NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State's Kyle Mattes is set to compete in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Saturday, hosted by Louisville, at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The men's 10K is slated to start at 10:45 a.m. CT.
The junior from Elmhurst, Illinois, earned the final individual NCAA Championships qualifying spot out of the Midwest Region after placing seventh overall at last weekend's NCAA Midwest Regional. In doing so, Mattes became the first Redbird to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships since Christian Goy did so in 2002. He is also the first to garner All-Region Honors since Ryan Rutherford accomplished the feat in 2013 and 2014.
This season, Mattes received All-Valley honors for the third-consecutive season after finishing third at the 2017 MVC Championships, marking his highest championship-finish to date. He became only the third Redbird in ISU history to earn All-Conference accolades as a freshman, sophomore, and junior.
Mattes was also one of only three MVC student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships. He is joined by Bradley's Jake Hoffert and Taylor Floyd Mews.
Saturday's race at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park will mark the second time that Mattes has competed on the championship course this season. On Sept. 30, Mattes posted a season-best 8K time of 24:29.58 during the Greater Louisville Classic. For his performance, Mattes was named the MVC's Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week following the competition. While the race this time will be a 10K, Mattes will look to build on his strong performance from earlier in the season.
Fans can watch the live stream of the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships as FloTrack Pro subscribers for a monthly price of $19.99 of an annual price of $150. Coverage of the championships will be available starting at 9:30 a.m. CT until the conclusion of the awards ceremony, Saturday, November 18, and can be accessed at www.FloTrack.com.
Live results of the race will be available on NCAA.com, as well as on Twitter via @Redbird_TrackXC. Full coverage will be available on GoRedbirds.com following the conclusion of the race.
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