ST. LOUIS – Ahead of this weekend's Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the Illinois State women's track and field team was picked to finish second and the men's team was selected sixth in the pre-championship poll released by the league office Monday.
Illinois State's women received 70 points and six second-place votes, while Wichita State was a unanimous favorite to win the MVC women's outdoor title. The Shockers received 81 out of 81 possible points. On the men's side, Illinois State was one point shy of cracking the top-five. The Redbirds earned 28 points, while Wichita State was also picked to win the MVC men's outdoor title by tallying 63 points and receiving seven of eight first-place votes.