WICHITA, Kan. – Indiana State earned an All-MVC finish from senior pole vaulter Kaitlyn Moricz and pushed an impressive six through to finals following prelims on a successful Day One of the 2017 MVC Outdoor Championships at Wichita State on Friday.
 
Moricz led a Sycamore squad that scored 12 of ISU's 19 points on the women's side – which currently puts them in fourth place behind Wichita State (49), Northern Iowa (26) and Southern Illinois (26). The Sycamore men received two sixth-place finishes for six points on the day, putting them tied for seventh overall.
 
Moricz repeated her All-MVC finish from the indoor season, today clearing an outdoor PR 3.86m (12-08.00) – the seventh-best height in school history outdoors. Also scoring for the Sycamores were Emily Brady at the 10th-best height in school history (fifth, 3.71m/12-02.00) and Kim Jackson (seventh, 3.56m/11-08.00).
 
Indiana State also notched three scorers across the women's and men's hammer throw. Sophomore Cassaundra Roper unleashed a massive 12-foot PR to finish fourth overall at 57.50m (188-08) – the fifth-best throw in school history. Roper broke the formchart, as she entered the day ranked fifth in the Valley.
 
Also breaking the mold was junior Jasmine Noel, who finished seventh at a near season-best 53.19m (174-06) after not ranking in the top-eight entering today.
 
Scoring in the men's hammer was senior Ryan Chestnut, who took sixth place at 54.14m (177-07).
 
Also scoring in sixth place in their event was sophomore Akis Medrano, who ran 31:01.21 in the men's 10K.
 
Indiana State set itself up for success on Sunday, though, with six finals qualifiers after a strong day on the track. Five of those alone came from the men's and women's 1500-meter races, with three coming on the men's side.
 
Junior Blake Kramer led the way with the fifth fastest prelim time at 3:55.04, with senior All-American David Timlin taking seventh at 3:55.14 and sophomore Quentin Pierce 10th at 3:57.00.
 
Sophomore Brooke Moore took care of business in her 1500 prelim, taking the top time at 4:31.49. She entered the championships with the top time in the Valley – an Indiana State school-record time of 4:20.02. Fellow sophomore Abigail Grider will join Moore in the final on Sunday after taking the eighth spot at a career-best 4:34.93.
 
Junior sprinter Tristan Parmley kept his incredible season going with a sixth-place prelim finish in the 200-meter dash at 21.19. Fellow junior Jaynard Keys just missed out on joining him in the final, finishing one spot outside in ninth at 21.44 – seven hundredths shy of qualifying.
 
The Sycamore women's heptathletes had a superb day, as both sit in scoring contention with the conclusion of the heptathlon tomorrow. Sophomore Caitlyn Redmon sits in sixth overall at 3,054, with fellow sophomore sitting in 10th overall but just 51 points shy at 3,003. Redmon went 3-for-4 in setting PRs in her four events today, with Morgan going a perfect 4-for-4.
 
Redmon opened the day with a blistering career-best in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing fifth at 14.07 – the sixth-best time in school history. Morgan was similarly fast, finishing sixth at 14.10 – a wind-legal PR that is just shy of her wind-aided 14.08 run earlier this year that now ranks seventh all-time.
 
Redmon cleared 1.58m (5-02.25) for an eighth-place tie in the high jump, with Morgan tying a PR in a tie for 11th at 1.55m (5-01.00). Both set career-bests in the shot put, with Redmon finishing sixth at 10.67m (35-00.25) and Morgan 15th at 9.33m (30-07.50).
 
Morgan was the top finisher in the 200-meter dash, running a PR 25.13 to finish third overall. Redmon also ran a PR at 25.96 for 13th.
 
At Redmon's current average of 763.5 points per event, she is on pace for the second-best heptathlon in school history at 5,344 behind Erica Moore's 2010 record of 5,553. Morgan's average of 750.75 would put her at 5,255 – which would also be second right now behind Moore's record.
 
In the men's decathlon, Joshua Perry is also within scoring contention in ninth place at 3,307 points. Michael Boger currently ranks 12th at 2,954. Perry highlighted the day in the decathlon with three top-10 finishes in the long jump (eighth, 6.18m/20-03.50), shot put (ninth, 10.59m/34-09.00) and high jump (tied for fourth, 1.91m/6-03.25).
 
Competition resumes on Day Two with the resumption of the women's heptathlon at 11:30 a.m. ET and the men's decathlon at 12:30 p.m. ET.  The women's shot put and men's high jump kick off the field event action at 4 p.m. ET, with the action on the track beginning at 6 p.m. with the women's 100-meter hurdles prelims. Fans can watch action live on The Valley on ESPN3 beginning at 5:45 p.m. ET.
 
Day One Women's Team Scores (Through four events):
1. Wichita State – 49
2. Northern Iowa – 26
2. Southern Illinois – 26
4. Indiana State – 19
5. Missouri State – 16
6. Loyola – 10
7. Illinois State – 6
8. Bradley – 3
9. Drake – 1
 
Day One Men's Team Scores (Through three events):
1. Wichita State – 32
2. Southern Illinois – 30
3. Northern Iowa – 17
4. Drake – 10
5. Bradley – 9
6. Illinois State – 7
7. Loyola – 6
7. Indiana State – 6
 
Day One Finals Qualifiers:
Abigail Grider – 1500-Meter
Blake Kramer – 1500-Meter
Brooke Moore – 1500-Meter
Tristan Parmley – 200-Meter Dash
Quentin Pierce – 1500-Meter
David Timlin – 1500-Meter
 
Day One All-MVC:
Kaitlyn Moricz – Pole Vault, 3rd Place
 
Other Day One Scorers:
Cassaundra Roper – Hammer Throw, 4th Place
Emily Brady – Pole Vault, 5th Place
Ryan Chestnut – Hammer Throw, 6th Place
Akis Medrano – 10,000-Meter, 6th Place
Kim Jackson – Pole Vault, 7th Place
Jasmine Noel – Hammer Throw, 7th Place
 
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.