St. Louis—The league coaches have selected Illinois State’s men’s and women’s programs as the favorite in the 2019-20 Track & Field preseason poll.
Illinois State was selected to finish first in the men’s preseason poll after finishing first at the Indoor Championship and second at the Outdoor Championship in 2019. The Redbirds received five first-place votes with 76 total points. The team will look to Jack Anstey who took gold in the men’s mile, and Kimathi Johnson who took gold in the men’s 800m on the track after losing senior Ben Montgomery; MVC Indoor MVP in 2019. On the field side, Illinois State will look to Ryan Ashenbremer and Kellen Kravik who placed first and second in the men’s pole vault. Coach Jeff Bovee looks to lead his program to their 12th Indoor Championship and third consecutive.
Northern Iowa follows directly behind receiving four first-place votes and 64 total points. UNI dominated last year’s events rounding out the meet in second with 144.50 points. Returning for UNI include Keegan Tritle who took silver at the MVC Indoor Championship for men’s shot put, Cade Kirkpatrick also taking silver in the men’s long jump and three members of the first-place 4x400m relay team returning, Sven Van Den Bergh, Connor Blough and Tayshaun Cooper. UNI has 12 Indoor Championship Titles with the last being 2009 where they had a decade worth of consecutive indoor championship titles. The Panthers are on the hunt for another title this season.
Indiana State comes in next with 64 points in the pre-season coaches poll. The Trees had a great showing at last years Indoor Championship finishing third with 95.5 total points. Indiana State had a strong senior presence at last year’s championship but will look to Sophomore sprinter JaVaughn Moore who was honored as the MVC Male Freshman of the Year last season in addition to Sophomore Matthew-Lewis Banks who earned a spot on the podium after taking second in the 60m hurdles.
Tabbed fourth in the pre-season poll is Southern Illinois with 54 points. The Salukis will turn to Adam Kessler; MVC Indoor Championship record holder in the shot put, who took the gold in both the weight throw and the shot put last season. Alongside Kessler will be Ricky Hurley who took the Bronze in this same event. Willie Rodgers will be a standout this season after taking the gold in the men’s triple jump as well as Caleb Vogel who took silver in the men’s high jump. Southern Illinois has won 13 indoor championships with their last being 2012.
Bradley comes in fifth with 42 points in the coaches’ pre-season poll. Last season, Bradley had a strong showing on the track taking second in the Distance Medley. Four Braves who earned points in the mile run will return this season; Simon Paige, Ben Potrykus, Alec Danner and Nick Porter. Jake Hoffert also returns this season and will look to place in the 3000m and 5000m after finishing fourth in the 3000m behind three graduated Braves and third in the 5000m at last years championship. Alec Hartman will be another one to watch this season as the Junior finished second in the 800m earning a spot on the podium.
The Ramblers were picked sixth with 36 points. After taking the gold in the long jump at last years indoor, Eric Burns will return in hopes of placing again. Gift Chinda will look to do the same in the men’s triple jump after a bronze victory at the MVC Indoor Championship. Loyola placed third in the 4x400m relay and will look to Vince DiVenere and Octavian Wells for guidance as the others to this medley have graduated. The Ramblers will also look to Riley DeMeulenaere and Demetri Panici who helped reach a third-place victory in the distance medley after losing the other two members to this team event.
Drake takes the seventh spot in the pre-season poll with 32 points. The Bulldogs will turn to Junior Kundai Maguranyanga who took the gold in the 60 Meter Dash as well as the 200 Meter Dash at last years indoor championship. Cloud Masibhera had a standout performance in the triple jump at last years championship finishing second and will look to earn his spot on the podium again this year. In the 4x400m team event, the Bulldogs took fourth with Aobakwe Malau, Victor Peka, Angelo Romagna and Kundai Maguranyanga all expected to compete again this winter.
