Former Illinois Preps Shine In NCAA Division 1 Championships Day One

Alumni Report
Tony Jones


Zach Ziemek places second in the Decathlon 

-Men-

1500m-

David Timlin (Indiana State University/Chicago Lane Tech) 3:41.35- did not make the final but earned second Team All-American honors for the second year in a row. Timlin's great effort broke his school record and produced the 9th fastest overall preliminary time. 

10k-

Erik Peterson (Butler University/Barrington HS) 29:23.48- Peterson was in the top third of the field for much of the race as most of the 24 runners were packed together until five laps to go. The end result was a thrilling 8th place finish and first team All-American accolades.

400-

Kahmari Montgomery (U of Missouri/Plainfield Central HS) 45.81- Montgomery completed an excellent freshman year in the uber tough SEC league. Montgomery earned freshman of the year after winning the outdoor title and motoring to a 45.13 personal best which was #2 in the ranks at the time. Montgomery just missing the final by a spot.

Long Jump-

Julian Harvey (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville/Edwardsville HS) 24-6.25- Harvey capped his outdoor season by becoming a second team All-American at the NCAA Championships in the long jump. 

"Julian's season has been fun to witness," said SIUE Interim Head Coach Scott Block. "He has matured and changed his mindset and his performances have reflected that change."

Will Williams (Texas A&M/Chicago Heights Bloom Twp. HS) 23-6.25- Placed 22nd overall

Shot Put-

Josh Freeman (Southern Illinois University/Cary-Grove HS 63-10.25- Freeman earned his fourth first team All-American honors, and fifth AA laurels of his storied career, with a toss of 63-10.25 (19.46m) on his last attempt to finish sixth in the men's shot put finals Wednesday night at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships inside Historic Hayward Field.

The Fox River Grove, Ill. native tied his events coach, J.C. Lambert for most All-American honors earned by a male thrower in program history. The now five-time All-American sweated out the opening round of competition, as his first toss of the evening (62'-3") just barely stood up, earning him the final spot in the nine-thrower final. He didn't disappoint once there, uncorking his furthest throw in just under two months (April 16) on his last attempt to initially place fifth.


Hammer Throw-

Bradley Sauer (Southern Illinois University/Murphysboro HS) 210-9- Murphysboro, Ill. native competing in his first outdoor championships in this his final season as a Saluki, threw 210'-09" (64.24m) on his second attempt to place 18th in the men's hammer throw. It marked the fourth time this season Sauer has thrown 210-feet or further. The two-time All-American connected on all four throws when it mattered most, launching all four in the final two months of his collegiate career.

Scott Farley (Southeast Missouri St/Springfield Lanphier HS)  61-9.5- placed 10th and earned Second-Team All-America honors in the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Wednesday.

In the final men's field event of the opening day, Farley posted a top throw of 18.83m (61' 9.5") during his second career outdoor championships appearance in shot put.

Decathlon-

Zach Ziemek (University of Wisconsin/Lake Park HS)- 8300 points
After a career day in the decathlon on Wednesday at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Ziemek continued his success on Thursday en route to breaking his own Big Ten Conference record with a score of 8,300 points in the decathlon.
 
'Double Z's' score led the Itasca, Illinois, native to a second-place finish at Hayward Field and to the No. 7 ranking in the world in the 10-event discipline.  
 
"I think it went great considering that I had a huge personal record," Ziemek said. "Lindon Victor (the NCAA champion) is a great competitor and a great athlete. I slipped up a little bit in the (pole) vault, but you can't be perfect in ten events."
 
"To score 8,300 points and finish second by 79 points is insane," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "Zach gave it his all out here the last two days and just fell short of another NCAA title. We are all very proud of his performance.
 
"He left everything out there in the 1500 meters and it has to be satisfying for Zach to reach the 8300-point milestone."
 
Ziemek's score toppled his previous personal best of 8,107 set at the 2015 USA Outdoor Championships, also at Hayward Field. In addition, Ziemek's score of 8,300 points was the best decathlon score at the NCAA meet by a second-place finisher.
 
Winning the decathlon was Texas A&M's Lindon Victor, the collegiate leader in the event, who tallied 8,379 points. Two-time NCAA decathlon champion Maciel Uibo of Georgia was third with 8,294 points. 
 
"There are some great athletes out there," Ziemek said about the overall competition. "A couple of them are going to the Olympics. They push me and I push them, so it just makes us all better."
 
The decathlon day one leader, Ziemek, opened the second day with a time of 14.85 in the 110 hurdles to win his section of the event and tally 868 points. But The Itasca, Illinois, native saw his lead vanish, as Georgia's Devon Williams won the event with a time of 13.99 seconds to take the decathlon lead.
 
On his second attempt in the discus, Ziemek launched the disc 153-11, a personal-best decathlon mark, and finished second in the event to remain in second place in the competition. Victor won the discus with a NCAA meet record of 175-5 to take the overall lead. 
 
In the pole vault, Ziemek entered the competition at 16-4 3/4, which he cleared easily. However, on the following bar of 16-8 3/4, Ziemek was unable to clear the height and tied for third in the event. 
 
"The vault really killed me, but I hope that it teaches me a lesson for the U.S. Olympic Trials," Ziemek said. 
  
Despite the pole vault miscue, 'Double Z' held a lead of 22 points heading into the javelin, but Victor retook the lead with a javelin throw of 215-4.
 
But Ziemek kept things close, launching a bomb of 191-4, topping his previous personal-best effort by three inches. His throw ranked eighth in the competition. 
 
Ziemek set his second personal-best mark of the day in the 1500 meters, shaving almost 10 seconds off of his previous personal record with a time of 4:42.52. 
 
"I knew that I was in shape to run fast," Ziemek said. "I went out there and I gave it everything I had to make a chance for first and I came up short.  
 
"I gave it everything I had."