Nov. 13, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Coming off a strong finish at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships (Nov. 1), the Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams head to Stillwater, Okla., Saturday to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, at the OSU Cross Country Course.
The NCAA Midwest Regional Championship, hosted by Oklahoma State, will assemble 28 men's squads and 31 women's teams. The Midwest Region is comprised of nine states, representing NCAA Division I schools from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The Redbird men's and women's cross country teams enter Saturday's contest ranked No. 8 and 12, respectively, in the NCAA Division I Midwest Regional Rankings, as voted on by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
"Looking at the teams, the men are seeded eighth and the women 12th, and we would like to finish at our pre-regional ranking or better," said Illinois State head coach Jeff Bovee. "If everything goes well, we are hoping the women finish in the top-10 and the men in the top-six.
"Our main goal is to put out the same effort that we put out at conference. If we can do that, I would feel good about our performance. There is so much parity at the regional meet, and being a 6K race for the women and a 10K (race) for the guys, which it is the first time the guys have run a 10K all year and only the second time the women have raced a 6K, we are going to need a great emotional and intense effort."
Competing on Saturday for the Redbird men will be senior Mike Richardson; junior Scott Krapf; sophomores Matt Mroczynski, John Navarro, Jim Link and Jon Roberts, and freshman Rich Eber.
"On the men's side, we want to get our first National qualifier in quite a few years. Our regional is the toughest it has been in the past three years that I have been here. We have four teams on the men's side that should get out and qualify for the NCAA National meet, and all four rank nationally, and those schools are Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Tulsa and Iowa State."
On the women's side, All-Missouri Valley Conference finisher Michelle Brunk will guide the Redbirds into competition. Also running at the regional championships will be senior Kathleen Thompson; junior Kim Ebbesen; sophomores Jess Husted, Olivia Myers, Kirsten Lang and Sarah Glowacki; and freshman Aisha Praught.
The women's 6K race is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 10K at 11:45 a.m., at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla.
