NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams travel to one of the largest track and field meets in the country on Friday, as Grand Valley State host the 2016 Big Meet inside the Kelly Family Center. A select few student-athletes will travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the Iowa State Classic.
The Big Meet is set to begin at 10 a.m. with the men's 5,000-meter run, while the field events are set to start at 2 p.m.
Anderson Devonish, JD LaFayette, Kelly McShea, and Ryan Rutherford will compete in the Iowa State Classic. McShea and Rutherford will compete on Friday in the 3,000-meter run and the 5,000-meter run, respectively. Devonish and LaFayette are set to compete on Saturday in the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter run. FloTrack.com will be broadcasting live at the Iowa State Classic, and the broadcast will be available to only FloPro subscribers.
 Â
The Redbirds are coming off a spectacular weekend where the men's track and field team climbed the Midwest Regional ranking to the No. 9 spot. The men's team has not been in the top-10 for the past five years. Devonish led the male sprinters as he captured a new personal-best 400-meter dash time of 46.83. He is also leading the Missouri Valley Conference. Freshman sprinter, Shandall Thomas also made a statement as he advance to the final round in the 60-meter dash, and finished second with a time of 6.74.
Other strong performances came from Rutherford as he posted a new personal-best in his season debut of the men's 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:04.74. His time is leading the Valley by a whole four seconds. He looks to continue his success this weekend in the men's 5,000-meter run.
On the women's side, freshman Amanda McClain posted an impressive effort in the 400-meter dash, as she ran a new personal-best with a time of 56.03. McClain is currently leading the Missouri Valley in the women's 400-meter dash. Ashleigh Wilson and Ally Christiani also captured personal-best times in the 400-meter dash. Â
Kaitlyn Pearson posted a great effort in the women's 200-meter dash as she won her heat with a time of 24.82. Rayanne Wright improved her time in the women's 600-meter run with a time of 1:34.19. In the 800-meter, Jackie Mink captured a spot on the ISU all-time best list with a time of 2:10.90, which is ranked sixth in school history.
The 4x400-meter relay teams had great success at the Meyo Invite as both the men and women captured a spot on the all-time best list. Chiristiani, McClain, Wilson, and Sarah Mussallem posted a time of 3:43.92, which is leading the Valley and is ranked third on the all-time best list. Antonio Farley, CJ Hamilton, Jalen Lewis and Devonish are ranked third on the all-time best list with a time of 3:14.74.
Fans can follow along with the action via Twitter @Redbird_TrackXC, or go to GoRedbird.com for the full coverage following the conclusion of the meet.
GoRedbirds.com:Â Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
