Redbirds Set To Compete In Texas At NCAA West Preliminary Round

AUSTIN, Texas – A group of nine Illinois State track and field standouts have flown south to Austin, Texas, as each hopes to compete well against some of the best student-athletes in the country at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Round, May 28-30.

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The University of Texas at Austin will serve as host of the three-day competition, which takes place at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The trio of Jianna Williams, Morgan Keller and Ariel Michalek will represent the women's team, while Anderson Devonish and Chase Pavelonis will represent the men's team as individuals.  Devonish will be joined by his teammates Antonio Farley, Jalen Lewis, CJ Hamilton and JD LaFayette (alternate) to compete in the 4x400 meter relay as well.

Illinois State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee is looking forward to seeing how his group will compete against some of the best in the country this weekend.

"Our group of nine has a great opportunity in front of it this weekend and our goal is to have several of our student-athletes advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in two weeks," Bovee said. "I think Andy in the 400-meters and Jianna in the shot put and hammer throw each have a great chance to move on based on their rankings coming into the meet.  Jianna was an NCAA Championship qualifier a year ago and knows what it takes to advance in this competition.  Andy is coming off a great weekend at the MVC Championships and has a good opportunity to lower his time and move on this weekend." 

Williams, who earned All-Valley honors in both the hammer throw and the shot put at the 2015 MVC Outdoor Track & Championships, heads into the competition No. 9 in the shot put and No. 11 in the hammer throw, and will be joined by Keller in the shot put competition in Texas.  The duo will be the first two Redbirds to compete this weekend, with the first round of the hammer throw competition set to start Thursday at 2 p.m.  

Devonish will follow on day one at 7:45 p.m., in the first round of the 400-meter dash. He was named the co-Most Valuable Athlete at the MVC Championships, after earning a total of 22 points and earning conference titles in the 400-meter dash and with his teammates in the 4x400-meter relay.  If he advances, he will compete again in the quarterfinal round Friday at 6:15 p.m. Michalek is also set to compete Friday in the 3000-meter steeplechase at 8:50 p.m.  Her time of 10:20.90 at the prestigious Stanford Invitational on April 3 ranks her No. 19 in the field heading into the meet.

On Saturday, Pavelonis will start the final day of action with the pole vault at Noon.  The 2015 MVC Indoor Champion posted the top mark in the Valley during the outdoor season with a vault of 17-01.00, which he set on his home track at the Redbird Invite on May 1.  Williams will also be back in action on the final day throwing the shot put at 6 p.m., and the 4x400-meter relay team will wrap up the competition at 9:45 p.m.

Athletes with the top 12 times/marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West prelims will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 10-13.

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