May 12, 2005

100 Meters

The five top performers in the 100 meters all hail from different schools with Wisconsin's Demi Omole currently holding the top time in the Big Ten at 10.32. The sophomore won the event in 2004 at Purdue, crossing the finish line in 10.61. Kenneth Baxter of Purdue and Alex English of Illinois ran top times in the event this season at 10.46 and 10.52, respectively. English took home third a year ago with a final race time of 10.91. Tony Cole of Ohio State ran a 10.58 to place him in the top ranks of the conference along with Jeremy Orr of Michigan State, who registered a top time of 10.62 this season.

110-Meter Hurdles

Illinois has two of the favorites to win the 100-meter hurdles entering this year's championships at Ohio State. Andre English and Abe Jones have two of the best times in the Big Ten from this season. Both juniors, English recorded a 13.97 this season while Jones checked in with a 14.03. Additionally, the pair raced in the finals of the event in 2004 with Jones finishing sixth and English coming in seventh. Jeff Porter of Michigan was runner-up in 2004 and could be the favorite this year after clocking a 14.12 during the regular season. Paul Check of Wisconsin and Stephanos Ioannou of Indiana also return, having competed in the finals at last year's outdoor championships.

200 Meters
David Neville of Indiana returns to defend his Big Ten Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship title in the 200 meters. The sophomore won last year's finale in the event with a time of 20.39. This season he recorded a time of 20.98 to place him near the top of the league standings. Two Purdue runners should make their presence felt in the sprint event. Kenneth Baxter and Alfred Woods are both at the top of the Big Ten with top times of 20.87 and 21.00, respectively. The Fighting Illini's Andre English makes another appearance at the top of the conference records for 2004-05 with a 21.31 in the 200 meters, while teammate Nathan Vadeboncouer is also in the mix after topping-out at 21.02 this season.

400 Meters

Neville will have a chance to defend yet another Big Ten crown in the 400 meters. The Merrillville, Indiana native won the event at Purdue last year with a time of 45.05. Three more finalists from last years 400 meters return this year and were ranked in the top of the Big Ten this season. Aaron Buzzard of Minnesota came in sixth a year ago and ran a 46.53 this year. Illinois' Vadeboncouer pulled in a top time of 46.63 this season after coming in fourth at last year's championship. Stann Waithe of Michigan will look to improve on his fifth place finish in 2004 after crossing the finish line in 46.70 in his top run this season.

400-Meter Hurdles

Illinois and Michigan appear to have the strongest runners in the 400-meter hurdles event. Abe Jones of Illinois won the event last year in 50.24 and had the top time in the Big Ten this year at 50.47. Fellow Illini Adrian Walker took home the silver last year and should be in the mix this season after running the event in 51.68 this season. The Wolverines have four runners ranked in the tops of the Big Ten this season with Chris Stowe (52.29), Seth Waits (52.47), David Battani (52.98) and Nick Meter (53.57). Waits took home sixth last year in West Lafayette. Jaret Campisi of Penn State is also in the mix after pulling in a time of 51.17 this season to follow up his fifth place finish in 2004.

800 Meters

The Orange and Blue appear to be the dominant team entering the championships in the 800 meters. Zach Glavish holds one of the top times in the league this year with a 1:47.28. Trammel Smith and Aaron King finished third and fifth last year and recorded times of 1:48.85 and 1:49.73 this season respectively. However, the Illinois trio will have some tough competition with last year's top two finishers returning. Andrew Ellerton will attempt to defend his title for U-M after registering a 1:50.29 this season. Minnesota's Trent Riter took home second last year and is primed for another good showing at this year's Big Ten summit after he ran a 1:48.96 during the regular season.

1,500 Meters
The Wolverines are strong in this event with Nick Willis and Nathan Brannen at the top of the league this season with times of 3:41.81 and 3:41.92, respectively. However, Sean Jefferson of Indiana could be the favorite after winning the event a year ago. This year, Jefferson topped out at 3:44.23. Willis and Jefferson finished one-two in the mile in the NCAA Indoor meet this year. After winning the 2004 team title, Wisconsin could get some team points to defend their championship from the 1500 meters. Ben Gregory and Chris Solinsky are in the top five of the Big Ten in the event with Gregory recording a top time of 3:43.56 and Solinsky at 3:43.78. Gregory will also be looking to improve on his sixth place showing at the 2004 championships.

3,000-Meter Steeplechase
Four of last year's finalists are back in the hunt for the 3,000-meter steeplechase title. Aaron Fisher of Ohio State will have the advantage of running on his home course and will be favored after winning last year's title in 8:44.59. The senior ran an 8:45.98 during the 2004-05 season. Chris Foster of Penn State clocked in at 8:51.84 this season after finishing seventh in 2004. David Rae of Purdue and Jon Houseworth of Illinois are also in the top five of the conference this season at 8:53.75 and 8:55.85, respectively. Rae came in third in 2004's steeplechase while Houseworth finished eighth in the event finals.

5,000 Meters
Wisconsin has shown its strength in the distance events this season, as the Badgers currently hold the top three times in the Big Ten Conference. Matt Tegenkamp has a top time of 13:31.98, Chris Solinsky recorded a season best 13:38.92 and Simon Bairu clocked in at 13:43.72. Furthermore, the three finished second, third and fourth respectively and are the only returning runners who competed in the event finals from a year ago. Andrew Carlson of Minnesota could fight for a Big Ten title as he ran the event in 13:44.64 during the regular season.

