NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State track & field and cross country announced its 2018-19 season award winners on Thursday evening at the annual banquet celebrating the team's success over the last year.
Rachel Hickey and Matt Blanco were selected as the Newcomers of the Year for cross country.
On the women's side, Hickey was the only Redbird to earn All-MVC honors at last year's MVC Cross Country Championships, placing eighth and running a personal-best 5K time of 17:37.30. A native of Peru, Illinois, Hickey also competed at the NCAA Midwest Regional, posting a solid performance with a personal-best 6K time of 21:46.60.
Blanco ran in five meets as a true freshman during the 2018 cross country season, including the MVC Cross Country Championships, where he helped the Redbird men to a runner-up finish. At the Bradley Classic, Blanco was the first Redbird to cross the finish line, finishing with a personal-best 8K time of 25:41.50.
The Most Valuable Athletes from the 2018 cross country season were Kennidi Knoblock and Kyle Mattes.
Knoblock earned the first All-Valley honors of her cross country career, finishing 13th for an All-MVC Honorable Mention nod at the MVC Championships with a personal-best 5K time of 17:48.10. She was the third ISU runner to cross the finish line at the NCAA Midwest Regional, where she posted a personal-best time of 22:21.50 in the 6K.
Mattes made Illinois State cross country history during his senior campaign, becoming the first Redbird to compete at the NCAA Cross Championships in back-to-back seasons. The Elmhurst, Illinois, native led the Redbird men to an MVC runner-up finish, after notching his fourth-straight All-Valley cross country honor with a fourth-place finish at the MVC Championships. He went on to earn All-Region honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Mattes owns the 10K cross country ISU school record, running a personal-best time of 30:10.
For track & field, Destiny White and Caleb Miedema were chosen as the Newcomers of the Year.
White, a sprinter for the Redbirds, helped the Illinois State women to MVC Championships in both the indoor and outdoor season. She was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that won the MVC title at the outdoor championships and helped the 4x400 to a runner-up finish at the indoor championships. Additionally, she scored points in the 400-meter dash at both the indoor and outdoor championships and recorded a personal-best time of 56.31 seconds in the event.
Miedema scored points in the heptathlon at the MVC Indoor Championships and the decathlon at the MVC Outdoor Championships, helping the Redbird men to an indoor team championship and an outdoor runner-up finish.
Each year, four athletes are named Rising Redbirds (two track athletes and two field athletes). This year Hattie Plumb earned the honor on the women's side and Kevin Koski was chosen for the honor on the men's side for the track athletes, while Tayler Weaver and Kellen Kravik were selected as the Rising Redbirds for the field athletes.
Plumb had an outstanding junior campaign where she garnered three MVC titles and one MVC runner-up finish throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native swept the 800-meter run titles, winning the event at both the indoor and outdoor championships.
She also helped the 4x400-meter relay team to an MVC title during the outdoor campaign and a runner-up finish during indoor. Plumb also qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the 800-meter run and ran a personal-best time of 2:07.69 in the 800 during the 2018-19 season.
Koski scored points at both the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. He scored points in both the 5,000-meter run and 10,000-meter run at the outdoor championships and the 5,000-meter run at the indoor championships. Koski also recorded personal bests in the 5,000 and the 10,000 during his sophomore campaign, running a 14:41.21 in the 5,000 and a 29:57.87 in the 10,000.
Weaver qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the shot put after coming in second at the MVC Outdoor Championships in the event. She also scored points in the shot put at the Valley Indoor Championships and recorded personal-best marks in three different events: the shot put (51-0.25 ft.), the hammer throw (173-7 ft.) and the weight throw (60-2 ft.)
Kravik, a pole vaulter, qualified for the NCAA West Prelims after scoring points in the pole vault at the MVC Outdoor Championships. During the indoor campaign, Kravik earned All-MVC honors with a second-place finish in the event. His personal-best also came during his junior campaign where he posted a mark of 16-8.75 ft.
