ST. LOUIS – With the Missouri Valley Conference Championships approaching, set for this Friday, Oct. 29, the Illinois men and women's cross country teams were both selected to finish third overall, as announced by the league on Wednesday in the pre-championship coaches' poll.
In the men's poll, Bradley was tabbed as the MVC favorite with 74 total points and four first-place votes. Closely behind, Drake tallied a total of 72 points with four first-place votes. The Illinois State men racked up 62 points overall and notched the final first-place vote. Loyola, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, UNI, Valparaiso and Evansville rounded out the men's poll.
The Redbird men are back on the course after recent success at the Bradley Pink Classic, where they finished 11th out of 31 teams. Freshman Charlie Wetzel led Illinois State for the second time this season, finishing 52nd overall in a time of 25:02.2 in the 8K race. Lucas Capistrant, Jake Gillum, Zachary Loomis, Charlie Kistner and Riley Wells also set personal bests at the Classic.
Wetzel previously set a personal best earlier this season at the Redbird Invite, finishing 11th in a time of 24:48.40 to lead his team to a fifth-place finish, ahead of Drake, UNI, Valparaiso and Southern Illinois.
On the women's side, Loyola was selected to win the MVC Championship, garnering 94 total points and seven of the ten first-place votes. Bradley notched the final three first-place votes and tallied 93 total points. The Redbird women rounded out the top-three, earning 80 total points. Southern Illinois, Drake, UNI, Missouri State, Indiana State, Valparaiso and Evansville rounded out the poll for the women.
The Illinois State women come off a strong showing at the Bradley Pink Classic, where they finished sixth out of 37 teams. The women finished ahead of MVC foes, Southern Illinois, Loyola, UNI, Missouri State, Indiana State, Valparaiso and Drake. Freshman Ailey Mitchell led the Redbirds, setting a personal best in the 6K race with a time of 21:30.2 to finish 19th overall. Rachel Hickey, Caroline Meyers, Lucie Grandjean and Ashley Heagy also set personal bests in the women's red race.
In the only regular season home meet of the season, the Redbird women finished fourth overall with 134 points. The Redbirds were again led by Mitchell with her 14th-place finish.
The 2021 MVC Cross Country Championships will be held at Weibring Golf Course in Normal, Illinois, on Friday, Oct. 29. The women's 6K is slated for a 1:00 p.m. CT start, with the men's 8K to follow at 2:00 p.m. CT.
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