St. Louis – Illinois State has been selected as the favorite in the 2018 Pre-Championship poll on the men’s side. On the women’s side, there is a tie for first between Illinois State and Indiana State.

Men’s Track Pre-Championship Poll
Illinois State received six first-place votes and 76 total points. Derrius Rodgers currently leads the Valley in the 60m and 200m. Anderson Devonish and Jaylan McConico have the fastest times in the 400m and 60m hurdles respectively. In field events, Anthony McRoberts leads the high jump while Luke Nelson holds the highest mark in pole vault. James Bradenburg leads with a score of 5,219 in the heptathlon.

Northern Iowa and Indiana State tied for second place with 65 points each. Northern Iowa received a single first-place vote. The Panthers hold the fastest time so far this season in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:11.46. Indiana State seniors Scott Schreiber and Gino Brown have the best marks so far this season in the Valley for their respective field events. Schreiber holds the top mark of 24’ 2.5” (7.38m) in the long jump. Brown has held the lead in long jump with his leap of 47’ 10” (14.58m) since the end of January.

Southern Illinois was selected to finish fourth by the league coaches. The Salukis received two first-place votes and 64 total points. Southern Illinois holds the top two distances in the shot put and weight throw. Jared Kern and Adam Kessler hold the top throws with marks of 62’11.25” (19.18m) and 62’ 2.5” (18.96) respectively. Isaac Ingram leads the weight throw with a mark of 71’ 7.5” (21.83) followed by teammate Rickey Hurley with a mark of 64’ 7.25” (19.69m).

Bradley holds onto fifth place with 43 points. The Braves hold the top times so far this season in the 800m, mile, and 3,000m. Alec Hartman leads in the 800m with a time of 1:50.32. The Braves hold the top three times in the mile with a time of 4:00.39 run by Daniel Gagne, followed by Taylor Floyd Mews and Michael Ward. Ward also holds the fastest time in the 3,000m.

Loyola received 36 points which earned them sixth place in the coaches’ pre-championship poll. Senior Alex Baker set the pace in the Rambler’s first meet of the season on December 1^st with a time of 14:07.62 in the 5,000m.

Drake secured seventh with 25 points. The Bulldogs finished seventh at the 2017 Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Valparaiso was selected eighth with 22 points. The Crusaders ran the fastest distance medley relay in the Valley so far this season with a time of 9:57.64.

Evansville received nine points in the pre-championship poll. The Purple Aces will be competing in their first Indoor Championships.
 

Place	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points
1.	Illinois State (6)	76
2. (tied)	Northern Iowa (1)	65
2. (tied)	Indiana State	65
4.	Southern Illinois (2)	64
5.	Bradley	43
6.	Loyola	36
7.	Drake	25
8.	Valparaiso	22
9.	Evansville	9

Women’s Track Pre-Championship Poll
 
Illinois State and Indiana State each received five first-place votes and totaled 95 points in the pre-championship coaches poll.

The Redbirds lead the Valley in seven events so far this season. D’Jenne Egharevba has put up the fastest times in the 60m and 200m races, while Demetria Anderson leads in the 60m hurdles. Illinois State’s 4x400 relay team posted a top time of 3:45.22. In the field events, Kameesha Smith (high jump), Ariana Cranston (pole vault) and Amanda McClain (long jump) hold the lead in their respective events.

Indiana State seniors Brittany Neely and Taylor Austin have led the way for the Sycamores on the track. Neely holds the fastest time in the 800m while Austin maintains the fastest times in the mile and 3,000m. The Sycamores distance medley relay team posted a time of 11:36.24 last weekend which surpassed Illinois State’s previously set time of 11:53.15.

Southern Illinois secured third place with 78 points. Shafiqua Maloney holds the lone top Valley time for the Salukis. Maloney currently holds the fastest time in the 400m this season with a time of 54.96. In field events, Kezia Martin leads the triple jump while Aveun Moore and Alexis Roberson lead in the shot put and weight throw respectively.

Northern Iowa was selected to finish fourth by the coaches and totaled 71 points. Senior Lauren Frederick’s score of 3566 leads the Pentathlon this season.

Missouri State received 59 points which earned them fifth place. The Bears finished in sixth place at the 2017 Indoor Championship. Asha Cave and Jessica Allen rank in the top five in their respective track events. Jamilah James and Daijha Heron rank second and third in triple jump.

Loyola secured sixth place with 46 points. The Ramblers will look to Lindsey Brewis to lead in the 5,000m as she currently holds the fastest time 16:26.01.

Drake came in a close seventh with 42 points. Seniors Taryn Rolle and Mary Young who earned all-MVC honors during indoor last year will help lead the way for the Bulldog team made up of predominately underclassmen.

Bradley took eighth with 34 points. Niamh Markham time in the 800m and Natalie Burant’s in the 5,000m rank in the top five on the Valley’s performance list so far this season.

Evansville & Valparaiso round out the poll tied for ninth after each receiving 15 points. Both teams will be competing at their first Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship.
 

Place	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points
1. (tied)	Illinois State (5)	95
1. (tied)	Indiana State 5)	95
3.	Southern Illinois	78
4.	Northern Iowa	71
5.	Missouri State	59
6.	Loyola	46
7.	Drake	42
8.	Bradley	34
9. (tied)	Evansville	15
10. (tied)	Valparaiso	15

Teams head into their last weekend of competition before the conference tournament. Northern Iowa will host the 2018 Indoor Track and Field Championship Saturday, February 24 and Sunday, February 25 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Check out the Valley’s Championship Central page to follow along with the championship.