The 2005 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships are just two weeks away, and the Redbirds enter the final week of competition before embarking on Cedar Falls, Iowa for the most important meet of the season.
Head coach Elvis Forde took a select group of athletes to Des Moines, Iowa Wednesday for the Drake Relays. Thursdays events concluded for the Redbirds with Lauren Maul finishing third in the heptathlon with 5,131 points, while Brittney Hourd placed 14th with 4,654 points respectively. Laura Kennedy was a 15th place finisher in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:10.31.
Fridays competition will include Dan Tripp in the 1,500, Bronco Meeks in the 800, as well as the mens 4x800 relay. The womens side includes Redbird athletes in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400.
The Drake Relays are a very good test against some of the best competition in the country, Forde said. This is going to be a great experience for everyone.
The rest of the Illinois State squad will host the Redbird Invitational Saturday at the Redbird Outdoor Track and Field facility, located on the north side of Horton Field House. Field events get underway at 9 a.m., while the running events start at 11:30 a.m.
The Redbird Invitational will consist of several teams whose athletes did not qualify for the Drake Relays.
Were going to host quite a few schools this weekend, Forde said. Its becoming a lot bigger than what I expected, but its still going to be a good meet because a lot of athletes will have the chance to compete.
On the mens side, throwers Brian Krantz and Rhett Hillard will stay home this weekend as they look to continue their dominance in the hammer and shot put respectively. In addition to the Drake Relays, Maul and Hourd will also participate in competition at home this weekend.
This is going to be an important weekend of competition, Forde said. We want to take this time to get ready for the conference championships and maybe hit some regional marks in the process.
