NEW ORLEANS – Illinois State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Jeff Bovee, was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Women's Indoor Coach of the Year after leading the Redbird women's team to their third-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference indoor track & field title.
Currently in his sixth season at the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Bovee led the women's team to six individual MVC titles, one relay title in the distance medley relay and 11 All-Valley performances at the 2020 conference championships. Bovee's distance event group won three of the six individual championships.
In addition to the individual successes that Bovee's student-athletes had last weekend, the Redbirds' women's squad also set a Missouri Valley Conference indoor record with 190.16 points, surpassing Wichita State who scored 186 points in 2011. The 'Birds recorded a dominant performance as a team, beating the second-place team by 65.16 points.
Bovee, who was also selected as the MVC Women's Indoor Coach of the Year, has now earned the title of USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year three times in his career, including twice in the last three years. He also won the award in 2016 when the ISU women won their first MVC title since 1997 and in 2018 when the men won their first Valley Championship since 1999.
He has led the women's and men's track & field programs to a combined six indoor conference titles and two outdoor conference titles since taking over at the start of the 2014-15 season. Bovee also has led the cross country program to two team titles. The women currently lead the Missouri Valley with 12 indoor team titles, while the men, who also have 11 indoor team titles, are third behind Southern Illinois and UNI.
UP NEXT
The full Illinois State track & field squad will be back in action for the outdoor season on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 at the Redbird Invite hosted at the Illinois State track. Prior to that, a group of distance runners will begin their outdoor campaign at the Raleigh Relays on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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