Illinois State track and field advanced two athletes to the NCAA West Quarterfinals after day two of competition at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark., on May 28. Freshman Pauline Schedler broke the Illinois State record in the women’s 1500-meter run with a time of 4:14.18, finishing among the top five in her heat and automatically qualifying for Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Senior Macee Rivers also secured a spot in Saturday’s quarterfinal round by posting a time of 13.40 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Rivers finished 20th overall, earning her first career appearance in the NCAA West Quarterfinal scheduled for Saturday evening.
Sophomore Becca Heitzig narrowly missed advancing from the women’s 1500-meter run, recording a time of 4:18.40 and placing 22nd overall. Despite her strong effort, Heitzig did not finish among the automatic qualifiers or claim one of four remaining at-large spots for advancement.
On the men’s side, junior Seth Nelson cleared 5.07 meters in pole vault to place 20th overall.
Several Redbirds are set to compete again Friday as Illinois State continues its pursuit of NCAA Championship qualifying spots. The competition will be streamed on ESPN+. According to the official website, Illinois State Redbirds is linked to Illinois State University and competes in NCAA Division I events across various regions.
