The Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships are right around the corner, and Illinois wants to be in great shape following a successful weekend at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
In total, 15 Illini competed this weekend, setting three personal bests, two season bests and one top-10 program mark — all while facing some of the best athletes in the world.
Freshman Cody Johnston finished second in the pole vault with a personal-best height of 5.38 meters, good enough for seventh best in program history. Kentucky’s Keaton Daniel, who currently holds the top collegiate mark, finished first. Johnston himself now occupies No. 28 on the national leaderboard.
Senior Tyler Sudduth was knocked off of his top national spot in the weight throw by Alabama’s Ruben Banks. Sudduth had stood atop the leaderboard for three weeks before Banks recorded a throw of 23.88 meters, 74 centimeters further than Sudduth’s top distance. Sudduth earned the silver this weekend with a 22.97-meter toss, nearly a meter short of Banks’ throw.
Sudduth also did well in the shot put, where he placed fifth with an 18.67-meter heave. Senior Will Rezny took sixth (18.03).
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There was no heptathlon at the meet, but fifth-year senior Aiden Ouimet still competed in a couple of events after taking the last meet off for rest and recovery. Ouimet placed eighth (4.75m) in the open pole vault and 38th (8.28s) in the 60-meter hurdles. Freshman Michail Rose also ran in the 60-meter hurdles, placing 19th (8.03s).
Senior Robert Williams set a personal best in the 400-meter with a time of 47.67 seconds, which was good enough for 39th in a crowded field. Freshman Jackson Gilbert finished just behind Williams in 45th (47.98s).
Williams and Gilbert, along with Rose and sophomore Tadeas Placek, formed the 4×400 meter relay team, which recorded a season-best time of 3:11.08 in their 13th-place finish.
Placek also set a personal best to go along with the relay’s team season best. Placek placed seventh with a time of 1:49.65 as the lone Illini to compete in the 800-meter race. Fellow sophomore Viktor Morozov placed sixth in the triple jump with a season-best 15.92-meter leap, the 14th-best distance in the country this season.
There was no shortage of Illini in the high jump, where all four Illinois athletes placed inside the top 16. Juniors Jackson Marseille and Kam Garrett tied for fifth with identical marks of 2.10 meters. Junior CJ Shoaf took 15th (2.05m), and senior Alex Babbington finished right behind him in 16th (2.00m).
The Illini will now have a week off as they prepare for the Big Ten Indoor Championships, set to kick off Feb. 23 in Geneva, Ohio.
