EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – After back-to-back meets last weekend at Missouri and Illinois, the SIUE track & field team will travel to Illinois State for the Redbird Invite Saturday.

Competition is set to begin with field events at 10 a.m. inside ISU's Horton Field House.  The triangular meet will feature SIUE, Illinois State, and Kent State.

"Last weekend was tough with the back-to-back meets," Head Coach Kareem Jackson said.  "We discussed some of the positives as well as some of the areas we need to improve, and I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond."

On the women's side, seniors Aftan Noon and Colleen McDonough will be looking to continue their fast starts to the indoor season.  Noon broke the program record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2 minutes, 55.78 seconds while McDonough finished third in the shot put at the Illini Classic with a throw of 46 feet, 8 inches.

Freshman Jessica Oranika also was impressive over the weekend, finishing third in the 600 meters at Illinois with a time of 1:35.89.

For the men, sophomore La'Derrick Ward will be competing for the first time this season in the jumps.  Ward is the current school record holder in the long jump with a leap of 23-11.75.

Junior Josh Thomas and sophomore Greg Block will also be looking to ride the momentum of impressive performances last weekend.  Thomas posted the OVC's third-fastest time of the season in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.43 while Block finished fourth in the shot put at Missouri with a heave of 59-1.5.

"Kent State and Illinois State both have great programs, and we're evenly matched with them in many areas," Jackson added.  "This meet is going to come down to who competes the hardest."