INDIANAPOLIS – Following an eighth place finish at yesterday's NCAA Division I Cross Country Midwest Regional, Illinois State senior Kyle Mattes has earned one of the region's four individual qualifying spots for the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championship, announced the NCAA Saturday in their inaugural NCAA Cross Country Selection Show.
With this outstanding accomplishment, Mattes has made history, becoming the first ISU men's student-athlete to qualify individually for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in back-to-back seasons. He is also only the second Redbird to qualify for the NCAA Championships twice, joining Tony Daniel who qualified as an individual in 1989 and as part of ISU's NCAA-qualifying team in 1990.
Mattes is now a two-time NCAA qualifier, two-time All-Midwest Region selection, and four-time All-MVC performer. He will go down as one of the most decorated cross country student-athletes in ISU cross country history, but he is not finished yet.
"Kyle is the definition of a championship racer," remarked Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee. "He always shows up when he needs to, and I think he has an even better race in him next week than what we saw from him yesterday."
Mattes will compete on the NCAA's biggest stage Saturday, Nov. 17, when he races in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, hosted by Wisconsin, in Madison, Wisconsin. More details regarding the NCAA Championships will be provided on GoRedbirds.com and on Twitter via @Redbird_TrackXC during the upcoming week.
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