The Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships are less than two weeks away, and Illinois State has one more hurdle to jump before embarking on a conference title run.
The Redbirds will travel to Iowa City, Iowa Saturday night for the Musco Twilight Invitational. Field events begin at 3 p.m., while running events start at 3:30 p.m.
Head coach Elvis Forde knows that this meet is the final opportunity to prepare for competition before the two-week preparation starts for the championships.
Were going to work the athletes a little harder this week, because we know that this is our last chance before the conference championships, Forde said. Come the Monday before the conference meet, we should be ready to go and there should be nothing but mental preparation from that point on.
Forde feels that having a week off in between meets allows the coaching staff to work with athletes on the little things.
I generally like to have that week off so that we can work on technical things and mental preparation, Forde said. Its a choice that most track coaches make.
Illinois State took part in the Drake Relays last weekend and came away with a regional qualifying time. The womens 4x400-meter relay team of Lindsey Arnold, Cherise Devers, Lian Lucas and Andrea Mosher qualified for regionals with a time of 3:43.02. Mosher also ran a season-best in the 400 hurdles, finishing with a time of 59.63.
Andrea made it to the NCAA Championships last year and thats a big accomplishment, Forde said. When you can be narrowed down to the top 25 or 30 in the country in your event, youre in a very elite class. Shes not 100 percent healthy, but I think Andrea is accomplishing things right now basically on will and guts.
On the mens side, Miklos Konkoly is coming off a third place showing in the 800 (1:51.71), while Jeremy Doherty placed third in the 1,500 (3:50.63).
There are some kids you dont worry about and Jeremy is one of them, Forde said. Week in and week out the coaches know what Jeremy is going to give us. Hell always give that all out effort.
