ST. LOUIS – The Illinois State men's cross country team was picked to finish as the Missouri Valley Conference runner-up for the 2018 campaign, while the women's team was tabbed fifth, in the annual MVC cross country coaches' preseason poll, announced the league Thursday morning.
The Redbird men, who return their top-eight runners from the 2017 team that claimed third-place at the MVC Championship and 12th at the NCAA Midwest Regional, finished second with 67 voter points behind Valley-favorite Bradley. After winning the MVC Championship last season, the Braves received all nine first-place votes for a total of 81 points.