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Sophomore All-American Andrew Riley garnered All-Big Ten honors for the second year in a row.
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March 2, 2010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After an outstanding weekend at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, sophomore Andrew Riley earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, announced by the conference office. The two-time All-American repeated as the Big Ten 60m hurdles champion, racing to an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.81. Additionally, Riley earned a runner-up finish in the 60m dash en route to scoring 21 of Illinois' 40 team points this year. Riley, who was recognized as last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year after setting the school record in the 60m hurdles at the 2009 conference championships, garnered All-Big Ten honors for the second year in a row.
Illinois' other All-American, Greg Shroka, was one of 11 honorees for the Sportsmanship Award, which honors an individual from each team for distinguishing themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Shroka battled through a back injury to finish third at the Big Ten Indoors in the high jump, with a leap of 7-1 ½ (2.17m). The jump enabled the senior leader to record the best Big Ten finish of his career.
Other indoor track and field awards announced by the Big Ten included Ohio State's Thomas Murdaugh being named Track Athlete of the Year as well as Track Athlete of the Championships. The coaches selected Indiana's Andy Bayer as Freshman of the Year, while Minnesota's head coach Steve Plasencia was named Coach of the Year. Indiana's Derek Drouin was tabbed as Field Athlete of the Year while Minnesota's Aaron Studt was Field Athlete of the Championships.
Riley and Shroka will both compete this Saturday, March 6 at Iowa State's NCAA Qualifier in an attempt to improve their positioning and earn a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Riley currently ranks 13th in the nation in the 60m hurdles while Shroka is tied for 19th in the high jump with a leap of 7-1 ¾ (2.18m). A full schedule of events can be found HERE. The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
2010 Big Ten Men's Indoor Individual Honors
Track Athlete of the Year
Thomas Murdaugh, Ohio State
Field Athlete of the Year
Derek Drouin, Indiana
Freshman of the Year
Andy Bayer, Indiana
Track Athlete of the Championships
Thomas Murdaugh, Ohio State
Field Athlete of the Championships
Aaron Studt, Minnesota
Coach of the Year
Steve Plasencia, Minnesota
First Team
Andrew Riley, Illinois
Derek Drouin, Indiana
Robert Peddlar, Michigan
Kyron Foster, Michigan State
Ben Blankenship, Minnesota
Harun Abda, Minnesota
R.J. McGinnis, Minnesota
Ben Peterson, Minnesota
Aaron Studt, Minnesota
Thomas Murdaugh, Ohio State
Stephen Robinson, Ohio State
Jeff See, Ohio State
Elon Simms, Ohio State
Brandon Woodard, Ohio State
Ryan Foster, Penn State
Shane Crawford, Purdue
Jack Bolas, Wisconsin
Grant Bughman, Wisconsin
Ryan Gasper, Wisconsin
Landon Peacock, Wisconsin
Luke Rucks, Wisconsin
Second Team
Kevin Dibbern, Iowa
Erik Sowinski, Iowa
Ray Varner, Iowa
Steven Willey, Iowa
Andrew Bayer, Indiana
Brendon Blacklaws, Michigan
Dallas Bowden, Michigan
Sean McNamara, Michigan
Nicholas Neuman, Michigan
Sean Pruitt, Michigan
Matt Fisher, Minnesota
Jack Szmanda, Minnesota
Logan Stroman, Minnesota
Adam Green, Ohio State
Hanif Johnson, Penn State
Joe Kovacs, Penn State
Chris Kirtz, Purdue
Eric Sparks, Purdue
Maverick Darling, Wisconsin
Nate Larkin, Wisconsin
