On a day when Illinois seniors were honored for their collegiate athletic careers, a freshman stole the show for the Illinois men’s track and field team at the Illini Classic. Freshman Cam Viney won the title in the 60-meter hurdles for the second consecutive meet with a time of 7.88 seconds, the third-fastest time in the event in Illinois indoor track history. Viney’s performance propelled Illinois to a first-place finish.

“Cam has really impressed me so far this season,” head coach Mike Turk said.  “We knew he had the talent to compete at a high level, but we did not expect him to be in midseason form so quickly. The energy and competitiveness he brings to practices and meets has meant a lot for us.”

The Illini won a total of 10 individual titles on Saturday at the Armory, eight of them on the track and two in field events. In addition to Viney’s title in the hurdles, senior Ryan Lynn came away with a title in the 800, only a week after his title in the mile. 

“It was a challenge for me transitioning from the mile to the 800 in just one week, but competing in an event that I am much more comfortable in made a huge difference for me,” Lynn said. “My performance today was a big confidence booster for me going forward, especially now that I will have to once again transition to the 600.”

Other highlights for the Illini on the track were sophomore Brandon Stryganek’s victory in the 200 and a title in the 4×400 relay team of Juan-Paul Green, DJ Zahn, Stephon Pamilton and Zebo Zebe.

In the field, the Illini came away with two titles — one by senior Matt Bane in pole vaulting with a height of 17 feet, 3 inches and the other by Branden Tanthavong in the triple jump with a length of 47-7.

For the second meet in a row, the pole vaulting squad boasted an individual title winner after Bane’s teammate, Cody Klein, won the title last week at the Illini Open. The pole vaulting squad claimed second and third place as well to nab points contributing to the victory. Klein finished second and Josh Hodur finished third. All three finished with leaps of over 17 feet. 

“I attribute much of my success to guys behind me who constantly push me to compete at my best,” Bane said. “Having those guys push me during meets and practice is definitely a major reason to my success today.”

While Turk was pleased with his team’s performance Saturday and especially with the intensity and energy the team as a whole brought to the meet, he still sees many aspects of which the team can improve upon. His criticisms mostly centered on how multiple runners were disqualified after false starts, notably Brandon Stryganek in the 60 meters. 

“We have a pretty good team with a chance to be very good, but we have to get better,” Turk said. “Overall we were good but we left several opportunities and lots of points out there. Our intensity and competitiveness was great, but our execution was lacking at times.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected].