NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's track & field teams begin the 2017-18 indoor season Friday, Dec. 8 when they travel to Charleston, Illinois, to compete in the EIU Early Bird meet. Field events are slated to start at 2 p.m., with the track events following at 4 p.m.
The ISU women, who are the 2017-18 indoor Valley favorites, are coming off of a 2016-17 campaign where they were the MVC indoor and outdoor runner-up. The Redbird men will look to make a championship run as well after being picked second in the MVC pre-season polls.
There will be many faces to watch this season, as the 'Birds return an abundance of talent across the board.
Sprints
Derrius Rodgers – A 2017 NCAA Second-Team All-American in the 60m dash, Rodgers is also the reigning MVC indoor and outdoor Freshman of the Year.
D'Jenne Egharevba – Egharevba, who was the MVC Champion in the 200m dash during the 2017 indoor season, is coming off of a freshman campaign where she was named the MVC indoor and outdoor Freshman of the Year.
Hurdles
Jaylan McConico – As a freshman, McConico posted the second-fastest 60m hurdles time (8.01) in Illinois State history. Additionally, in the outdoor season, he qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary round in the 110m hurdles.
Demetria Anderson – Anderson finished fourth in the 60m hurdles at the 2017 MVC Indoor Championships, tying ISU's school record (8.46) in the process. She also shattered Illinois State's 30-year-old 100m hurdles record during the outdoor season, posting a time of 13.56.
Distance
Kyle Mattes – Mattes, who received All-Conference honors in the 5,000m run during the 2017 indoor season, is coming off of a cross country campaign where he qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Dakota Roman – Roman is coming off of a solid cross country season where she posted the 10th-fastest 6K time in ISU history at the NCAA Midwest Regionals.
Jumps
Anthony McRoberts – As a freshman, McRoberts cracked ISU's indoor top-10 list in the long jump, also making the outdoor top-10 list in the triple jump, high jump, and long jump. He also earned All-MVC honors in the high jump after placing second at the 2017 Indoor Championships.
Amanda McClain – A standout for ISU during her first two years as a Redbird, McClain will look to add to an already-decorated resume, which includes three MVC long jump titles, two MVC 400m titles, and Illinois State's indoor long jump record (20-03.00).
Multi
James Brandenburg – In 2017, Brandenburg not only received All-MVC honors in the heptathlon and decathlon, but also established a new Redbird record of 5,185 points in the heptathlon.
Throws
Brandy Thomas – Thomas is the reigning 2017 MVC outdoor shot put champion, ranking sixth in the event on ISU's indoor top-ten list and fourth on the outdoor list.
Action of the meet 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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