BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Indiana State men's and women's track & field will head south for another scored competition at the Samford Invitational on Friday.
The Sycamores, who are two weeks away from the MVC Indoor Championships on Feb. 25-26, will be one of 17 teams in scored competition at the Birmingham CrossPlex for the one-day meet – site of the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. Also in attendance will be Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Coastal Carolina, Florida A&M, Furman, Georgia Southern, Mississippi Valley State, North Alabama, North Florida, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Tulane, UL-Lafayette and UL-Monroe. Scoring will be standard among the Division I schools.
ISU is coming off a highly successful but unscored meet at the prestigious Meyo Invite at Notre Dame last week, where sophomore
Brooke Moore brought down current senior associate AD
Angie Lansing's 1998 mile record of 4:50.12. Moore finished 12th overall in the nationally-prominent mile field and second in her heat at a blistering 4:43.04 – currently the 40th-best mile time in the NCAA and the top in the Missouri Valley. Moore is also the MVC's top 800-meter runner at the moment, with a converted 2:09.18 from the Mark Messersmith Invite at UNI.
Moore will try her hand at the 3K this week alongside teammates
Taylor Austin,
Abigail Grider,
Megan Doty and
Taylor Rogers.
Speaking of distance, five Sycamore men are currently in the national top-50 in their events as well. The men's distance medley relay of
Blake Kramer,
Tyrell Dowdell,
Tony Rigoni and
Quentin Pierce ran the 39th-fastest DMR in the nation at Meyo last week at 9:56.87, the top time in the Valley at the moment. Sophomore and fellow distance runner
Akis Medrano also ranks at No. 46 in the 5K at a monster 20-second PR of 14:34.23.
Senior hurdlers
Daley Carter and
Marcus Neely, however, remain ISU's closest to the top-16 qualifying mark for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. Neither set a new season-best in the 60-meter hurdles last week at Meyo, but are still within striking distance, with Carter at No. 17 at a career-best 7.85, and Neely not far behind at No. 21 at 7.87. Carter and Neely also currently hold the top two spots in the Valley as well.
Competition will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Friday with the women's weight throw.
Women's National Top-50:
40.
Brooke Moore – 4:43.04
Men's National Top-50:
17.
Daley Carter – 60-Meter Hurdles – 7.85
21.
Marcus Neely – 60-Meter Hurdles – 7.87
39. Distance Medley Relay (Kramer, Dowdell, Rigoni, Pierce) – 9:56.87
46.
Akis Medrano – 5,000-Meter – 14:34.23
Women's MVC Top-Three:
1.
Brooke Moore – 800-Meter – 2:09.18 (converted)
1.
Brooke Moore – Mile – 4:43.04
1. Distance Medley Relay (Green, Newsome, Davis, Grider) – 11:49.08
2.
LeVisa Evans – High Jump – 1.69m (5-06.50)
2.
Alethia Marrero – 800-Meter – 2:09.24
2.
Caitlyn Redmon – Long Jump – 5.88m (19-03.50)
3.
Alethia Marrero – 400-Meter Dash – 55.72 (converted)
3.
Kaitlyn Moricz – Pole Vault – 3.85m (12-07.50)
3.
Cassaundra Roper – Shot Put – 14.68m (48-02.00)
3. 4x400-Meter Relay (Davis, Newsome, Jackson, Marrero) – 3:45.26
Men's MVC Top-Three:
1.
Daley Carter – 60-Meter Hurdles – 7.85
1. Distance Medley Relay (Kramer, Dowdell, Rigoni, Pierce) – 9:56.87
2.
Jaime Murtagh – High Jump – 2.09m (6-10.25)
2.
Marcus Neely – 60-Meter Hurdles – 7.87
3.
Akis Medrano – 5,000-Meter – 14:34.23
3.
Devyn Mikell – Long Jump – 7.36m (24-01.75)
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.
