NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State track & field and cross country announced their award winners from the 2019-2020 season last night at their annual banquet, which was held virtually this year.
The Most Valuable Athletes for cross country were Rachel Hickey and Jack Anstey.
Hickey earned All-MVC honors for the second time in her career, placing eighth at the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships. She was also named the recipient of the Elite 17 Award at the MVC Championships, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average competing at the finals site at each of the MVC's 17 team championships. The Peru, Illinois, native ran the third-fastest 5K time in the Valley during the 2019 season and was named MVC Female Cross Country Athlete of the week twice last season.
Anstey opened the season up by winning the Illinois State Invite and was named the MVC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week the following week. He was ISU's top finisher at the NCAA Midwest Regional and finished in the top-20 at the MVC Championships.
In track & field, Kameesha Smith was named the Most Valuable Athlete for the second-consecutive year, while Anstey doubled up on the honor for both cross country and track & field.
Smith, who finished the indoor campaign ranked No. 28 in the nation, ended the season undefeated in the high jump after being crowned MVC Champion in the event for the second time in her career. At the Iowa State Classic, Smith cleared a personal-best height of 1.78 meters, tying her for the No. 4 mark in ISU indoor track & field history. She was named the MVC Female Field Athlete of the Week twice during the 2020 season for her performances in the high jump. In addition to her gold medal in the high jump at the MVC Championships, Smith also earned All-Valley honors in the long jump, placing second after taking just two of her six jumps.
Anstey finished the indoor season with the 34th-fastest mile time in the nation at 3:59.93, marking the second time in his career that he ran a sub-four-minute mile. At the MVC Indoor Championships, Anstey was crowned the Valley's 800m Champion and helped the distance medley relay to a second-place finish, earning All-MVC honors. The Toowoomba, Australia native, was a two-time MVC Male Track Athlete of the Week and set a meet record in the 600m (1:22.36) at the Coughlan-Malloy Cup. Anstey opened up the season in the 3,000m at the GVSU Holiday Open where he ran the ninth-fastest time in ISU indoor track & field history (8:16.89).
The outstanding track athletes from the 2019-20 season were Hattie Plumb on the women's side and Kevin Koski on the men's side.
Plumb had a very successful final season with the Redbirds, winning six out of the 10 races she competed in. At ISU's first home indoor competition since 2013, Plumb set a Coughlan-Malloy Cup Meet Record in the 600m (1:33.95). She would go on to set another personal-best time in the 600m (1:33.53), ranking No. 4 all-time in ISU track & field history. Plumb was crowned MVC Champion in the 800m for the third time in her career at the 2020 MVC Indoor Championships and also helped the distance medley relay to the top of the podium, running the eighth-fastest DMR time in ISU history. Additionally, Plumb anchored Illinois State's 4x400-meter relay team that earned All-Valley honors with a third-place finish.
Koski made his way to the podium at the MVC Indoor Championships for the first time in his career. The distance runner for ISU, placed third in both the 3,000m and the 5,000m to finish the season a two-time All-Valley performer. Throughout the 2019-20 indoor campaign, Koski posted personal-best times in the 3K and the 5K and made it on the Illinois State Top-10 list for the first time. Koski's time of 14:16.95 ran at the Iowa State Classic is the seventh-fastest 5K time ever ran by a Redbird indoors.
The Redbirds named Charde Golliday and Jordan Wilkerson the two outstanding field athletes from the 2019-20 campaign.
Golliday shined all weekend at the MVC Indoor Championships, taking home her first individual title in the long jump and an All-Valley performance with a third-place finish in the triple jump. In route to her MVC title in the long jump, Golliday recorded an indoor personal-best mark of 5.92 meters, tying for No. 5 all-time in ISU history.
Wilkerson was one of two school record breakers for the Redbirds last season, setting the new heptathlon school record of 5,255 points at the MVC Championships. Not only did Wilkerson earn a spot among the ISU greats, he also won his second-straight MVC title in the heptathlon, winning three of the seven events (60m, high jump, pole vault) in the process.
Each year, four athletes are named Redbirds Rising (two track athletes and two field athletes). This year Audrey Harrod earned the honor on the women's side and Kai Larson was chosen for the honor on the men's side for the track athletes, while Faith Ayodele and Caleb Miedema were selected as the Rising Redbirds for the field athletes.
Harrod joined Plumb on the Redbirds' MVC Champion distance medley relay team and on the 800m podium, placing third for her first individual All-Valley honor. The Illinois State middle distance runner cracked the ISU top-10 twice last season, ranking No. 8 in the DMR (11:45.99) and No. 5 in the 600m (1:33.58).
Larson, who competed at his first Valley Championships last season, scored points for the Redbirds in the 400m, finishing fifth with a personal-best time of 49.29 seconds. Throughout his sophomore season, Larson ran his fastest times to date in the 60m, 200m and 400m.
Ayodele joined Larson in competing at her first Valley Championships. The thrower from Champaign, Illinois, scored a point for the MVC Champion Redbird women's team, placing eighth in the weight throw with a mark of 18.18 meters. Ayodele also joined the top-10 list for the first time, ranking No. 8 all-time in the weight throw with a personal-best mark of 18.44 meters.
The final Redbird Rising recipient, Miedema, joined Wilkerson in breaking ISU's previous heptathlon school record. He finished second at the MVC Championships behind his teammate, and now ranks No. 2 all-time at ISU in the heptathlon with 5,231 points. Prior to the Valley Championships, Miedema won the heptathlon at the Jack Jennett Open and earned MVC Male Field Athlete of the Week honors for his win.
Following each season 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, Ariana Cranston was chosen for the women and Jake Gillum for the men.
Cranston finished her Redbird track & field career with her fourth-consecutive MVC pole vault title and the No. 2 clearance in school history at 4.02 meters. The 2020 Illinois State graduate earned a spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team and the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for her efforts in track & field and the classroom last season. She also earned the MVC President's Council Academic Excellence Award.
Gillum earned the highest university-wide honor for undergraduate students at Illinois State when he was named a 2020-21 Bone Scholar earlier this year. The senior middle-distance runner was also named a member of the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team and helped the Redbirds distance medley relay team to a second-place team finish, earning him All-Valley honors. Gillum also scored points for the 'Birds with a sixth-place finish in the mile at the MVC Championships.
Annie Moore and Kimathi Johnson were named the Redbirds of the Year, which is voted on by the track & field and cross country teams.
Moore was a member of the MVC Champion distance medley relay team that recorded the No. 8 time in ISU history (11:45.99) and scored a point for the 'Birds in the mile with her eighth-place finish at the conference meet. During her final indoor campaign, Moore recorded personal bests in the mile (4:59.93) and the 3K (9:57.24)
Johnson earned All-Valley honors in the mile (third) and the distance medley relay (second) at the MVC Indoor Championships. The Oak Park, Illinois native, who still has eligibility in cross country and outdoor track & field, ran personal-best times in the mile (4:12.19) and the 3,000m (8:25.66) during his last indoor season with the Redbirds.
Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 outdoor season was canceled and the 2020 cross country season has been postponed.
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