The University of Illinois Springfield Track & Field program has announced its spring schedules for the 2024 outdoor season.
The outdoor track & field season is set to begin with three meets in the final weekend of March. The first meet of the season is the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., an event with qualifying standards.
The majority of the team will open up at the WashU Distance Carnival on March 29. Washington University in St. Louis hosts the annual meet on the Bushyhead Track, the site of the 1904 Olympics.
UIS will wrap up opening weekend at Illinois State's Redbird Challenge on Saturday, March 30.
UIS will then compete at Bellarmine's Jim Vargo Open on April 5. The meet is of several opportunities for athletes to compete in the 10,000 meter run during the outdoor season. Bellarmine, a former GLVC member school, is located in Louisville, Ky.
The Asuza Pacific Bryan Clay Invitational, another meet with time standards, is set for April 11-13. UIS athletes have run a number of school records and NCAA provisional marks at the meet in recent years, including a provisional mark by returner Cort Ross in the 10,000 meters last season.
Indiana State's Gibson Invitational is in the schedule for April 19-20, then the regular season will wrap up at Simpson's Kip Janvrin Open on April 25-26.
The GLVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by Truman State in Kirksville, Mo. on May 3-5.
Top Prairie Stars
UIS men's track & field claimed the GLVC titles in every distance event but the steeplechase in the 2023 outdoor season. Cort Ross is the sole returner who had All-GLVC honors in outdoor season last spring. Ross recently finished 2nd in the 5,000 meters at the GLVC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Noah Tegeler also earned all-conference honors in indoor track when he finished 3rd in the 3,000 meters, the first All-GLVC honors of his career.
On the women's side, Breanna Chandler was the sole All-GLVC honoree in indoor track & field. The senior took 3rd place in the 800 meters at the recent GLVC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Madelyn Miller was also an individual point-scorer for UIS at the championships, finishing 7th in the 3,000m and 8th in the 5,000m for a total of three points.