ST. LOUIS – Illinois State was named the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Program of the Year Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.
The honor comes after a standout year in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field competition.
"We take pride in being a balanced team program across the three sports," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee. "This is a reflection of a lot of hard work this year by many, including our student-athletes, support staff, coaches and our administration."
The Redbird men captured their first MVC Outdoor Championship title since 1999 this spring, totaling four individual MVC titles and a relay championship. Illinois State also added 21 entries to the program's outdoor top-10 list, including school records from Seth Nelson in the pole vault, Zach Paul in the 100m dash and the 4x400 relay team of Enyinnaya Nwagwu Jr., Jake Welch, Evan Watson and Paul.
Continuing the successful outdoor season, several Illinois State men qualified for the NCAA West First Rounds in a variety of events on the track and in the field. Paul enters the NCAA West First Round ranked 21st in the West Region in the 100-meter dash with a school-record time of 10.15, while Reece Curtis qualified 45th in the 200-meter dash at 20.63.
The men's 4x400-meter relay squad of Paul, Nwagwu Jr., Welch, and Curtis qualified 12th in the West Region with a season-best time of 3:05.27. Jaiden Reed will also travel to Arkansas and serve as the alternate for the 4x400 relay.
In field events, freshman Voldy Makabu qualified 30th in the high jump after clearing 2.14m, while Nelson enters the pole vault competition ranked 28th at 5.30m. Garrett Taylor qualified in both the shot put and discus, ranking 32nd in the shot put at 18.33m and 36th in the discus at 56.57m. Jacob Klink also earned a berth in the shot put, ranking 42nd with a mark of 17.96m.
During the indoor season, Illinois State finished second at the MVC Championships with 151 points, just six points behind champion Northern Iowa. Nwagwu won the MVC title in the 200m, while Julian Baker swept the distance events with conference titles in both the 3000m and 5000m. Nelson also captured the pole vault title, and Astor Snaider won the triple jump crown.
The Redbirds recorded 19 indoor top-10 marks during the season, including school records from Nelson in the pole vault, Nwagwu Jr. in the 200m and the 4x400 relay team of Welch, Nwagwu Jr., Paul and Curtis.
In cross country, Illinois State placed fourth at the MVC Championships with three runners finishing inside the top 20 in the men's 8K race. Baker led the way with a ninth-place finish to earn All-MVC First Team honors for the first time in his career.
About the Award
The MVC Men's and Women's Programs of the Year are awarded annually to the institutions with the best combined finishes across cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field championships. The winner is determined by combining an institution's finishes across the three championship seasons, with the lowest total score earning Program of the Year honors.
