NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Cross Country team is set to host the Redbird Invite Friday afternoon, at the Weibring Golf Course. The event begins at 5 p.m. with the women's 6,000-meter race, while the men's 8,000-meter race follows at 5:45 p.m.
THE FIELD
10 women's teams are coming to the event and 9 men's squads, including Northern Iowa, SIUE, Â Northern Illinois, UMSL, Illinois-Wesleyan, Heartland Community College, Western Illinois, Valpo, UIC, and Chicago State.
LAST SEASON
The Redbirds look to repeat their success from last year after both squads secured first-place finishes. Senior Lauren Schulze and Senior Zack Loomis were the highest-finishing returners from last season, each of whom notched top-five finishes in last year's event.
SEASON OPENER
Using a limited roster, the Illinois State cross-country teams opened the 2024 season on August 31 at the Hawkeye Invitational. Seven Redbirds - Madison Harmsen, Amanda Pocica, Ashlyn Smith, Julian Baker, Luke Barham, Will Gelon, and Josh Weeks - made their collegiate debuts in Iowa City.
Sophomore Trixie Johnson paced the Redbirds in the women's race with a mark of 15:34.7 to finish 26th, while Freshmen Madison Harmsen (16:07.7), Ashlyn Smith (16:26.6), and Amanda Pocica (16:50.4) made their debuts.
Sophomore Blake Oleson led the way on the men's side, setting a mark of 18:46.0 to earn a 19th-place finish. Freshmen Julian Baker (18:52.0), Luke Barham (19:16.1), and Will Gelon (19:17.5) impressed in their debuts with top-30 finishes.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Illinois State women's cross country team was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, while the men's program was selected to finish fourth, as announced by the conference.
The Redbird women return eight runners and will look to build off a third-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Senior Mattison Plummer leads the way, after earning All-MVC honors with a fourth-place finish at the conference title event. Lauren Schulze and Junior Maggie Reed aim to capitalize on their strong finish to the 2023 season. Both athletes achieved personal best times in the 6k, securing top 30 finishes at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
The men's team has 12 returning runners and is looking to improve on their fourth-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Senior Mathis Chavand returns to the squad after he finished second at the conference championships and placed in the top 20 at the NCAA Division I Midwest Region Cross Country Championships. Zack Loomis enters his fourth season with the Redbirds after a strong finish to 2023 with a sixth-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. The team added transfer William Sinclair who previously competed at North Florida and Missouri. Sinclair brings veteran experience after earning 2020 All-SEC Freshman and 2021 All-SEC XC Second Team honors as a Tiger.
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – WOMEN
Grace Erb (So.) // Madison Harmsen TBD (Fr.) // Trixie Johnson (So.) // Mattison Plummer (Sr.) // Amanda Pocica (Fr.) Maggie Reed (Jr.) // Viviana Sanfilippo (Sr.)// Lauren Schulze (Sr.) // Kaitlin Skeate (Sr.) // Ashlyn Smith (Fr.) // Astrid Van Breedam (Fr.)
ILLINOIS STATE STARTING LINE – MEN
Yusuf Baig (Jr.) // Julian Baker (Fr.) // Luke Barham (Fr.) // Mathis Chavand (R-Sr.) // Nick Doud (Gr.) // Will Gelon (Fr.) // Charlie Kistner (Sr.) //Â Zack Loomis (Sr.) // Jeff Luka (Jr.) //Â Dylan Myers (So.) // Blake Oleson (So.) // Owen O'Shea (So.) // Ethan Reynoso (So.) // William Sinclair (Gr.) // Garrett Slack (Jr.) // Carter Smott (So.) // Nathan Virginelli (So.) // Josh Weeks (Fr.)
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will travel to Columbia, Mo. on Friday, September 27 to compete at the Gans Creek Classic. The event is hosted by the University of Missouri and is set to begin at 9 a.m.
