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Freshman Bai Kabba will run on both relays this weekend at the NCAA West prelims.
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May 26, 2010
Complete West Preliminary Notes (PDF) 
Championship Central | Start Lists | Live Results
Live Video: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
2010 NCAA West Preliminary Round of Championship
Thursday, May 27 - Saturday, May 29
Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium // Austin, Texas
The Meet
The Illinois men's track & field team will send 16 student-athletes, including both relays, to the NCAA Preliminary Round of Championship at the University of Texas in Austin from May 27-29. This season, the NCAA switched post-season formats for the outdoor track championships going from four regional sites to East and West preliminary round sites. The East NCAA Preliminary Rounds will be hosted by North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. A full travel roster and schedule of Illini entries can be found in th above PDF.
Each preliminary round site will host the top 48 declared athletes -- or 24 relay teams -- in each event, with the exception of the heptathlon. The preliminary round will serve as the first two rounds of competition for the NCAA championships, narrowing the field in each event to 12 from each region. The top 12 performers from each preliminary round site will then advance to compete at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12. Detailed qualification procedures can be found in the above PDF.
Heading into the championships, Illinois is among the top 12 in three different events. Sophomore Andrew Riley owns the top spot in the 110m hurdles while the 4x100m relay is ranked sixth and the 4x400m relay is seeded 12th.
Coverage
Live results and video will be available during all three days and linked on www.fightingillini.com.
Big Ten Outdoor Championships Recap
Sophomore Andrew Riley won a pair of Big Ten titles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, earning the top spot in the 110m hurdles and the 100m dash. The Kingston, Jamaica native also led off the runner-up 4x100m relay and helped the Illinois men's track and field team finish in sixth place with 70 points at Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Complex. Riley notched his first-ever Big Ten title in the 110m hurdles, clocking a time of 14.18 to defeat runner-up Nate Larkin (14.24) of Wisconsin. The three-time All-American followed it up by winning the 100m dash with a personal-best 10.54, marking his fourth career Big Ten title. He was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year while also being selected as the Track Athlete of the Championships.
Illini Athletes to Watch:
Andrew Riley, Sprints / Hurdles (So., Kingston, Jamaica)
Ranked third in the region and fourth in the nation in the 110m hurdles with his school-record time of 13.53 from the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational ... Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year ... Was named Track Athlete of the Championships after taking the top spot in the 100m dash and the 110m hurdles at the conference meet while also leading off the runner-up 4x100m relay ... Became a Drake champion in the 110m hurdles and picked up the event victory at the Illinois Twilight ... Earned All-America honors in the 60m hurdles for the second year in a row at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a fifth-place finish ... Won the Big Ten indoor 60m hurdles title for the second straight year in February ... Was an All-American last season in the 110m hurdles after recording a fifth-place finish ... Riley and the rest of the sprinters/hurdlers have been coached this season by head women's track and field coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, who has assisted the men's team this year after former coach Wayne Angel stepped down.
110m Hurdles - Personal-Best: 13.53 (4/17/10)
4x100m Relay (Andrew Riley, Azeez Shogbuyi, Bai Kabba, Stanley Azie)
Ranked sixth in the region and 25th in the NCAA after turning in the fourth-fastest time (39.76) in school history at the Drake Relays ... Earned a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships for the second straight year with a time of 40.26 ... Won event titles at the Mike Poehlein Invitational and the Illinois Twilight ... Freshman Bai Kabba will replace fellow freshman Josh Zinzer on the third leg of the relay after Zinzer suffered a hamstring injury at the conference meet.
4x100m - Season-Best: 39.76 (4/24/10)
4x400m Relay (Shane Daniel, Bai Kabba, Malcolm Taylor, Dan Jones)
Seeded 12th in the region with a season-best time of 3:08.30 from the Drake Relays ... Came in sixth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships ... Won the event title at the Illinois Twilight ... Return only junior Dan Jones from last season's squad, as three newcomers have stepped up to compete this year ... Junior Shane Daniel, a transfer from American River Junior College, and a pair of freshmen, Bai Kabba and Malcolm Taylor, join Jones on the relay.
4x400m - Season-Best: 3:08.30 (4/24/10)
Stanley Azie, Sprints (So., Bolingbrook, Ill.)
Seeded 17th in the region in the 200m ... Scored individually for the first time in his career and added a combined nine points to the Orange and Blue total with his finishes in the short sprints at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships ... Clocked a time of 10.71 and placed fourth in the 100m dash and placed fifth in the 200m with a time of 21.58 at the conference meet ... Anchors the 4x100m relay, which posted the fourth-fastest time in school history at the Drake Relays.
200m - Personal-Best: 20.94 (4/30/10)
Matt McHugh, Hammer Throw (Jr., Exeter, N.H.)
Ranked 17th in the region in the hammer throw ... Finished fifth in the event at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a toss of 195-0 (59.44m) ... Twice reset his own school record in the hammer throw during the outdoor campaign ... Opened the season with a record-breaking toss of 197-4 (60.15m) at the Yellow Jacket Invitational and followed it up the very next week with a new personal-best mark of 202-10 (61.83m) at the Mike Poehlein Invite ... Was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week for the week of April 7 ... Also broke the school record in the weight throw during the indoor season.
Hammer Throw - Personal-Best: 202-10; 61.83m (4/2/10)
Cody Wisslead, Hurdles (Jr., Sciota, Ill.)
Battled an illness during the indoor season but bounced back during the outdoor campaign and currently ranks 19th in the region in the 400m hurdles ... Scored 11 points for the Illini at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships after solid efforts in both hurdle events ... Took third in the 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 51.05 and finished fourth in the 110m hurdles with a mark of 14.55 at the conference meet ... Took the top spot in the 400m hurdles at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, Oregon's Pepsi Invitational and the Illinois Twilight.
400m Hurdles - Personal-Best: 51.05 (5/16/10)
Colin Mickow, Distance (So., Princeton, Ill.)
Ranked 20th in the region in the 10,000m ... Took third in the event at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships ... Was the Illini's top cross country runner during the fall season, becoming the first Illini to earn All-Region honors since 2007.
10,000m - Season-Best: 29:10.74
Greg Shroka, High Jump (Sr., Cedar Lakes, Ind.)
Seeded 26th in the region in the high jump with a season-best leap of 6-11 (2.11m) ... Scored at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships for the fourth straight year with a fifth-place finish and leap of 6-10 1/4 (2.09m) ... Recorded his highest Big Ten finish in February at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, where he took third and reached the podium ... Currently ranks second in school history in the high jump and is chasing Gail Olson's top leap of 7-3 1/2 (2.22m) from 1979 ... Placed sixth in the high jump with a personal-best height of 7 feet, 1 1/2 inches (2.17m) at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships to become the first Fighting Illini outdoor All-American in the event n 30 years ... Graduated with a degree in architecture in December 2009 and recently completed a graduate degree in civil engineering.
High Jump - Personal-Best: 7-1 1/2; 2.17m (6/12/09) // Season-Best: 6-11; 2.11m (4/30/10)
Qualifying Procedure for First Round and Final Championship Meet
100-Meters, 100-Meter Hurdles, 200-Meters, 400-Meters, 400-Meter Hurdles
Two rounds will be contested, a first round and a quarterfinal.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 6
Advancing to the quarterfinal round (24): Top 3 from each heat plus next 6 fastest times
The quarterfinal will consist of three heats. Twelve, the top three from each quarterfinal heat plus the next best three times, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarterfinal round to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
1,500-Meters
Two rounds will be contested, a preliminary and a quarterfinal.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 4
Advancing to the quarterfinal round (24): Top 5 from each heat plus next 4 fastest times
The quarter-final will consist of two heats. Twelve, the top five from each quarterfinal heat plus the next best two times, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarter final round to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
One round, a quarterfinal, will be contested.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 3
Advancing to the Final Championship Meet (12): Top 3 from each heat plus next 3 fastest times
Twelve, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarterfinal to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
5,000-Meters
One round, a semifinal, will be contested.
# of competitors: 48
# of 1st round heats: 2
Advancing to the Final Championship Meet (12): Top 5 from each heat plus next 2 fastest times
Twelve, after tie breaking, will qualify from the semi-final to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
10,000-Meters
One round, a semifinal run as a single race, will be contested. Twelve, after tie breaking, will qualify from the semifinal to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
4x100-Meter Relay and 4x400-Meter Relay
One round, a quarterfinal, will be contested.
# of teams: 24
# of 1st round heats: 3
Advancing to the Final Championship Meet (12): Top 3 from each heat plus next 3 fastest times
Twelve, the top three from each quarterfinal heat plus the next best three times, after tie breaking, will qualify from the quarterfinal round to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
Long Jump and Shot Put
A single qualifying competition with one check-in, consisting of a round of three preliminary attempts followed by a round of three final attempts, will be contested. There is no automatic qualifying mark. The 16 best marks, after tie breaking, will qualify from the first round of three preliminary attempts to the final round of three attempts. The 12 best marks, after tie breaking, will qualify from each Preliminary Round site to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
High Jump
A qualifying competition will be contested. There is no automatic qualifying mark. Twelve, based on performance after tie breaking and possibly a jump-off, will qualify from the Preliminary Round competition to the Final Championship Meet in Oregon.
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