NORMAL, Ill. –  The Illinois State track & field program is set to travel to Oxford, Miss., for the Joe Walker Invitational hosted by Ole Miss. Action is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

This year marks the third consecutive year the Redbirds will travel to compete at the Joe Walker Invitational. In last year's event, Sophomore Ryan Schaefer won the men's decathlon with 6251 points and Senior Cade Ward finished third with 5830 points. Both Schaefer and Ward entered the top-10 lists with their point totals just a year ago.

The Redbirds enter the weekend following a strong opening weekend in which members of the team competed across four different meets. In Normal, at the Redbird Challenge, Illinois State picked up 11 event wins throughout the weekend. Sophomore Garrett Taylor moved to fifth in program history in discus with a throw of 55.21m (181-1).

In Texas, at the Bobcat Invitational, Junior Jake Welch entered the top-10 list for the men's 400m with a time of 47.10. Welch now holds a time in both the indoor and outdoor top-10 list. Just down the road, at the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Sophomore Immaculate Daniel claimed the second-fastest time in Redbird history in the women's 100m with a time of 11.50. Ryan Schaefer also moved up the top-10 list for the men's decathlon with a career best point total of 6607 points.