Illinois State's Outstanding Track Athletes from the 2018-19 season were Grace Beattie on the women's side and Jack Anstey on the men's side.
Beattie was crowned the MVC Champion in the 3,000m Steeplechase and was just shy of All-MVC honors in the 5,000-meter run, finishing fourth at the MVC Outdoor Championships. A native of Woodstock, Illinois, Beattie qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the 3,000m Steeplechase.
During the 2018-19 indoor season, Beattie earned All-MVC honors in both the 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter run, finishing second in the 5,000 and third in the 3,000.
Anstey was one of three Redbirds to be named an All-American, but the only one to garner First Team All-America honors for ISU after finishing seventh in the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Despite falling just shy of All-MVC honors in the 1,500m with a fourth-place finish, Anstey still advanced to the NCAA West Prelims in the event, where he ran a personal-best and Illinois State school record time of 3:41.81. Anstey was crowned MVC Champion in the 800-meter run at the MVC Outdoor Championships.
The rising senior from Newtown Toowoomba, Australia, won two MVC titles during the indoor campaign, helping the DMR to a first-place finish as well as winning the mile. Anstey also ran a sub-four-minute mile during the 2018-19 indoor season, clocking in at 3:55.66 at the Iowa State Classic.
ISU's two Outstanding Field Athletes for 2018-19 were both throwers. On the women's side Sydney Laufenberg earned the award, while on the men's side Logan Calvin was honored.
Laufenberg garnered Second Team All-America honors with a 14th-place finish in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, after finishing 11th in the event at the NCAA West Prelims. She earned All-MVC honors in the discus with a runner-up finish at the MVC Outdoor Championships. The Clinton, Iowa, native opened her junior season by setting a new ISU school record of 187-0 ft. in the discus and finished the season qualifying for the USATF Outdoor Championships in the event.
Calvin qualified for the NCAA West Prelims for the first time in his career after earning All-MVC honors in the shot put at both the indoor and outdoor MVC Championships. He also scored points for the 'Birds in the discus at the MVC Outdoor Championships and points in the weight throw at the indoor championships. The Bloomington, Indiana, native posted personal bests in the shot put (60-8.5 ft.) and the weight throw (58-7.25 ft.).
Kameesha Smith and Kyle Mattes were named the most valuable track & field athletes during the 2018-19 season.
Smith was one of two Redbirds to earn Second Team All-America honors in 2019, finishing 12th in the high jump with a mark of 1.78 meters (5-10 ft.) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The South Holland, Illinois, native also earned her first MVC Championship title, winning the high jump at the MVC Outdoor Championships, after finishing as the runner-up at the Valley Indoor Championships.
Mattes won the MVC title in the 10,000-meter run and scored points with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the Valley Outdoor Championships. His 10,000-meter run time qualified him for the NCAA West Prelims where he posted a time of 30:17.86.
During his senior indoor campaign, Mattes earned All-MVC honors after finishing second in the 5,000-meter run at the Valley Indoor Championships. He also scored points for the 'Birds in the 3,000-meter run, finishing sixth.
Each year two Redbirds, one female and one male, are selected based on the characteristics it takes to succeed at the Division I level: hard work, discipline, determination, desire, dedication, a positive attitude and integrity. The individuals who meet these criteria are named recipients of the Excellence Award. This year, Rachel Hoffman was chosen for the women and Derek Wegman for the men.
The final award of the night is the Redbird of the Year Award, which is voted on the night of the banquet by members of the Illinois State track & field and cross country teams. The women's nominees for the Redbird of the Year Award were Hattie Plumb, Kristin Higgins, Sydney Laufenberg and Jordyn Bruce. On the men's side Jordan Wilkerson, Logan Calvin, Derek Wegman and Kellen Kravik were nominees for the Redbird of the Year.
Derek Wegman and Hattie Plumb were the two Redbirds who were selected as the 2018-19 Redbirds of the Year.
UP NEXT
Illinois State cross country kicks off the 2019 season on Friday, Sept. 6, at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa. The first race is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
