CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Illinois State men's and women's track and field squads head west to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the 2014-15 Missouri Valley Conference Championships, the final event of the 2014-15 indoor track and field season.
The meet will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 with the women's pentathlon. Field events get underway at 1:15 p.m. with the women's weight throw with track events kicking off at 3 p.m. with the 60 meter hurdle prelims.
The Indiana State men and Wichita State women are the favorites for this weekend's Valley Championships in a vote by the league coaches. Illinois State was picked to finish sixth in both the men's and women's fields by the coaches.
In his first year as director of track and field and cross country, Jeff Bovee will look for his first Missouri Valley Conference track and field title, as the acclaimed coach currently boasts two Missouri Valley Conference Championships in cross country (2011, 2012) since his ISU career began in 2006. Bovee has coached the distance crew to 97 All-Valley performances, including 19 Missouri Valley Conference individual championships.
The last time ISU has captured a title in track and field was in 1999 for the men and 1997 for the women under head coach John Coughlan.
Leading the women, will be standout thrower Jianna Williams. Williams has recorded multiple personal-best marks this season, including a 20.28 meters (66-06.50) throw at the Meyo Invitational that puts her in the No. 3 spot on the Valley best list. Williams currently sits in the No. 20 spot on the NCAA leaderboard, looking to move up in the top-16 to advance to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Williams will also look to earn All-Valley accolades in the shot put, as she currently sits in the No. 4 spot on the Valley leaderboard with a best mark of 16.17 meters (53-00.75), earned at the GVSU Big Meet.
Also excelling for the women is Kelly McShea. McShea holds the No. 2 spot on the 2014-15 MVC best list in the 3,000-meter race with a personal-best time of 9:37.97. She sits right behind UNI's Alex Wilson who clocked 9:29.52.
Sarah Mussallem will look to captain the Redbird sprinters, holding a personal-best 400-meter time of 56.31 set at the Meyo Invitational. She holds the No. 8 best time in the Valley. Mussallem will be joined in the 200-meter race by freshman Katelyn Hill who currently holds the fifth-best 200-meter time of 24.50 in the MVC. Hill will also look to earn All-Valley honors in her signature event, the 60-meter hurdles.
The women's distance medley relay team will look to earn the fourth title for Illinois State in a five-year span and the women's 4x400-meter relay will look to claim All-Valley honors, as they currently hold the No. 2 best time in the Valley at 3:46.00.
Leading the men, will be Chase Pavelonis. Pavelonis has broken the Illinois State pole vault record four times this indoor season. He surpassed the 17-foot barrier last weekend at the Illinois Orange and Blue open with a jump of 17-01.75 and with that jump, he currently holds the best mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. Pavelonis earned All-Valley accolades with a third-place finish at the 2013-14 championships, but will look to finish with a first-place medal this weekend.
In the sprints, Anderson Devonish and Antonio Farley will look for a 1-2 finish in the 400-meter race, as they both currently sit in the top-three on the Valley leaderboard. Devonish leads the MVC with a personal-best 400-meter time of 47.40 set at the Meyo Invitational, while Farley sits in third with a personal-best time of 48.27 also set at the Meyo Invitational. The dynamic duo will also look to lead their 4x400-meter relay team to a first-place crown.
Tyler Morse looks to contend for the 5,000-meter title, as he currently holds the third-best Valley time of 14:18.55 set at the GVSU Big Meet. Morse also sits in the No. 8 spot for the 3K on the MVC leaderboard with a time of 8:19.00.
The men's 800-meter will feature five Illinois State middle distance runners, including Tyler Rippel and JD LaFayette who both currently hold top-10 MVC times and will look for All-Valley accolades this weekend.
The meet will be featured live on ESPN3 on Saturday and Sunday. ESPN3 will air live at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. for the finals on Sunday.
Redbird fans can follow along with Illinois State track and field on Twitter @ISU_Track_XC or following the meet at www.GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
