NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's cross country team was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, while the women's program was picked to finish fourth, as announced by the conference Friday morning.
Drake was picked to finish first among the league's 11 programs, gathering 12 points with 10 first place votes on the men's side. The ISU men's team was picked third totaling 34 points. For the woman Belmont, was picked to finish first with 12 points and 10 first place votes in the MVC and the Redbird woman were picked to finish fourth with 47 points.
The Illinois State men return six of its top eight runners and will look to build off a strong top three. Baptise Tardiveau, Mathis Chavand lead the way with Chavand earning Men's Freshman of the Year in last years season. Chavand finished 9th at last year's MVC Championship with 24:52.6 and Tardiveau placed 13th at 24:58.1 and earned All-Conference Honorable mention as Zack Loomis finished 15th with a time of 24:59.6.
The Redbird woman have three of their top eight returning with graduate student Claire Fuhlhage leading the way as she finished in the top-30 at the MVC Championship last year with 22:39.3 along side Lauren Schulze and Kaitlin Skeate.
The Illinois State cross country team opens the 2023 campaign on Friday, September 1, at the University of Iowa for the Hawkeye Invitational, set to begin at 6:00 p.m.
Preseason Poll
Men's Poll
1. Drake – 12 (10)
2. Bradley – 29 (1)
3. Illinois State - 34
4. Belmont - 39
5. Southern Illinois - 59
6. Indiana State - 64
7. UIC - 79
8. Valparaiso - 93
8. Northern Iowa - 93
10. Murray State - 106
11. Evansville - 118
Woman's Poll
1. Belmont – 14 (10)
2. Bradley – 28 (2)
3. Drake – 33
4. Illinois State – 47
5. Southern Illinois – 62
6. Northern Iowa – 80
7. UIC – 90
8. Missouri State – 99
9. Indiana State – 100
10. Murray State – 112
11. Valparaiso – 130
12. Evansville - 139
