Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up the Fighting Illini Challenge and Combined events at the UI Armory in Champaign, Illinois, on Saturday. The event saw several athletes achieve notable performances, with Jip De Greef standing out by winning the heptathlon in his first collegiate competition. De Greef scored 6,046 points, which converts to 6,070 for a flat track, marking the second-best score in the program's history and currently leading the nation. He is also the first NCAA heptathlete to surpass 6,000 points this season.

Director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou expressed satisfaction with the team's performance: "This was another very good weekend to close out our home indoor meets. Anytime you can have people qualified for the national meet before the end of January is a great feeling. There were a lot of highlights like Lucie Kienast and Tori Thomas breaking school and Big Ten records, Jip De Greef leading the nation after his first-ever heptathlon and Halle Hill and Will Merrick also both breaking school records in the 1000m. We have a lot of work to do still, but I'm excited with the direction this team is heading."

Viktor Morozov achieved a notable performance in the triple jump with a leap of 16.35 meters (53-7 3/4), securing second place nationally for this season. Abria Smith excelled in shot put with a throw of 16.77 meters (55-01 1/4), earning her another top-10 mark within the program.

The event had an attendance of 937 spectators. The Orange and Blue teams will take a break next week before splitting up for competitions in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Boston on February 7-8. Most team members will participate in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic while distance runners will compete at Boston's Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invitational.