10,000 Meters

The Badger's are tops in the league in the longest event this season with four of the top five performers in the Big Ten hailing from Madison. Simon Bairu was the winner at the 2004 championships and is the favorite again this year after he pulled down the top time in 2004-05 at 29:22.16. Sophomore Tim Nelson will try and improve on his sixth place performance form last year after he ran a top time of 28:45.32 during the regular season. Anthony Ford has turned in a banner senior season for the Badgers and enters the championships with a time of 28:55.62 in the 10,000 meters. Bobby Lockhart could also contend for a title with his time this year of 28:56.59 during the regular season. Minnesota's Andrew Carlson finished fourth last year and ran the event in 28:56.62 this season.

4x100 and 4x400-Meter Relays

Three schools relay squads ran under 41 seconds in the 4x100-meter relay during the regular season. Wisconsin led the way with a 40.08 followed by Illinois at 40.40 and Penn State at 40.82. The Badgers won the shorter relay event a year ago with a time of 40.24. All 10 schools clocked in with a time under 42.00 this season.

The 4x400 relay results from the regular season shows a bigger gap between the top teams and the rest of the field. Illinois is the top team from the regular season with a 3:08.95. The Illini are over a second better than the next team, Indiana, which is at 3:10.08 entering the championships. Michigan rounds out the top three squads at 3:11.67.

High Jump

The Golden Gophers placed four athletes in the finals of the 2004 high jump and claimed the top two spots. This season, Minnesota is again one of the top schools in the event with Bryant Howe and John Albert leading the way. Howe took home the silver medal at Purdue last year and this year cleared 2.18 meters to lead the conference. Albert was just outside of the top three last year, finishing in fourth. This season he jumped over 2.17 meters to rank in the tops of the Big Ten. Derek Watkins of Purdue, Josh Paulson of Minnesota and Tyler Fedeli of Penn State were all in the top eight last year and return looking for a Big Ten crown.

Pole Vault

After finishing sixth in 2004, Penn State's Dave Bollinger enters this year's Big Ten summit as the leading performer in the pole vault event this season. The senior cleared 5.10 meters during the regular season. Darren Niedermeyer of Wisconsin won the silver medal at 2004's outdoor championships and is at the top of the Big Ten this year with a 4.90 meter vault this season. Michigan State's Mike Langlois  and Indiana's David Stead and finished in the final eight last year and should vie for a medal after top vaults of 4.88 and 4.75 meters respectively.

Long Jump

Last year's runner-up in the long jump comes into the 2005 championships as the favorite and one of the top performers in the Big Ten. Hoosier Aarik Wilson jumped 7.88 meters during the regular season to lead the Big Ten in addition to winning the event at the NCAA indoor meet. Two additional finalists from a year ago are back in the hunt once again this year. Julien Williams of Michigan State finished fourth in 2004 and Joe Conway of Wisconsin finished fifth. This year, Williams jumped 7.57 meters and Conway cleared 7.29 meters.

Triple Jump

Five of last year's finalists in the triple jump return this year including the top three finishers. Aarik Wilson is the favorite once again after wining the event last year and jumping 16.59 meters during the regular season and winning the NCAA indoor title in this event as well. Alonzo Moore of Wisconsin will attempt to knock off the defending champion after finishing second a year ago and ranking in the top of the Big Ten this year with a jump of 15.59 meters. Rick Bellford, Michael Whitehead and Julien Williams finished third, fifth and seventh at Purdue last year and are all back at the top of the league this season.

Shot Put

Two Iowa Hawkeyes are at the top of the league this season in the shot put event. Andy Banse and Ken Kemeny both should both be in contention at Ohio State after throws of 18.88 and 18.43, respectively this season. Kemeney finished sixth in 2004. Nedzad Mulabegovic of Purdue was the only athlete to clear 19 meters at 19.51 during the regular season. The senior won the silver medal last year and will look for a Big Ten title in his final championships. Joe Thomas of Wisconsin and Ryan Ketchum of Indiana each finished in the final eight last season and are at the tops of the Big Ten this year.

Discus

The discus competition is wide open with none of last year's medalists returning. Ryan Ketchum of Indiana finished in seventh last season and is near the top of the conference rankings with a throw of 58.82 meters. Two Hawkeyes and two Golden Gophers are also in the tops of the conference. Tim Brodersen and Andy Banse for Iowa recorded throws of 58.12 meters and 54.86 meters, respectively. Minnesota's Andy Tirlstra recorded a throw of 53.78 meters and Curt Schoenfelder logged a 53.05 meter throw. Joe Thomas of Wisconsin is also in the mix after coming in fifth last year and throwing it 51.14 meters during the regular season.

Javelin

Minnesota's Jason Swenson finished second in 2004 and could be the favorite entering this year's championships. The senior had a throw of 65.58 during the 2004-05 campaign to rank at the top of the Big Ten. Bret Kershner of Penn State and Jake Wiseman of Indiana cleared 63 meters this season with throws of 63.55 meters and 63.07 meters respectively. Wiseman finished seventh at last year's championships.

Hammer Throw

Purdue's John Paul Smolenski is the only retuning finalist from last year and was also the top performer in the Big Ten this season. The senior had a top throw of 67.47 this season. Chris Voller of Iowa and Bryan Duby of Ohio State are contenders for a Big Ten title in the hammer throw after registering throws this season of 61.91 for Voller and 61.31 for Duby. Minnesota's Curt Schoenfelder and Adam Schnaible could give UM some needed points after both had impressive years in the hammer event with top throws of 59.69 and 59.29, respectively.