CEDAR FALLS, Iowa. – Erin Reese earned a Missouri Valley Conference championship in the weight throw and ten Sycamores earned All-MVC honors, while 18 others qualified for final events on Sunday during a successful day one of the 2018 MVC Indoor Championships.
 
The Sycamore women are currently tied with Illinois State for first place at 44 points and the men sit in second with 37 points, trailing only the Illinois State men who have 44 points.
 
The only championship of the night came from Erin Reese in the field. Reese unloaded for a massive 21.06m (69-01.25) throw on her second throw of the day, and the mark held strong, giving her first place. Her mark is not only a career-best, but it's also the second-best mark in school history behind only Felisha Johnson from 2013. This is Reese's first season in a Sycamore uniform after transferring in from Dayton.
 
Reese wasn't the only strong performance in the field for the ISU women, as Caitlyn Redmon earned All-MVC honors in the women's long jump a third place finish. Her mark of 5.99m (19-08.00) also made a large jump in the ISU history books, as she now owns the fourth overall mark all-time.
 
Ayanna Morgan earned her first-ever All-MVC award by placing third overall in the pentathlon with 3650 points. Morgan started the day off strong by winning the 60-meter hurdles at 8.68, and then later she unleashed a monster jump of 5.96m (19-06.75) in the long jump to win that event and move her to fifth all-time at ISU. She is now fourth in Indiana State history in the pentathlon.
 
Taylor Austin led the way for the Indiana State women on the track, picking up an All-MVC finish in second place in the 5K. Austin and Loyola's Lindsey Brewis were neck-and-neck the entire race. Brewis took the lead during the last couple of laps, but Austin turned up the heat on the last lap and closed the gap. Ultimately, she fell by just .3.
 
The women's Distance Medley Relay composed of Brittany Neeley, Rebecca Odusola, Aleksey Green and Jessi Conley team also performed well with a second-place finish, which gave them All-MVC honors. They ended up with a time of 11:54.50, which is ninth in school history.
 
The men also had several career days on both the track and in the field. Akis Medrano had a tall task in the men's 5K, competing members of Bradley's distance squad, which is not an easy task. Medrano rose to the challenge and gave the winner, Bradley's Michael Ward, a difficult race. In the end, Medrano finished second which gave him the All-MVC honor with a time of 14:51.63.
 
Scott Schreiber earned the All-MVC title in one of the deepest fields of competition in the entire championship. The men's long jump saw every Sycamore athlete earn a personal-best, and Schreiber still finished in third with an impressive mark of 7.43m (24-04.50), which moves him to eighth in Sycamore history.
 
In the men's weight throw, Hunter Schuman proved he could be considered among the conference's elite as he picked up a third place finish against tough competition. Schuman threw a lifetime-best mark of 19.76m (64-10.00), falling only to Isaac Ingram and Ricky Hurley of Southern Illinois who are both in the top-35 nationally. Schuman's mark comes in at eight in school history.
 
In addition to the All-MVC performers, Indiana State had 12 other scorers on day one. The men's Distance Medley Relay team made up of Cale Kilian, Isaac Bentz, Cale Kilian and CJ Anyaebunam were originally seeded sixth in the race. That didn't stop them from improving a position and finishing in fifth at 10:13.67.
 
Trey Kennedy, Riley Smith and Antoine Howard all managed to score in the pole vault for the men. Kennedy finished in fifth and Smith right behind him in sixth, both clearing the mark of 4.71m (15-05.50). Howard took the eighth position with a mark of 4.61m (15-01.50).
 
As mentioned above, all of the men's long jumpers recorded personal-bests and they all made finals as well. Myles Aldridge finished highest among the trio of freshmen, placing sixth at 7.12m (23-04.50), while Corey DuPriest finished in eighth at 7.08m (23-02.75). Not far behind DuPriest was Dearis Herron in ninth with his career-best mark of 6.96m (22-10.00).
 
Bringing home more points for the women in the weight throw was Cassaundra Roper who recorded a mark of 18.09m (59-04.25) en route to a sixth-place finish. Sam Overton earned an additional point for the men in the weight throw, finishing eighth with a throw of 17.77m (58-03.75).
 
Tasjia Thomas also earned a point for the Sycamore women, placing eighth in the women's long jump at 5.71m (18-09.00).
 
One of the most important developments from day one was that 18 Sycamores on the track qualified for finals tomorrow afternoon.
 
Senior hurdler Daley Carter will be looking to continue the tradition of 'Hurdle U' after winning his heat on Saturday with a time of 7.83, which is tied for seventh all-time at ISU. Freshman Stephen Griffith also qualified for finals with a career-best time of 8.18.
 
