This past weekend Illinois were split in half on Friday with the distance team back in Indiana and the field athletes, sprinters and relays in Texas for the Husker Big Ten two-day Invite.  

The distance team finished off in Indiana strong. Redshirt senior Jon Davis started it off with a first place finish in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:48.77. Fellow teammate sophomore Aman Thornton stuck with Davis and finished right behind him at 1:48.77.  

Sophomore Olivia Howell continued her strong season earning first place in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:18.61, nearly a minute faster than Kathryn House of Michigan in second place. As her personal best time, it earned her fourth place in the Illinois record book. 

This year has been stellar for Davis as he is coming off Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor this past week, which he earned after last week’s outing in Indiana in the 1500 meter run with a time of 3:41.01 making it his personal best. 

In Texas for the Husker Invite, graduate student Jonathan Wells, in usual fashion, started the day off with a first place finish with a 24.9 foot long jump. It’s his third win for an event this year, and he is showing no signs of slowing down. 

Illinois was competing with themselves in every event from breaking personal records of their own to setting records in the history books. 

Sophomore Jessica McDowell set the ninth best record in Illini history for her finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 53.71 getting her second place overall. Redshirt senior Cooper Jazo broke his personal best in the pole vault achieving a height of 5.19 meters putting him tied for first with Michigan State’s Trevor Stephenson. 

The team’s next meet will be in Champaign at the new Demirjian Park for the two-day Fighting Illini Big Ten Relays.  

@dre2xx

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