NORMAL, Ill. – The Redbird cross country teams head west on I-74 to Peoria, Illinois, to compete in the Midwest Regional Friday, Nov. 14, at the Newman Golf Course.
The women's 6,000-meter race is slated for a 12 p.m. start time, while the men will follow with a 10K start time of 1 p.m.
The women are currently ranked ninth in the competitive Midwest region with Missouri Valley Conference rival Bradley coming in at No. 3. Big 12 champion Iowa State currently sits atop the women's Midwest regional leaderboard, while the Big Ten's Minnesota holds the second slot.
The Redbird men currently sit in the No. 12 position of the Midwest regional ranking. Big 12 champion Oklahoma State sits atop the current poll, while Tulsa holds the second slot.
Ryan Rutherford will look to be the first Redbird male to earn back-to-back All-Region honors by placing in the top-25 at the regional meet. In 2013, Rutherford finished 20th, narrowly missing a trip to the NCAA Championships with a 10K time of 30:54.2. Last time at the Newman Golf Course, the senior standout captured a first-place victory with an 8,000-meter time of 24:21.6.
Dave Eckhart and Tyler Morse look to be the 2-3 finishers for the Redbird men's squad, as the duo recently captured honorable mention All-Valley honors for their 12th and 13th-place finishes, respectively, at the MVC meet with times of 24:39 and 24:44.
Coming back from an injury, Jeff Bajema was the No. 4 runner for the Redbirds at the Valley meet, and the sophomore looks to make an impact at the regional meet. Fellow sophomore Marcelo Burbano was the last point-scorer for the ISU team at the Missouri Valley meet, finishing with an 8K time of 25:39.
Kelly McShea led the Redbird women two weeks ago, earning All-Valley honors with a third-place finish and a 38-second personal-best performance. McShea ran to a 5K time of 17:10. Kim Christensen and Ariel Michalek also notched All-Valley honors for their eighth and ninth-place finishes. Christensen will look to make a statement at her senior regional meet, finishing 36th in 2013 with a personal-best 6,000-meter time of 21:24.3.
Haley Goers and Kimi Sanden finished 4-5 for the Redbird women and will look to round out the scoring lineup for ISU this Friday. Goers narrowly missed honorable mention All-Valley honors, as the redshirt junior finished 16th at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships with a 5K time of 17:43.
The last time a Redbird women earned All-Region honors was in 2012 when Rachael Brewer finished 19th with a time of 21:22.
Fans can follow along with the action on Twitter at @ISU_Track_XC or following the conclusion of the race on www.GoRedbirds.com.
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