NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Cross Country program is set to host the Redbird Invite on Friday, Sept. 17 at Weibring Golf Course, marking its first home meet in over two years. The women's 6K race will begin at 5:00 p.m. CT, with the men's 8K to follow at 5:45 p.m.
The Redbird Invite is the first of two home meets that ISU will host on the 2021-22 season, as the 'Birds will also serve as hosts to the 2021 MVC Cross Country Championships later this season.
THE COMPETITION
The 'Birds are set to welcome 13 schools to the Weibring Golf Course for the 2021 Redbird Invite. On the men's side, fellow MVC foes Northern Iowa, Valparaiso, Loyola, Southern Illinois and Drake will be in action, in addition to Southern Indiana, Illinois, Marquette, SEMO, DePaul and SIUE. For the women, Northern Illinois and Northwestern are set to attend in addition to all 11 teams previously mentioned.
REDBIRD INVITE HISTORY
For the first time in 735 days, Illinois State is set to host the 8th edition of the Redbird Invite. At the 2019 Redbird Invite, Jack Anstey took home the title for the men, leading them to a fourth-place team finish. For his performance, Anstey earned MVC Runner of the Week honors. On the women's side, Grace Beattie was the runner-up and led the team to a third-place finish.
HAWKEYE INVITATIONAL
Illinois State opened the season two weeks ago at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa. Transfer students Caroline Meyers and Claire Fuhlhage led the Redbird women to a fourth-place team finish. A trio of freshman, Lucie Grandjean, Mattison Plummer, and Lauren Schulze, followed to round out the scoring, as ISU finished as the top MVC school at the meet.
On the men's side, freshman Julian Head paced the Redbirds in his collegiate debut, as he placed 16th overall in the men's 6K race, clocking in with a time of 19:08.8. The ISU men logged a seventh-place team finish.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Follow along on Twitter at @RedbirdTFXC for updates from the Redbird Invite. Live results will also be available here.
UP NEXT
Following the Redbird Invite, Illinois State will have a weekend off before travel to Notre Dame for the Joe Piane Invitational. In back-to-back weekends, the Redbirds will travel to in-state foes Bradley and Illinois before returning to Normal to host the 2021 MVC Cross Country Championships on Friday, Oct. 29 at Weibring Golf Course.
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – WOMEN
Paige Arseneau (So.) // Mackenzie Brownrigg (So.) // Maddi Exline (R-Jr.) // Claire Fuhlhage (R-Jr.) // Lucie Grandjean (Fr.) // Jenna Gruber (Fr.) // Kylie Hagmann (So.) // Audrey Harrod (R-Sr.) // Ashley Heagy (Fr.) // Rachel Hickey (Jr.) // Caroline Meyers (Sr.) // Ailey Mitchell (Fr.) // Mattison Plummer (Fr.) // Vivianna Sanfilippo (Fr.) // Lauren Schulze (Fr.) // Kaitlin Skeate (Fr.) // Natalie Sparreo (R-Jr.) // Kendy Ummel (So.)
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – MEN
Max Barrios (Fr.) // Matt Blanco (Jr.) // Lucas Capistrant (Jr.) // Jake Gillum (Sr.) // Julian Head (Fr.) // Ryan Kennedy (Jr.) // Charlie Kistner (Fr.) // Tyler Klouda (So.) // Zack Loomis (Fr.) // Joe Morrison (Sr.) // Charles Murphy (R-So.) // Connor Murphy (Fr.) // Tyler Polak (So.) // Harris Porter (R-Jr.) // Nick Swartzendruber (R-Jr.) // Riley Wells (So.) // Charlie Wetzel (Fr.) // Jordan Wood (Jr.)
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