the Indiana State Gibson Invitational. With the Big Ten Outdoor Championships a little over a month away, the Illini will have to try to progress quickly.

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