NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Indiana State's distance squads and long jumpers were the story for a solid day by the Sycamores at Day One of the 2017 Meyo Invite inside the Loftus Sports Center at Notre Dame on Friday.
 
Both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams had very strong outings amidst a packed field, with both running top-10 times in school history.
 
The Sycamore men's DMR of Blake Kramer (1200), Tyrell Dowdell (400), Tony Rigoni (800) and Quentin Pierce (mile) finished third overall at 9:56.87 – less than one second off of second all-time in school history. The quartet had a superb race, but the star of the day was the sophomore Pierce, who clocked in a blistering 4:09 mile to close the gap and push the Sycamores to third place. That total time currently ranks 27th in the NCAA and leads the Missouri Valley conference.
 
The women's medley of Aleksey Green (1200), Jamie Newsome (400), Imani Davis (800) and Abigail Grider (mile) had a similarly impressive day, running the fourth-fastest time in ISU history at 11:49.08. The foursome finished 12th overall and seventh in their heat, but that time currently ranks 35th in the NCAA and also leads the MVC.
 
ISU wasn't done with the distance events, though, as sophomore Akis Medrano and Megan Doty put together career performances in the 5K. Medrano, an All-MVC finisher during the cross country season last fall, finished 10th overall and third in the first heat on a massive PR of nearly 20 seconds at 14:34.23. Medrano ran a smooth race, starting out slow before attacking the lead pack and never giving an inch down the stretch. He now ranks sixth all-time in school history, 33rd in the NCAA and leads the Valley in the 5K.
 
Doty had a similar day, running a 15-second PR at 17:20.84 to finish 32nd overall and 10th in the first heat, the sixth-best time in school history and the third-best in the Valley this year.
 
Indiana State also had two impressive finalists in a massive long jump field on both the men's and women's side of competition. Sophomore transfer Caitlyn Redmon started the day off on a good note for the Sycamores, finishing sixth in the long jump on her first leap of the day in the first flight, 5.88m (19-03.50). Redmon now ranks ninth all-time in school history and second in the Valley.
 
Senior Devyn Mikell kept up his steady final indoor season with another season-best, finishing third at 7.36m (24-01.75) – currently the third-best leap in the conference.
 
The Sycamores also had a handful of sprinters advance to semifinals on Saturday following qualifying performances on Friday. ISU will send two to the men's 60-meter hurdles semifinal on Saturday after senior Marcus Neely ran the top prelim time of the day (7.93) and fellow senior Daley Carter ran the 13th-best at 8.26.
 
Junior Patrycja Dziekonska also qualified in the women's 60-meter hurdles, running the 19th-best prelim time at a new season-best time of 8.68 seconds – a team-best for ISU this season and the sixth-best in the MVC this year.
 
Junior Tristan Parmley will run in the 60-meter dash semifinal on Saturday as well after running the 10th-fastest prelim at 7.13 seconds.
 
Day Two will pick up at 9:45 a.m. with the semifinals of the women's 60-meter hurdles. Fans can watch the action live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN from 2-4 p.m. to catch the final hours of the meet.
 
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
 
Women's Weight Throw:
7. Jasmine Noel – 18.05m (59-02.75)
 
Women's 200-Meter Dash:
19. Shana Cooper – 24.94 – PR, Team-Best
 
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.