NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams split squads this weekend, as Ashley England, Cody Baele, Jesse Hahne and Tyler Morse head to California, while the rest of the team will compete in the Big Blue Classic hosted by Eastern Illinois University.
The crew that is heading to California will be competing at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival Friday, March 31. England and Baele will be running the 10,000-meter run, which will start at 10:30 a.m. CT for the women and 11:55 a.m. CT for the men. Hahne and Morse will be running the 5,000-meter run, which is set to start at 5:51 p.m. CT.
The Big Blue Classic is a two day meet that is set to begin Friday, March 31 at 1 p.m. CT with the men's hammer throw. Running events will start on Friday at 5:30 p.m. with the women's 5,000-meter run. Competition will resume on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. with the women's discus throw.
Illinois State had a strong outdoor-season opener at the Joe Walker Invitational. They came away with six total events wins for the weekend and seven nationally ranked marks.
Derrius Rodgers started his outdoor season right where he left off his indoor season, as he ran an impressive 200-meter dash. Rodgers captured the event with a time at 20.89. His time is leading the Missouri Valley Conference, is ranked 13th in the national and is seventh on the NCAA Division I West Qualifying list.
Jack Anstey also had impressive performances in the 800- and 1,500-meter run. Anstey won the 1,500-meter run with a time at 3:49.12. His time is ranked second in the MVC, 14th on the west qualifying list and 32nd in the nation. He also placed third in the 800-meter at the Joe Walker Invite with a time of 1:52.07.
Grace Beattie and Lindsey Lewis had standout performances in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Joe Walker Invite. The duo where able to finished first and second with times at 10:48.04 and 10:58.52, respectively. Beattie is leading the Missouri Valley Conference, followed by Lewis in a close second. Beattie also is ranked 10th on the west qualifying list and 20th in the nation. Lewis's time is No. 18 on the west qualifying list and 40th in the nation.
There is no surprise that the women's 4x400-meter relay dominated their season opener. Ally Christiani, D'Jenne Egharevba, Amanda McClain and Ashleigh Wilson won the 4x400-meter relay with a time at 3:41.90, which is leading the MVC. Their time is also ranked 10th in the west and 18th in the nation.
McClain also had a stellar performance in the women's long jump to open her outdoor season. She won the event with a leap at 5.90m (19-04.25), which is leading the MVC. Her mark is also ranked 15th in the west and 41st in the nation.
Francis Ehigbai also had an impressive season opener in the men's high jump. Ehigbai cleared a height at 2.06m (6-09.00), which is ranked second in the MVC. His mark is also ranked 18th on the west qualifying list and 40th in the nation.
Fans can follow along with the action on Twitter @Redbird_TrackXC, or live results at Big Blue Classic at http://sidearmstats.com/eiu/track/ and San Francisco State Distance Carnival at http://timerhub.com/get_web_index.php?page=redcaptiming.com/2017/sfdistance/.
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