NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams travel to Terre Haute, Indiana on Jan. 15 to compete in the Terre Haute Double Dual. The meet begins with field events set to start at 5 p.m., following the track events at 5:15 p.m.
The Terre Haute Double Dual will be hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and will feature a NCAA Davison III matchup between Rose-Hulman and Manchester University. Illinois State will be facing Missouri Valley Conference, Indiana State. Indiana State was picked to finish second in the pre-season poll for both men (73 points) and women (57 points) announced by the Valley office. Illinois State men took the No. 4 spot with 35 points, while the women took the No. 5 spot with 47 points.
"The Dual against Indiana State is always a great focal point for our team in the early-season to measure ourselves against a perennially-strong Valley opponent," Illinois State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "We have a much improved squad this year which should make for a very competitive meet. We will be asking some of our young athletes to step to the plate and to be ready for Division I competition but we have many seasoned veterans that will lead the way for us on Friday."
ISU last competed at EIU Early Bird on Dec. 11, 2015. Both men and women teams finished in first place, while multiple athletes took home first-place victories and personal-best performances.
Francis Ehigbai earned first place in the high jump at the EIU Early Bird and is leading the Missouri Valley Conference. Ehigbai is currently ranked 22nd in the national rankings. He also earned MVC Men's Field Athlete of the Week (Dec. 15). He is the first Redbird to receive Athlete of the Week in the high jump event.
In his Redbird debut, freshman Shandall Thomas captured a first-place victory in the 60-meter, while posting a personal-best time of 6.78. Thomas currently holds the No. 2 spot in the 60-meter dash on the MVC top-25 performance list.
Veteran leader, Sarah Mussallem posted a first-place victory at EIU Early Bird in the 200-meter and is currently ranked fifth on the MVC top-25 performance list. In the 600-meter, Rayanne Wright and Jackie Mink both posted personal-best performances, respectively.
In the field, junior Morgan Keller earned first-place in the shot put, while freshman Adam Schaufelberger finished second in his first collegiate meet. Keller holds the No. 3 spot on the MVC top-25 performance list.
"This meet marks the season debuts for some of our top returners and newcomers so there is a lot of excitement within the team to compete and to begin to see what we are all about," Bovee said.
Follow the action of the Terre Haute Double Dual on Twitter @Redbird_TrackXC, or go to GoRedbirds.com for full coverage following the conclusion of the meet.
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