NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams travels to Iowa City, Iowa to compete in the Hawkeye Early Bird Invitational at the Iowa Ashton Cross Country Course. The meet will kick off on Friday with the women's 3K starting at 6 p.m. and the men's 6K following at 6:30 p.m.
"Both teams are ready to compete on Friday after a long 3 months of logging the miles and running the trails solo," Illinois State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "They are hungry to kick the year off with a very strong competitive effort and learn a few things about themselves as individuals and as a team. Both units have done their homework well this off-season and I can't wait to see them in action for the first time."
The ISU women's cross country team was selected to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the men's were picked fourth in the pre-season coaches' polls. In the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) pre-season coaches' regional ranking poll the women's team are ranked 12th for the Midwest Region and the men's were ranked 10th.
Competing for the women's team will be seven returnees, which include Ashley England, Haley Goers, Kimi Sanden and Haley Verbeke. While Erica Brown, Rachel Devereux, Kennidi Knoblock, Lesly Rocha and Sarah Voss will be competing in their first meet as a Redbird.
Goers received honorable mention finishing 16th in the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Championships which was her personal-best 5K time.
On the men's side Skyler Arthur, Kyle Mattes and Ethan Kirk will make their Redbird debuts. Aidan Askin, Jeff Bajema, Ryan Bybee, Brendan Hoskins, J.D. LaFayette, Joe Singleton, Paul Steeno and Wes Ward will be the seven Redbird returners competing at Friday's meet.
Follow live action on Twitter via @ISURebirds or @Redbird_TrackXC, or go to www.GoRedbirds.com for full coverage, following the conclusion of the meet.
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