With a season full of personal bests and outstanding performances behind them, the Illinois State cross country team now has a chance to compete against some of the nations best, as they participate in this weekends NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Okla. Oklahoma State University will serve as the host school.
Head coach Chris Bailey will send seven student-athletes to compete in Oklahoma, two men and five women. Competing for the men will be Jeremy Doherty and Walker Eye, while Diana Ainsley, Laura Kennedy, Jen Klostermann, Leah Smith and Lauren Ritt will compete for the women.
I think all of the runners were taking this weekend are ready for this race, both mentally and physically, said Bailey.
The Birds have had two weeks off to get ready for the regionals, coming off the Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet on November 1. The men tied for fourth at Conference, while the women ended up in third.
Our womens team came up a little short of their conference championship goal two weeks ago, so I expect them to race with a little more fire, and hopefully end the season on a high note, said Bailey.
Sending only two men, the Redbirds have no shot to win the team title, but Bailey believes Eye and Doherty will be contenders in Oklahoma.
Jeremy and Walker are both coming off lifetime best runs, added Bailey. I dont see any reason why they both wont finish near the front this weekend.
The top two teams will advance on to the NCAA Championships on November 24 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The top four competitors not competing for the top two teams will also advance on. The NCAA will then select at-large berths to compete in the championships.
