NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in the NCAA Division I Midwest Regional Friday, hosted by Iowa State, in Ames, Iowa. The women's 6K is slated to start at 10:45 a.m., with the men's 10K following at 11:45 a.m.
The 2017 Midwest Regional will feature the top Division I programs from the following states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Each team will declare seven male and female runners to compete. The top-two teams and top-four individuals outside of the first and second place teams receive an automatic bid to next week's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship. Thirteen additional teams and two additional athletes per gender from across the nation will receive at-large bids to compete in the championships as well.
On the men's side, All-Valley honoree Kyle Mattes will look to earn All-Region honors and qualify for the NCAA Championships, after placing third at the MVC Championships. He will attempt to be the first Redbird to place in the top-25 and earn All-Region honors since Ryan Rutherford did so in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014.
Mattes and the ISU men's squad will be competing in a field of teams which includes the Big 12 Champion (Iowa State), American Conference Champion (Tulsa), Summit League Champion (South Dakota State), and MVC Champion (Bradley). Perennial powerhouses Oklahoma State, Illinois, and Minnesota will come out ready to compete as well.
The Redbird women will rely heavily on sophomore Grace Beattie and senior Erica Brown, as they face the Big 12 Champion (Iowa State), Summit League Champion (South Dakota) and MVC Champion (Bradley). Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and Missouri also highlight the women's field.
Beattie, who placed 18th at the MVC Championships and received Valley Scholar-Athlete honors, recorded a 34-second personal-record in her last 6K at the Bradley Classic. She will look to post another 6K personal-best this week. Brown will carry her personal-record setting performance at MVC Championships into the regional competition Friday.
Live action of the race can be followed on Twitter via @Redbird_TrackXC. Full coverage will be available on GoRedbirds.com following the conclusion of the meet.
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