NORMAL – The Illinois State cross country program has announced the release of its schedule for the upcoming 2024 season. The schedule features five regular season meets, including one home meet, before the Redbirds open postseason competition at the MVC Championships.
"We have a slow build to the season with some low-key competitions early as we give our younger student-athletes a bit of experience," Illinois State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "Then, it ramps up once we head to the invite at Mizzou, where the NCAA Championship meet will be held next year, and that will be followed by the Pre-NCAA meet at Wisconsin where we will see many of the top teams in the country before Nationals this year. Obviously, our main emphasis is our preparation for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Evansville and the NCAA Midwest Regional, which will be right down the road in Peoria at a course we are very familiar with."Â
To open the season, Illinois State will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, August 30, for the Hawkeye Invite at 6 p.m. Following a weekend off, ISU will return to Normal to host the Redbird Invite, slated for Friday, September 13, at 5 p.m. at Weibring Golf Club. At the 2023 Redbird Invite, the Illinois State women and men both finished in first place.
The Redbirds will then travel to Columbia, Missouri, to compete in the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, September 27 at 9 a.m. That will be followed by the Bradley Pink Classic on Friday, October 18, at 2 p.m. in Peoria, Illinois. The regular season will wrap up the following day on Saturday, October 19, when select runners will head to Madison, Wisconsin, to compete in the Pre-NCAA meet which will allow the Redbirds to preview the course that will serve as host to the 2024 NCAA Championship meet.
Northern Iowa is set to host the 2024 MVC Cross Country Championships on Friday, November 1, with action slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. CT. The NCAA Midwest Regional will follow in Peoria on Friday, November 15, at 11 a.m., before student-athletes who qualify advance to the NCAA Championships, hosted by Wisconsin, on Saturday, November 23.
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