TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Sycamores and Redbirds clashed for the 13th annual Coughlan-Malloy Cup on Friday evening at the Terre Haute Double Dual held by Rose-Hulman, with Indiana State edging out Illinois State, 157-145, in a thrilling finale.
 
Friday's meet was the first for the Sycamores without legendary coach John McNichols – a proud and active supporter of how exciting scored track meets could be throughout his career – since his untimely passing on Dec. 21 due to complications from a stroke. The Sycamores and Redbirds, who both donned uniform tributes to him (Indiana State with a "JM" patch on the jerseys and Illinois State with blue ribbons on their warmups), pushed the contest right to the wire, with the men coming out on top 76-75 and the women pulling away very late to an 81-70 win.
 
"Today was definitely up and down," said interim head coach Angela Martin. "For us to come away with this is a tribute to our team, they really pulled it off. We had a few struggling with some injuries, but it's early in the season so we'll work hard to get them back. I'm really proud that for all the ups and downs that we had for them to come out and do this well."
 
With the 4x400-meter relays, 3,000-meter runs and the women's triple jump left to score, the Sycamores had a narrow 10-point lead at 126-116, with ISU pulling away late with wins on the women's side by Brooke Moore in the 3K and Jamie Newsome in the triple jump.
 
Despite the final outcome, it was a back-and-forth slugfest between the two Valley foes. Indiana State came away with 15 total event titles, eight coming on the women's side and seven the men's.
 
The Sycamore women were most dominant in the distance events, sweeping the 800, mile and 3K from the normally strong Illinois State distance squad. ISU went one-two in the 800, with junior Aleksey Green taking the win at 2:16.96 (currently No. 36 in the NCAA) and freshman Imani Davis right behind her at 2:17.10 in her first-career 800 race.
 
All-MVC runners Taylor Austin and Brooke Moore then went on to take care of business in the mile and 3K. Austin, the defending outdoor steeplechase champion and indoor All-MVC finisher in the 5K, won the mile at a season-best 5:04.33.
 
Moore, meanwhile, led wire-to-wire in the 3K, running a very strong open at 10:09.77. Fellow sophomore Megan Doty wasn't far off in third place at 10:15.78.
 
"(Austin and Moore) have been training really well," Martin said. "It's hard to stay healthy over the break, but both of them came in and got to work. They're both confident racers, so I'm excited to see where they're going to go. I like the gutsy efforts they put in."
 
The Sycamore women also had a strong day in the field, taking five more titles in those events. Senior LeVisa Evans, 2015 MVC high jump champion, had a stellar day in just her second indoor meet of the season, winning at a height of 1.69m (5-06.50).
 
Sophomore Emily Brady and junior Breanna Herring took the top-two spots in the women's pole vault, both clearing 3.53m (11-07.00). Newsome, as mentioned earlier, claimed victory in the triple jump, leaping 11.68m (38-04.00) for the win.
 
Junior and defending MVC Outdoor discus champion Jasmine Noel swept titles in both the women's shot put and weight throw to lead the throws crew. Noel came within one centimeter off her PR in the shot put, winning at 14.24m (46-08.75), and claimed the weight throw title at 17.72m (58-01.75), nearly two feet better than her teammate and runner-up Cassaundra Roper (17.21m/56-05.75).
 
On the men's side, the Sycamore hurdlers went one-two as expected in the 60-meter hurdles, but it was senior Daley Carter who took home the win over teammate and fellow senior Marcus Neely. Carter, who missed the entire 2016 outdoor season due to an injury, came in second behind Neely in the prelims, running 8.03 to his 7.92, but bested him 8.01 to 8.05 in the finals.
 
"Daley did a good job," Martin said. "It's hard to have that long a break in such a hard technique event. You have to get used to the rhythm. We've ran them hard the last 10 days. We've got a lot of practice in. We're not in a routine with not being in school yet, but once we do those two are going to run very fast and have a good season."
 
Also primed for a good season is junior high jumper Jaime Murtagh, who bounced back from a slow opener at EIU in December for a strong victory over Illinois State. Murtagh, the defending MVC runner-up both indoors and outdoors in the high jump, cleared 2.09m (6-10.25) for the win and just barely missed at seven feet. Murtagh currently ranks tied for 31st in the NCAA.
 
"He did an awesome job," Martin said. "A month ago we were jumping at EIU and a couple of those Illinois State guys beat him, and he came out and was after it today."
 
Other men's winners included Tre Kennedy in the pole vault (4.52m/14-10.00), Devyn Mikell in the long jump (7.26m/23-10.00, season-best, 28th in the NCAA), Gino Brown in the triple jump (14.52m/47-07.75, one centimeter shy of indoor PR), Vince Laconi in the shot put (16.36m/53-08.25, PR) and Sam Overton in the weight throw (17.00m/55-09.25).
 
The win marks the first meet for Martin as the program director of both men's and women's cross country and track & field at Indiana State. The team – which in addition to the jersey patches – observed a moment of silence before the National Anthem and presented the Coughlan-Malloy Cup to McNichols' wife, Linda, after the meet.
 
"This is tough," Martin said. "Our whole team was very close with him, especially his individual athletes in the distance and the hurdles events. It is tough to come out here and do this without him. They're used to having him there and being able to talk to him before and after the races. Our staff is trying hard to step in and be the sounding boards they need at those moments. But, these kids are so resilient. They've kind of made our staff relax a bit. It's a good family atmosphere and they're working hard together, so hopefully we'll get through everything."
 
The Sycamores hit the road next week down to Indiana University for the Gladstein Invitational on Jan. 20-21.
 
Combined Team Scores:
1. Indiana State - 157
2. Illinois State – 145
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Indiana State – 76
2. Illinois State - 75
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Indiana State – 81
2. Illinois State - 70
 
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
 
Women's 60-Meter Dash:
2. Shana Cooper – 7.81q – 7.77f
 
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles:
2. Patrycja Dziekonska – 9.27q – 8.80f
3. Micaela McLean – 8.94q – 8.86f
4. Allana Ince – 9.03q – 8.95f – PR
 
Women's 200 Meter Dash:
2. Shana Cooper – 25.58 – PR
 
Men's 200 Meter Dash:
2. Tristan Parmley – 22.11 – Indoor PR
 
Men's 400 Meter Dash:
2. Tyrell Dowdell – 49.34
 
Men's Mile:
2. Blake Kramer – 4:19.32 – Lost by one-hundredth
 
Men's 3K:
3. Akis Medrano – 8:28.63 – 13-second PR, No. 39 in NCAA
4. Quentin Pierce – 8:32.10
 
Women's Long Jump:
2. Ayanna Morgan – 5.77m (18-11.25) – One-foot PR
 
Men's Pole Vault:
2. Riley Smith – 4.42m (14-06.00)
 
Men's Triple Jump:
2. Malik Jenkins – 14.38m (47-02.25) – PR
3. Devyn Mikell – 13.39m (43-11.25)
 
Men's Shot Put:
2. Hunter Schuman – 16.11m (52-10.25)
 
Men's Weight Throw:
2. Hunter Schuman – 16.07m (52-08.75)
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track and Field team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.