After sitting out last weeks meet at the Alabama Relays, the distance runners return to action this weekend as the Illinois State Track and Field teams compete at the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday and Sunday.
The Redbirds will send five athletes to Stanford, All-American miler Christian Goy, Peter Madsen, Mark Reed, Lars Juhl and Stacia Beste.
Were going west to find good weather and good competition, ISU head coach Jeff Pigg said. A lot of the NCAA field is set at meets like this.
ISU has benefited in the past from quick fields with Goy placing fourth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships which saw an unprecedented six runners post better than four minute mile times.
The distance runners just recovered from the indoor season and they are pretty fresh right now, Pigg said.
The sprinters and field athletes have the weekend off after a strong performance at the Alabama Relays last week.
After going to Alabama we need them to get back to training and to rejuvenate a little to get ready for the rest of the outdoor season, Pigg said. We got off to a nice start. The big thing now is to stay focused and keep working hard. We are right where we want to be.
Collegiate schools competing include defending NCAA men's champion Stanford, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Purdue, Missouri, LSU, Colorado State, Arkansas, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Tulane, Brigham Young, Georgetown, California, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, USC, Washington and Washington State
Action begins on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. After the Cardinal Invite, ISU returns to action next week at the Texas Relays, April 4-5, in Austin, Texas.
