Last season, the Illini won just a single event, the 4×400 meter, at the Big Ten indoor championships. They finished dead last with 32.5 event points, 77.5 behind first-place Wisconsin.
This year, with the championships just around the corner, the Illini sit at No. 23 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, which is the highest they’ve ever been ranked at this point in the season since the weekly polls were introduced in 2008.
“It’s important to step back and think like this is any other race,” said senior Jack Roberts about his mindset heading into the championships. “We’re just going to go out and do our thing and execute and hopefully make it a good one.”
Roberts is one of several Illini who have championship experience and will look for big improvements over their performance last year. Roberts took 23rd in the 3,000-meter last year with a time of 8:19.90 — a time he beat by nearly 15 seconds to set a new personal best at this season’s Meyo Invitational.
It’s not going to be easy for Roberts, or any Illini competitor, to find success this weekend; the team will face tough competition, including No. 8 Nebraska, No. 22 Penn State, No. 26 Iowa and last year’s champion No. 10 Wisconsin.
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“We’re trying to really get everything we can out of everyone to ensure a high finish,” Roberts said. “We’re gonna try and maximize each of our contributions.”
Senior Aiden Ouimet, who briefly held the top collegiate heptathlon score earlier this year, finished fourth at last season’s championship. Ouimet hasn’t competed in the heptathlon since January as a result of recent meets not having the event, but he has managed to get into a couple of other events in the meantime, including the pole vault and 60-meter hurdles.
Ouimet’s best heptathlon score this season (5,985) currently sits at fifth-best nationally. Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin, who won at last year’s championship, posted a mark of 5,899 earlier this season and figures to be among Ouimet’s biggest competitors. Nebraska’s Till Steinforth also fits into that category. Steinforth didn’t compete at the previous championship, but he currently holds the second-best score in the nation.
Senior Tyler Sudduth holds top-20 collegiate marks in both the weight throw and shot put this season. Sudduth placed sixth in the weight throw at the championship last year and is poised for a stronger showing this weekend in both events. Sudduth currently holds the best weight throw distance in the Big Ten.
Sophomore Viktor Morozov also finished sixth at last season’s championship, doing so as the lone freshman entry in the triple jump. This year, Morozov’s mark of 15.92 meters, which he set two weeks ago at Clemson’s Tiger Paw Invitational, ranks third in the Big Ten.
In the high jump, junior Kam Garrett will compete in his first Big Ten championship after spending the past two seasons at Kansas State. Garrett placed fourth and sixth respectively in his two trips to the Big 12 championships.
The meet kicks off Friday at 9:30 a.m. CT at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Saturday’s events will start at 9:45 a.m. CT. The meet will be broadcast by Big Ten Plus.
