CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following back-to-back big meets, the Illinois State cross country squads get their final pre-MVC Championship tune-up at the Illini Open, hosted by the University of Illinois.
The women's 5,000-meter race begins at 3:00 p.m., while the men's 8,000-meter race goes off at 3:40 p.m.
THE FIELD
There are 38 schools competing on the women's side for the Bradley Pink Classic, and 35 men's squads. Among the schools in the field including: Bradley (M/W), Butler (M/W), Chicago State (M/W), Illinois (M/W), Illinois State (M/W), Iowa (M/W), Marquette (M/W), Purdue (M/W), Wisconsin (M/W).
LAST TIME AT THE EVENT
Last season at the event - also a tune-up for the upcoming MVC Championship - the women won the event while the men had just four runners compete and did not have a team score. ISU's Kaitlin Skeate was the individual runner-up with a time of 22:39.5 for 6,000-meters, with Mattison Plummer (4th) and Kendy Ummel (5th) finishing inside of the top-five of the race. For the men, Julian Head placed third overall in a time of 26:11.7 for 8,000-meters, while Jordan Wood placed seventh in a time of 26:30.9.
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – WOMEN
Mackenzie Brownrigg (Jr.) //  Jenna Gruber (So.) // Ashley Heagy (So.) // Mattison Plummer (So.) // Maggie Reed (Fr.) // Vivianna Sanfilippo (So.), Kaitlin Skeate (So.) and Kendy Ummel (Jr.) are competing in the race for ISU.
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – MEN
The Redbirds are racing just two runners on the men's side, Julian Head (So.), and Connor Murphy (Fr.).
LAST TIME OUT
In the largest meet of the season for each of the Redbird cross country squads, the Illinois State men's squad placed ninth of 35 schools in the "Red" race while the women placed 15th of 38 schools in their "Red" race.
Between the two squads 11 personal bests were set, including eight coming on the men's side with its top six runners each racing under the 25-minute mark for the 8,000-meters, and a seventh finishing a fraction of a second over the mark. On the women's side, Caroline Meyers' 21:17.4 is not only a new personal best, but also moves her to eighth on the school's all-time 6,000-meter record book.
Newcomer Baptiste Tardiveau finished in a time of 24:17.0, a spectacular time that was three seconds off his personal best set two weeks ago at the Gans Creek Classic, as he placed 43rd overall in the field of 289 runners. Zack Loomis topped his previous career-best when he placed 50th in a time of 24:21.6, 27 seconds better than the time he put up two weeks ago and over a minute faster than his PR from last season – set at the same meet as today.
FOLLOW LIVE
Keep track of the Redbirds at the Illini Open on Friday afternoon by clicking the link HERE.
UP NEXT
The MVC Championships are next up on the schedule in a week from Friday, as the Redbirds and the rest of the Missouri Valley conference toe the line at the 2022 Championships hosted by Indiana State University.
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