NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams have released their schedule for the 2017 campaign. In addition to one home meet, the schedule features seven competitions, all leading up to NCAA Championships in November.
Last season, the Redbirds had two student-athletes earn All-Valley accolades, in addition to one being named an Honorable Mention honoree. On the women's side, Ariel Michalek was the MVC runner-up for the second year in a row, closing out her collegiate cross country career on a high note. For the men, Kyle Mattes finished fourth after being named the MVC Cross Country Freshman of the Year in 2015. Jeff Bajema also posted a solid performance, placing 11th and receiving All-MVC Honorable Mention status for the second consecutive season.
This year, the men's and women's cross country teams will utilize a challenging schedule to build on their fourth and fifth place MVC Championship finishes, respectively. They are guided by Jeff Bovee, who enters his fourth season as the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country and his 12th season as the head coach of both cross country programs. He is joined by first-year assistant coach Jon-Michael Brandt.
The 2017 schedule gets underway on September 1 when the Redbirds travel to Iowa to compete in the Hawkeye Invitational. The following week, Illinois State hosts its annual Illinois State Invite on Friday, September 8 starting at 5:00 p.m. CT.
After taking a two-week break from competition, the Redbirds get the opportunity to preview the 2017 NCAA Championships course, as they travel to Louisville, Kentucky, on September 30 to compete in the Greater Louisville Classic. Other meets that have been added to the ISU schedule include the Bradley Classic (Oct. 13) and the Illini Open (Oct. 20), which closes out the regular season.
The Redbirds will look to have their best showing of the season yet on Saturday, October 28 at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, hosted by Missouri State University. Two weeks later, Illinois State will travel to Ames, Iowa, to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday, November 10.
From the regional race, the top-two teams and the four-fastest individual finishers that are not attached to either of the two qualifying teams will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. They will take place on November 18 in Louisville, Kentucky.
For a complete 2017 schedule, click here.
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