After nearly two weeks without a team competition, the Illinois State track and field teams are looking forward to getting back into competition mode as the Redbirds travel to Ames, Iowa, to compete in the Iowa State Invitational.
According to head coach Elvis Forde, the quality of athletes and the level of competition at the invite, which runs Friday through Saturday, Feb. 14-15, is what makes this meet one of a greater magnitude.
The level of competition, seeing conference rivals and the magnitude of this event are all factors that will make this one of the best meets we will compete in this year, Forde said. One thing I hope this weekend does,is bring out the best in us because we will have to raise our competitive level to compete against the athletes that will be represented at this meet.
The Redbirds havent competed as a team on the road since traveling to the Northern Iowa Invitational on Jan. 25 and their last team meet was at Horton Field House on Jan. 31 for the Redbird Open. With a few weeks of preparation, Forde knows his team is more prepared.
We had more time to prepare for this meet, Forde said. That is exactly what we needed. When the indoor season started we came right back from semester break and were competing and now, with time to heal from injuries and train hard, we are looking forward to a much better performance from our team.
The facility that this event is in is much bigger and a more conducive facility to track and field, Forde added. So I know we will be faster than we have been in meets in the past and again, the magnitude of the event mixed with the number of schools that are competing should make our athletes want to perform at another level; the level of their competition.
On Friday, the womens weight throw gets underway at 3:30 p.m. and the days events are concluded at 6:30 p.m. with the mens 200 meter dash. On Saturday, the mens 3,000 meter run starts at 10 a.m. while the jumps and mens pole vault proceed at 11:30 a.m. At noon, the womens first-round 60-meter hurdles start the running events for the day and the meet concludes at 6:40 p.m. with the mens 4x400 meter relay.
