NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will look to divide and conquer this week, with several student-athletes set to compete in the Drake Relays on Thursday and the majority of the Redbird squad ready to make an impact at Louisville's Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
DRAKE RELAYS MEET INFORMATION
The Drake Relays await Illinois State distance standouts Grace Beattie, Kevin Koski, and Kyle Mattes, who will all be racing in the 5,000-meter at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday evening. Beattie will compete in the seeded section of the women's 5K at 7:53 p.m. CT. Koski will follow at 8:22 p.m. CT, racing in the unseeded men's 5,000-meter. Mattes will round out the night for the Redbirds, competing in the seeded 5K at 8:37 p.m. CT. Beattie, Koski, and Mattes will all be racing in their first 5,000-meter of the 2019 outdoor season, as they look to secure a top-ranked Valley time with the MVC Championships nearing closer.
For fans making the trip to Des Moines, a general admission ticket for Thursday is $10. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time on www.draketix.com/drakerelays. For fans who can't be in attendance, live results will be provided (click here). A live stream of the meet will also be available on USATF.TV. Viewers must have a USATF.TV +PLUS subscription to access the content.
LENNY LYLES-CLARK WOOD INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION
The bulk of the Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational, hosted by Louisville, on April 26-27. Action will get underway on Friday at 1 p.m. CT with the unseeded sections of the women's hammer and men's shot put. Running events will follow at 3:30 p.m. CT with the women's 100-meter hurdle prelims.
The meet will resume on Saturday at 8 a.m. CT with the women's javelin. Track events will start at 11 a.m. CT with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. For fans who wish to follow along, live results will be provided, and the link will be available later this week. Real-time results are also available on Twitter via @Redbird_TrackXC and on GoRedbirds.com following each day of competition.
LAST TIME OUT
At last weekend's Pacesetter Sports Invitational, hosted by Indiana State, the Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams poured it on, tallying 11 individual event-wins to propel both the Redbird men and women to victory.
The Redbird women were led by reigning MVC Female Field Athlete of the Week, Kameesha Smith, who had a breakthrough performance in the women's high jump. Not only did Smith win the event, but she cleared a personal-best 1.78m (5-10.00), a mark which is currently tops in the Valley. It also ranks fourth all-time in ISU history and 13th in the NCAA West Region.
The Illinois State men were led by Kellen Kravik, who cleared an outdoor personal-record 5.10m (16-08.75) in a jump-off to win the men's pole vault. Kravik's clearance, which tied his lifetime personal-best, improved him to sixth all-time in Redbird track and field history. Kravik has now cleared the top bar in the Valley so far this season and currently ranks 35th in the NCAA West Region.
NEXT UP
The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will have their final tune-up before the 2019 MVC Outdoor Championships when they travel to Madison, Wisconsin, for the Wisconsin Invitational on May 3.
For all the latest on Redbird Track & Field and Cross Country, visit GoRedbirds.com and follow the 'Birds on Twitter (@Redbird_TrackXC), Instagram (@redbird_trackxc) and Facebook (@redbirdsTF).Â
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