THIS WEEK
The Illinois State track and field team opens the 2026 outdoor season this weekend, hosting the first annual Joyce Morton-Kief Invite at the Redbird Track & Field Complex. The meet will kick off with the hammer throw event at 2 p.m. CT on Friday. Remaining field events will begin at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, with track events slated for noon CT. Live results will be posted on shazamracing.com.
MEANING BEHIND THE MEET
The meet is named after former Illinois State head coach and faculty member Joyce Morton-Kief. Coach Kief, a member of the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame, has made a lasting impact on the track and field and cross country programs at Illinois State University. During her coaching career, she led her teams to three state track championships, five cross country conference championships, five indoor track conference titles and three outdoor conference championships.
Her teams achieved something truly special, including three Gateway Conference 'Triple Crowns,' winning cross country, indoor, and outdoor championships all in the same year, a feat unmatched during Illinois State's time in the conference. She has coached more than 40 NCAA and AIAW Championship qualifiers, and in 1990, she was named NCAA Region IV Outdoor Track Coach of the Year and Gateway Conference Coach of the Year.
Coach Kief began her journey at Illinois State in 1966 as a faculty member in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. She volunteered to coach women's track and field, eventually expanding into cross country and indoor track, becoming a pioneer during the early growth of women's collegiate athletics.
THE FIELD
Illinois State will welcome over 10 schools to Normal this weekend, including Illinois-Chicago, Marquette, UW-Milwaukee, DePaul, Monmouth College, Northern Illinois and Illinois Wesleyan.
SENIOR RECOGNITION
Thirteen Illinois State seniors will be recognized for their contributions to the program on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Those seniors include: JaNaysia Bird, Isabelle Hemmen, Lindsey Miller, Abigail Milott, Star Mpama, Enyinnaya Nwagwu Jr., Mattison Plummer, Maggie Reed, Macee Rivers, Jacob Rollins, Viviana Sanfilippo, Erin Starks and Jake Welch.
LAST TIME OUT
The track and field programs are coming off strong runner-up finishes at the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, where the Redbird women totaled 142.5 points and the men scored 151.5 points. ISU athletes won eight event titles and made history by sweeping the top three positions in both the women's 60m hurdles and the men's 200m dash, a first for the program at the MVC Championships.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JEFF BOVEE
On beginning the outdoor season
"We've been picking up the volume over the last few weeks. We feel really excited about the prospects of the outdoor season, especially given some of the different events that are included in the outdoor campaign where we have a lot of quality student athletes who will be able to make a nice impact."
On Joyce Morton-Kief
"Joyce is part of the fabric of this athletics department. Not only our department, but also the Kinesiology and Recreation Department and the people over there. She's integral in women's athletics and has had a tremendous amount of success in development and mentorship of young women throughout her time. She still lives right here in the community, so we're really honored to name this meet on her behalf."
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