Jan. 12, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
After spending the past month out of action due to the end of the fall semester and the holiday season, the Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will be returning to competition when they participate in an indoor dual meet Saturday at Indiana State. The meet will start at 12:30 p.m. EST at Rose-Hulman in Terre Haute, Ind.
The men's and women's track and field teams began their 2006-07 season with outstanding individual performances at last month's Redbird Open, as three Redbirds were named Missouri Valley Conference Athletes of the Week by the league office. Junior Devon Williams, junior Jeremy Johnson and junior Alex Straughn all took home first-place finishes at the event hosted by the Redbirds at Horton Field House.
Since the team has returned to campus to prepare for the upcoming indoor season, head coach Elvis Forde has been stressing the importance of maintaining proper technique, as well as high levels of fitness in order to be successful during the course of the indoor season.
"We have been working with the athletes, stressing the importance of technique," said Forde. "We want our kids to remain patient, focused and pay attention to detail. It is also important for our athletes to pay attention to nutrition, to make sure they are getting enough rest and put in enough effort in the training sessions, so which will build a higher confidence level so that we can get better each week during the course of the indoor season."
Last season, the Redbirds hosted the Sycamores in a dual meet held at Horton Field House, with the men's team claiming the victory by scoring 80 points compared to Indiana State's 67 points. However, the Redbird women's team (67) fell nine points short, as Indiana State scored 76 points.
While there are expectations that the Redbirds will be able to bring home victories on both sides, Forde feels that it is more important that the student-athletes leave the meet without sustaining any injuries.
"I'm looking to make it through the meet without any injuries," said Forde. "We will make sure that the athletes properly stretch so that we can guard against that. With a lot of returning members to this year's team, they know what to expect and what to do during the break in preparation for the bulk of the indoor season. They know the expectations to maintain a level of fitness so that they are ready to compete once the season begins."
The Redbirds will host the Redbird Invitational on Saturday, January 20th, at Horton Field House. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
