Indiana State University Athletics

ST. LOUIS -- The Indiana State men's and women's cross country teams have each been picked to finish third at the MVC Cross Country Championships as announced today (Aug. 15) by the league office. The MVC preseason polls are determined by a vote of the league's head cross country coaches.

This year the men's and women's cross country teams at Indiana State will be led by Kyle Walsh who is in his third season as the women's cross country head coach and begins his first season this fall at the helm of the men's program. Angie Martin coordinates the entire Indiana State Track & Field / Cross Country program and Walsh will also be assisted by Sycamore cross country legend John Mascari as well as James Walters.

"Both teams will run great competition this fall," head coach Kyle Walsh said. "The John McNichols Invitational will have some great teams from the Midwest coming to LaVern Gibson course. The Intercollegiate meet at Purdue is a fun invitational where we get to compete against many of our in-state rivals. Mid-season tests at the Notre Dame Invitational and the Pre-National Championship at Louisville will allow us to line up against many of the best teams in the nation. I feel we have an outstanding schedule that will really challenge us leading into the post season."

The men's team collected 65 points in the preseason poll and are picked to finish third. Bradley picked up all nine first place votes and are first with 81 points while Illinois State amassed 68 and are second. Indiana State was ahead of Loyola, UNI, Drake, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso and Evansville in the predicted pecking order. Indiana State will returns three runners from the 2016 MVC Championship lineup which finished third. Leading the way is Akis Medrano who was a 2016 First Team All-MVC selection and who finished seventh overall in the championship race. Also back from the MVC meet last year are junior Quentin Pierce and sophomore Seth Cousins. One year ago Pierce was 18th at the MVC meet while Cousins was 20th.

"Our men's team will look to replace our All-American David Timlin and strong fifth runner Daniel Swem from last year's third place MVC team," head coach Kyle Walsh said. "We return All-MVC athlete Akis Medrano as well as solid returners junior Quentin Pierce and sophomore Seth Cousins. Coach McNichols had the men's program ready for peak performances at the MVC Championship and NCAA Regional meet and we will be attempting to gear our training to prepare for those competitions again."

The women's team also was picked to finish third with 79 points and UNI and Bradley each recorded 94 points and tied for first place honors. The Sycamores will be picked to finish ahead of Illinois State, Loyola, Southern Illinois, Missouri State, Drake, Evansville and Valparaiso. The top four finishers for Indiana State at last year's MVC meet will return for another season in the Blue & White, including a trio of All-MVC performers. Brooke Moore led the way for Indiana State at the 2016 MVC Championship with a third place finish and was 43rd at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Taylor Austin was 12th last year and advanced to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships this past June in Eugene, Oregon. Alli Workman took 15th place at last year's MVC Championship meet. Megan Doty is also back from a 25th place finish at the league championship last year.

"Our women's team has progressed from fifth to fourth the past two seasons and have an opportunity to move into a top 3 MVC position for the first time since 2003," coach Walsh commented. It will be a tall task but we return our entire lineup from last year and have the tools in place to battle with any MVC team. Taylor Austin and Brooke Moore have both been All-MVC cross country athletes in the past and are both coming off individual championships in their outdoor track events (steeplechase & 1500). Alli Workman was honorable mention All-MVC as a freshman and will play a large role in our success during her sophomore campaign."

The MVC Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, October 28 in Springfield, Mo. For the first time in league history, the MVC Cross Country Championship will be aired on The Valley on ESPN3, the league's co-branded digital network with ESPN. Cross Country becomes the ninth postseason league championship distributed through The Valley on ESPN3 as it joins women's and men's soccer, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball, softball and baseball.