The women's hurdlers were a sight to behold today, as four will be moving on to the final tomorrow. Patrycja Dziekonska and Ayanna Morgan earned automatic qualifiers after winning their heats with times of 8.53 and 8.56, respectively. Allana Ince and Caitlyn Redmon both earned time qualifiers after recording lifetime-bests of 8.64 and 8.81, which are sixth and 10th all-time at Indiana State.
 
DeAndra Greer will be the lone Sycamore representative in the women's 60-meter dash tomorrow after a stellar race on Saturday where she ran a time of 7.49, a new personal-best and fourth in school history.
 
Tristan Parmley will be on double duty tomorrow in the 60-meter dash finals and the 200-meter dash finals. Parmley earned the auto bid in the 60-meter dash by winning his heat at 6.81, and he earned a time qualifier in the 200-meter dash at 21.98. Scott Schreiber will join him in the 60-meter dash after running the fourth-fastest time in prelims.
 
The top overall time in the women's 400-meter dash went to a Sycamore, as Oschtisha Jackson earned an automatic qualifier with an impressive time of 56.80.
 
The Sycamore women will have a chance to score big points in the 800-meter run tomorrow, as both Brittany Neeley and Imani Davis earned automatic qualifiers into the final round by winning their heats. Neeley recorded a time of 2:12.22 and Davis finished at 2:12.53.
 
Five ISU runners will appear in the mile run finals on Sunday, as Jessi Conley, Brooke Moore and Alli Workman all qualified for the women, and Ryan Cash and Quentin Pierce will represent the men. Conley, Moore and Workman earned automatic qualifiers with times of 5:07.21, 5:07.83 and 5:08.08, respectively. Cash and Pierce also earned automatic berths to the finals at 4:14.39 and 4:17.43.
 
Indiana State also had three in action in the men's heptathlon: Michael Boger (fifth, 2737), Avery Taylor (seventh, 2633) and Josh Perry (eighth, 2589).
 
Action will resume at the UNI-Dome at 10:30 a.m. ET with the resumption of the heptathlon. The women's triple jump and men's high jump will kick off the field events at 12 p.m. ET, with the action on the track resuming at 2:25 p.m. ET. Fans can watch live on ESPN3/WatchESPN, starting at 2:15 p.m. ET.
 
Men's Team Scores (Through Five Events):
1. Illinois State - 44
2. Indiana State - 37
3. Southern Illinois - 33
4. Bradley - 28
5. Drake - 20
6. Loyola - 14
7. UNI - 12
8. Valparaiso - 7
 
Women's Team Scores (Through Five Events):
T1. Illinois State - 44
T1. Indiana State - 44
3. UNI - 40
4. Missouri State - 24
5. Loyola - 19
6. Bradley - 10
7. Southern Illinois - 9
8. Drake - 5
 
Finals Qualifiers:
Patrycja Dziekonska - 60-Meter Hurdles
Ayanna Morgan - 60-Meter Hurdles
Allana Ince - 60-Meter Hurdles
Caitlyn Redmon - 60-Meter Hurdles
Daley Carter - 60-Meter Hurdles
Stephen Griffith - 60-Meter Hurdles
DeAndra Greer - 60-Meter Dash
Tristan Parmley - 60-Meter Dash
Scott Schreiber - 60-Meter Dash
Tristan Parmley - 200-Meter Dash
Oschtisha Jackson - 400-Meter Dash
Brittany Neeley - 800-Meter Run
Imani Davis - 800-Meter Run
Jessi Conley - Mile Run
Brooke Moore - Mile Run
Alli Workman - Mile Run
Ryan Cash - Mile Run
Quentin Pierce - Mile Run
 
Day One Champions:
Erin Reese - Weight Throw
 
Day One All-MVC:
Taylor Austin - 5K, second
Akis Medrano - 5K, second
Neeley, Odusola, Green, Conley - DMR, second
Ayanna Morgan - Pentathlon, third
Caitlyn Redmon - Long Jump, third
Scott Schreiber - Long Jump, third
Hunter Schuman - Weight Throw, third
 
Day One Scorers:
Bentz, Kilian, Blake, Anyaebunam - DMR, fifth
Trey Kennedy - Pole Vault, fifth
Riley Smith - Pole Vault, sixth
Myles Aldridge - Long Jump, sixth
Cassaundra Roper - Weight Throw, sixth
Tasjia Thomas - Long Jump, eighth
Corey DuPriest - Long Jump, eighth
Antoine Howard - Pole Vault, eighth
Sam Overton - Weight Throw - eighth
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.