After claiming the 2000 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship, the Illinois State womens track and field team looks to claim its sixth conference championship and the mens team looks to win its fifth at the MVC Outdoor Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., May 16-19. The mens team has been picked to finish fourth in the MVC Coaches pre-championship poll, while the womens team has been tabbed to place third.
The Redbirds are coming off third place finishes at the Musco Twilight Invitational on May 5 at Iowa. All-American Christian Goy set a meet record in the mens 1,500 meters, with a time of 3:47.63, while Kathrine Nielsen tied a meet record in the womens high jump with a leap of 5 8 1/2 to take second place.
We took a nice two week break to prepare, head coach Jeff Pigg said. Finals are always a variable. We gave people some time off to take care of tests, moving, graduation and all the things that this time of year brings. I just like to give the student-athletes a week off to worry about the personal stuff and then get them back and focused on track. Its a rest period that gives everybody a chance to be emotionally and menatally refreshed and ready to compete.
Illinois State looks to benefit from some much needed rest this week in the always competitive MVC championship. Last season the womens team set a new standard, tallying a meet record 170 points en route to the fifth MVC outdoor title in program history and first since 1997.
We cant control what anyone else does, Pigg said. We cant look at what we dont have as a team, I look at what we do have and thats a solid team. The main thing is to go and compete hard.
The men finished third last season at the outdoor championships in Wichita, Kan. Goy will be looking to win the 1,500 meters for the third time in his career, as the junior looks to become just the sixth MVC athlete to win three 1,500 meter titles in a career.
Competition began at 11 a.m., on Wednesday May 16 in Terre haute, Ind., with the heptathalon and decathalon.
