NORMAL, Ill. – After opening the season two weeks ago, the Illinois State cross country teams return to action in their annual Redbird Invite home meet, ran at the Weibring Golf Course on Friday afternoon.
The women's 6,000-meter race begins at 5 p.m., with the men's 8,000-meter race starting at 5:45 p.m.
THE FIELD
There are 10 women's teams coming to the event and nine men's squads, including Butler (women only), Eastern Illinois, Heartland Community College, Illinois State, Illinois-Springfield, Iowa, Northern Iowa, SIUE, Southern Illinois, and Wartburg.
LAST SEASON
Last year at the Redbird Invite the women's team took fourth place while the men finished fifth. The squads were led by Charlie Wetzel on the men's side and Ailey Mitchell from the women, each of whom notched top-15 finishes to lead the Redbirds, and both are back this season. In fact, each of the scoring five for the Redbird men and women's squad from last season's Redbird Invite are scheduled to race in the event this season.
SEASON OPENER
Using a limited roster, the Illinois State cross country teams opened the 2022 season on Thursday afternoon at the Illini Challenge. In the women's race, sophomore Lauren Schulze was the top Redbird finisher with a time of 18:49.8. Mattison Plummer was just behind Schulze with a 19:09.6 to take eighth in the field. Maggie Reed – in her collegiate debut – crossed the line in a time of 20:03.4, while Jenna Gruber finished her 5,000-meter race in a time of 20:19.7. The men's 6,000-meter race was paced by Zack Loomis who ran the near-four-miles in a time of 18:45.4, while Yusuf Baig started off his collegiate career with a time of 18:57.5. Two other Redbirds making their collegiate debuts – Connor Murphy (20:24.7) and Garrett Slack (21:08.7) – sandwiched a pair of young returners in Harris Porter (20:27.8) and Julian Head (20:31.2).
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Illinois State women's cross country team was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, while the men's cross country program was selected to finish third and earned one first-place vote, as announced by the conference.
The Illinois State women return six of their top seven runners and will look to build off last year's third place finish at the MVC Championships. Junior Ailey Mitchell leads the way, as she earned All-MVC First-Team honors at the championship race with an eighth-place finish in a time of 21:27.3, the tenth-fastest time in Illinois State school history. Seniors Caroline Meyers and Rachel Hickey placed 13th and 14th, respectively, to earn All-MVC Honorable Mention honors.
The Redbird men, who won the MVC Cross Country title during the 2020-21 season, have a strong group returning and are looking to capitalize on the depth of the roster. Charlie Wetzel and Matt Blanco each return to the Redbirds roster after finishing among the top-15 and earning All-MVC Honorable Mention honors at the 2021 MVC Championships. Additionally, the team welcomes five newcomers.
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – WOMEN
Mackenzie Brownrigg (Sr.) // Maddi Exline (5th) // Claire Fuhlhage (r-Sr.) // Rachel Hickey (5th) // Caroline Meyers (r-Sr.) // Ailey Mitchell (Jr.) // Mattison Plummer (So.) // Maggie Reed (Fr.) // Lauren Schulze (So.)
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – MEN
Yusuf Baig (Fr.) // Mathis Chavand (r-So.) // Charlie Kistner (Jr.) // Tyler Klouda (Sr.) // Zack Loomis (So.) // Jeff Luka (Fr.) // Tyler Polak (Sr.) // Baptiste Tardiveau (Jr.) // Jordan Wood (5th)
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Live results will be available HERE.
UP NEXT
After a weekend without a meet, ISU travels to Columbia, Missouri, to compete in the Gans Creek Classic - home of the 2022 NCAA Midwest Regional - to compete in a pair of races beginning at 6 p.m.
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