Valparaiso was picked eighth with 18 points. The Crusaders return Dominic Paoletti to their squad who earned points in both the 3000m and 5000m last year. Additionally, they return TJ Weinzimmer who finished seventh in the triple jump and 11th in the long jump last year. In the field events will be Jake Rasawehr who scored points in both the weight throw and the shot put. The Crusaders finished fifth in the Distance Medley with Jack Worman, Ignacio Veloz Bonilla, Ben Sekuloski and Ronald Black all who are expected to return this season.
Evansville received 9 points in the preseason poll. The Purple Aces will look to their returners to pave the way for their program through this years indoor season.
Illinois State was picked to finish first in this year’s women’s pre-season poll. The Redbirds received all 10 first-place votes with 100 total points. Three first place medalists will return for the Redbirds including Hattie Plumb (800m), Kristin Higgins (high jump), and Ariana Cranston (pole vault) and an additional six all conference winners will be back in action this sesaon. In the 2018-19 season, Illinois State finished first in both the indoor and outdoor championships. The Redbirds are looking to win their third consecutive Indoor Championship this season under head coach Jeff Bovee.
Tied for one of the second-place spots in this year’s pre-season poll with 83 points is Southern Illinois. The Salukis had a strong showing at last years indoor championship medaling in many events. Eight all-conference student-athletes return including Ty’Juana Eason who earned gold in the women’s 60m dash along with the 200m dash and Madison Meyer who took gold in the women’s pentathlon. The Salukis finished first in the 4x400m relay with all four members to this team event returning. Southen Illinois has won five MVC Indoor Championships with the last being 2009 as they look for their sixth this season.
Indiana State tied for second in the pre-season poll with 83 points. The Sycamores finished 2nd at indoor last season and look to win their 7th Indoor Championship with the last being 2015. Imani Davis, Rebecca Odusola and Imani Hall return for the 4x400m relay after placing third last season. Jocelyn Quiles will return for the 1 mile run after finishing second alongside graduated seniors Brooke Moore and Jessi Conley. Though Indiana State lost some talented seniors, the Trees will return five of their nine all-conference athletes.
Northern Iowa came in fourth with 72 points. The Panthers finished fourth at last years Indoor Championship with five all-conference student-athletes. Returning for UNI include Brooke Lorenz who took the silver in the pentathlon, Patrice Watson who took the bronze in the 60m hurdles and Katie Nimrod who was part of the 2nd place Distance Medley squad.
Missouri State was voted fifth in the pre-season poll with 58 points. The Bears return Jamilah James who secured two spots on the podium by placing first in the triple jump and second in the long jump last season. In addition to James, returners include Namibia Clavier, Edna Dar, Grace Breiten and Chicago Bains who all contributed points at last years championship.
Loyola comes in sixth with 53 points in the pre-season poll. The Ramblers will rely on Mimi Reimers who took third in the 5000m run and Sarah Olojo who took second in the triple jump this season after losing all-conference winner Lindsey Brewis who took the gold in both the 3000m and 5000m run. Alongside Reimers and Olojo, Claire Hengesbaugh and Rita Maurais expect to return for Loyola, who helped contribute to Loyola’s fifth place finish at last years Championship.
Bradley follows in the pre-season poll with 39 points. Last season, the Braves took the gold in the Distance Medley finishing over six-seconds faster then UNI who came in second. Though Bradley lost quite a few impactful seniors, they will look to McKenzie Altmayer, Gabby Juarez and Tyler Schwartz this season for their experience in competition.
Drake takes the eighth spot in the pre-season poll with 30 points. The Bulldogs have a young squad this season and will look to their upperclassmen to lead the way. Last season the Bulldogs had four finishers in the 3000m run including Rachel Selva, Millie Bretl, Olivia Rogers and Elizabeth Aho all of which will return this season. Valparaiso was voted ninth in the pre-season poll with 19 points.
The Crusaders will look to Shannon Lahey, Anne Mou and Katherine Germann for leadership after each competed in last years Indoor Championship.
Evansville finishes out the pre-season poll with nine points. The Aces return Anna Lowry who finished 13th in the 3000m run last season. In addition to Lowry, Taiza Alexander and Skylar Tucker will contribute this year. Evansville only has two seniors on their squad with most of the team underclassman.
