NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State track & field is set to send separate squads to two meets on Feb. 4 and 5. A select group of Redbirds will travel to South Bend, Indiana for the Meyo Invite, hosted by Notre Dame. Additionally, a larger group of student-athletes will compete at the Keck Select, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan.
MEYO INVITE
The Redbirds last competed at the annual Notre Dame Meyo Invite in 2020. At the meet, several current Redbirds were in competition, including Brandon Ratliff, Rachel Hickey and Destiny White.
The action from Notre Dame's Loftus Sports Center is set to start at 3:00 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon. Competition will run through Saturday afternoon.
KECK SELECT
Friday's competition from the Illinois Wesleyan Shirk Center will begin at 4:00 p.m. CT with the men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon. Individual events will take place on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 a.m. CT.
Illinois State last competed at Illinois Wesleyan in the 2015-16 indoor season. At the Titan Open in 2016, the Redbirds were victorious in 15 events.
INTO THE TOP-10
At the Lenny Lyles Invitational, four individuals and one relay squad captured program top-10 marks at the meet.
Junior thrower Amiri Buchanan had a strong performance in the men's weight throw. Launching a personal best of 19.69m (64-7.25 ft.), Buchanan moved up to No. 7 in school history in the event. Buchanan's mark ranks second in the Valley behind teammate Logan Calvin.
In the preliminary round of the 60m hurdles, junior Brandon Ratliff clocked a personal best time of 7.97 seconds. With his time, he took sole possession of third in school history and ranks second in the Valley on the season. Ratliff's previous personal best of 7.98 came at the 2021 MVC Indoor Championships.
Fifth-year senior Brandon Gage also etched his name into the program record book with his performance in the 400m dash. Gage, who already ranks eighth in the outdoor event, clocked a 48.05 to finish second overall. His time currently leads the MVC and ranks seventh in school history.
Freshman Arianna Walker caught fire on the track and improved on her personal best in the women's 200m dash, finishing in a time of 24.48 seconds. She now ranks seventh in school history and sits at third in the Valley on the season.
In the final event of the meet, the men's 4x400m relay squad of Gage, Avery Lyons, Nick Swartzendruber and Cecil Brownridge III blazed through the relay race, finishing second overall in a time of 3:14.64. That time leads the MVC and also ranks No. 7 in program history.
MEET INFORMATION
For those who can't attend the Meyo Invite or Keck Select, follow along on Twitter at @RedbirdTFXC for updates. Fans can also tune in here beginning at 1:00 p.m. CT to watch the Meyo Invite live. Live results for the Meyo Invite and Keck Select are below.
Meyo Invite: https://bit.ly/3oo9pU6
Keck Select: https://bit.ly/3seEkn5
UP NEXT
Following competition at the Meyo Invite and Keck Select, the Illinois State will send groups to the Iowa State Classic and GVSU Big Meet. Additionally, a group of Redbirds will remain in Bloomington-Normal to compete at the Titan Open at Illinois Wesleyan.
For all the latest news on Redbird track & field and cross country, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
