NORMAL, Ill. – The Redbird men's and women's track & field teams will remain close to home this weekend, as they travel to Champaign, Illinois, to compete in the Illini Classic, hosted by Illinois. The two-day meet will begin Friday, Jan. 25, with action wrapping up on Saturday, Jan. 26.
MEET INFORMATION
The Illini Classic will be held at the U of I Armory. Friday's slate will be devoted solely to the multi-events and will include four of the seven heptathlon events (60-meter, long jump, shot put, and high jump), as well as the full pentathlon competition. The heptathlon is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., with the pentathlon getting underway at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday will be a full day of competition, starting with the women's pole vault at 9 a.m. The remainder of the heptathlon competition (60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000-meter run) will commence at 10:30 a.m. Running events will be held in two sessions over the course of the day, with the Blue Session starting at 11:40 a.m., and the Orange Session following at 3 p.m.
Admission to the meet is free of charge. For fans who cannot be in attendance, live results will be provided on www.fightingillini.com/track/livestats. Real-time results will also be posted on the @Redbird_TrackXC Twitter page and on GoRedbirds.com following the conclusion of the meet.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
In addition to the Redbirds and host Illini, this weekend's meet will feature competitors from DePaul, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana State, IUPUI, Louisville, Milwaukee, SIUE, and Western Illinois. With a mix of new opponents and familiar faces, the field at the Illini Classic will be sure to push the Redbirds to their full potential
FACES TO WATCH
In their last outing at the Notre Dame Invitational, the Redbirds excelled across the board, posting eight individual event wins and 15 ISU all-time top-10 performances. The following student-athletes won their respective events at last weekend's meet and will be back in action Saturday: Jack Anstey, Logan Calvin, Kimathi Johnson, Ben Montgomery, Luke Nelson, Kameesha Smith, and Brandy Thomas.
Freshman Rachel Hickey will also return to the track Saturday after breaking the 1,000-meter school record at last weekend's meet. Hickey will race in her first collegiate 800-meter and has her sights set on an ISU all-time top-10 performance.
This weekend's meet will be the first showing for ISU's multi-event student-athletes as well. James Brandenburg, Jordan Wilkerson, and Caleb Miedema will compete in the heptathlon, while Tessa Holland, Jordyn Bruce, Ashlee Stieler, and Olivia Rossman will compete in the pentathlon.
Brandenburg is back and ready for more after breaking the ISU heptathlon school record in 2018 and being crowned the MVC's heptathlon and decathlon champion. Wilkerson has improved immensely in the off-season and is coming off a pole vault performance in which he cleared over 14 feet for the first time of his career. Miedema will be competing in his first-ever heptathlon.
Holland will take on the pentathlon for the first time since winning the 2018 MVC Championship in the event and breaking the ISU school record. Bruce and Stieler provide experience to the ISU squad, having both scored in the event at last year's Valley Championship. Rossman will compete in the pentathlon for the first time of her career after converting from a high jumper in the off-season.
NEXT UP
The Redbird men's and women's track & field teams will be back in action on Feb. 1-2 when they return to South Bend, Indiana, for the Meyo Invite, hosted by Notre Dame.
For all the latest on Redbird Track & Field and Cross Country, visit GoRedbirds.com and follow the 'Birds on Twitter (@Redbird_TrackXC) and Facebook (@redbirdsTF).Â
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