Oct. 24, 2007
ST. LOUIS -
With the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships set to take place in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Saturday the league office has announced The Valley's Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll team standings. The Illinois State men's cross country team was picked second, while the women's team was picked to finish third.
Illinois State head coach Jeff Bovee and his men's and women's cross country teams have surpassed their preseason ranking of finishing fifth (men) and fourth (women).
"I think that these rankings show that we have come a long way," said Bovee. "If you look at where we finished a year ago, with the same group of guys leading the team--Mike (Richardson), Scott (Krapf) and Jordan Anderson-- it is the same three guys with a few others (this year).
"On the women's side, we have Suzy (Turner), Kim (Ebbesen) and Kathleen (Thompson). They have been our top-three all year and they have been leading the way with a new, young cast of characters behind them, as well. I think that the progress that we have made, and the pre-championship rankings, proves that the program is heading in the right direction. We are excited to go out and compete this weekend and see how much progress we were able to make in one year."
The Illinois State men's cross country team, picked to finish second at The Valley Championships, has improved throughout the season. The Redbirds finished in eighth place at the MVC Championships a year ago, but with the strength of a strong freshman and sophomore class, ISU holds three of the top-10 times recorded in The Valley this season over 8K. The Redbirds return the top-three finishers from 2006.
Improved team depth has supplemented 2006 top-finisher Mike Richardson (25th), as three Redbirds-- Scott Krapf, Matt Mroczynski, and Jordan Anderson --have posted sub-25-minute 8K times.
On the men's side Southern Illinois was picked as the team to beat coming in first with 80 points, followed by Illinois State (67 points). The defending champion Indiana State will look for their fourth consecutive championship, but is currently third in the polls with 63 points. Rounding out the men's polls were Drake (60), Wichita State (41), Creighton (32), Bradley (30), University of Northern Iowa (21) and Evansville (11).
The Redbird women also improved from their original preseason ranking, as they were picked to finish third in the pre-championship poll with 83 points, one sport ahead of their preseason placing.
The women have a young squad that is led by senior captain Suzy Turner. Over the course of the season; the team has posted seven runners with times under the 19-minute mark. Just 44 seconds separate the Redbirds' top time of the season, 18:14 by Turner, and their No. 7 runner (18:58).
In the women's poll, the three top spots span just a 14-point difference, with Wichita State picked as the favorite to win with 97 points. Missouri State came in second with 88 points, followed closely by Illinois State (83). Coming in at fourth and fifth were Northern Iowa (66) and Southern Illinois (64). Drake (47), Indiana State (42), Bradley (26), Creighton (23) and Evansville (14) round out the women's cross country teams in the coaches' poll.
The 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Northern Iowa will play host to the MVC Cross Country Championships. The men's 8K will kick off at 10:30 a.m., and the women's 5K race will follow at 11:30 a.m.
