NORMAL, Ill. – With the 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships on the horizon, the Illinois State men's and women's track & field teams will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational, hosted by Louisville. The two-day meet will begin on Friday, April 27, and finish on Saturday, April 28.
Friday's competition will feature a small slate of field events, including the men's and women's hammer throw and unseeded long jump, among others. Events will begin at 11 a.m. CT.
The majority of the meet will commence on Saturday, with the field events beginning at 8 a.m. CT and the running events following at 10 a.m. CT. Over the course of the two-day schedule, the 'Birds will face competition from 19 opposing schools.
In the Redbirds' last outing at the Virginia Challenge, Brandy Thomas and Julia Bourke excelled in the shot put. Competing in the invitational section of the event, Thomas finished first with a personal-best throw of 16.00m (52-06.00). This mark not only sits her atop the Valley, but also ranks 21st in the NCAA West region and fourth all-time in ISU history.
Bourke also captured a personal-best, recording a heave of 14.97m (49-01.50) to place herself seventh on the Redbirds' top-10 list. Both Thomas and Bourke will compete in the shot put again this weekend when they look to improve their marks yet again.
Freshmen Ryan Ashenbremer and LaMont Allen will look to make their presence known as well. Ashenbremer has been a force to be reckoned with in the men's pole vault competition all year. He has cleared at least five meters in every meet of the outdoor campaign and currently ranks first in the Valley with a height of 5.08m (16-08.00).
Allen has emerged as a sleeping giant in the men's high jump. In his last appearance at the Redbird Invite, Allen cleared a personal-best 2.15m (7-00.50), eclipsing the seven-foot mark for the first time of his career.
On the track, freshmen Avery Lyons and Brandon Gage will compete in the open 400-meter dash after helping the men's 4x400-meter relay team post the ninth-fastest time in ISU history last weekend, clocking in at 3:10.96.
The remaining two runners from last weekend's men's 4x400-meter relay team, Anderson Devonish and Ben Montgomery, will compete in the 200-meter dash Saturday. Devonish will also make his outdoor 100-meter dash debut at this weekend's competition. Devonish currently holds the fastest 200-meter time in the conference (21.04) and owns the top 400-meter mark as well (46.38).
On the women's side, Demetria Anderson and Annie Moore will be faces to watch. Anderson is coming off of her best 100-meter hurdles performance of the season, posting a Valley-best time of 13.64 to finish sixth at the Virginia Challenge.
Moore has continued to improve over the course of the season, posting personal-bests in the 800-meter, 1,500-meter, and 3,000-meter runs during the 2018 outdoor season. She will compete in both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter this weekend.
Live results of the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational will be provided. Redbird fans can follow live action of the meet on Twitter via @Redbird_TrackXC.
Full coverage will also be available on GoRedbirds.com following each day of competition.
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