By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Both the Sycamore women's and men's team had impressive outings among some of the best teams in the region and country at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon, where the ISU women finished as the runners-up in the Gold 5K and the men 15th in the Elite Blue 8K.
The Sycamore women were runners-up for their third straight race in as many opportunities here in 2015, but put together their best performance of the season on Friday in the Gold 5K. ISU fell behind Great Lakes foe Butler by only six points, but placed all seven scorers in the top-50 for a very solid second-place finish.
“We definitely took a step forward today as a team,” said ISU women's head coach Kyle Walsh. “Butler got the victory, but SLU was ahead of us with 1K to go and each of our ladies closed well. I love the way this team fights during the toughest parts of the race.”
Yet again, ISU sophomore Taylor Austin was the pacesetter for the Sycamore women. However, today was a career day for the Griffith, Ind., native, who destroyed her career best by 35 seconds en route to a third-place slot at 17:20.8.
“Taylor Austin ran on another level today,” Walsh said. “I'm very proud of the way she believes in herself and in her training.”
ISU had two in the top-15 as well with freshman Brooke Moore in 13th place (17:58.5, PR). Moore has consistently been ISU's No. 2 runner behind Austin this season.
“Brooke was huge for us,” Walsh said. “She attacked the last mile, but I still think her best races are ahead of her.”
The remaining five Sycamore scorers all finished within the top-46 or posted either a season or career-best: sophomore IU transfer Brittany Neeley (29th, 18:16.0), freshman Mary Hanson (32nd, 18:19.2), freshman Taylor Rogers (37th, 18:21.5), freshman Megan Doty (18:25.8) and sophomore Jessi Conley (18:32.4).
The Sycamore men, meanwhile, were in the elite Blue 8K race alongside several nationally ranked squads. ISU finished 15th out of 20 schools, beating out No. 18 Arizona State in the process after falling behind early on.
“It's a fast start at Notre Dame, and we got crushed in the first 400 meters,” said ISU men's head coach John McNichols. “It's a narrow course there, too, which makes it much harder to pass people as the race goes on. We'll have a similar situation at Pre-Nats and Nationals, though, so hopefully we can fix it soon.”
The question before the race, though, was whether or not All-American John Mascari would compete. The Terre Haute native had been dealing with a minor ankle injury unrelated to his back injury last track season.
“(Mascari) was a race-time decision,” McNichols said. “I was 95 percent sure we weren't going to run him, but the trainers worked on him well. He was feeling really good and he was pretty convincing, too.”
ISU's slow start hindered Mascari's start to the race as well, but he was able to claw his way to a 10th-place finish at a very solid season-best time of 23:59.4.
“The slow start for the team meant John was around 100th at the 1K mark, but he fought his way back to 34th by the mile and eventually 10th,” McNichols said. “He had a really good race and you could just tell he was feeling great.”
Junior David Timlin also finished in the top-50 at a career-best time of 24:39.1. Other scorers included Levi Taylor (81st, 24:57.6, season-best), Daniel Swem (133rd, 25:34.0, PR), Logan Hambrock (145th, 25:54.0, season-best), Akis Medrano (149th, 25:59.6, PR) and Quentin Pierce (157th, 26:18.8, PR).
“From a team standpoint, we have to get better – and we will,” McNichols said. “Today was pretty encouraging, though. We were dead last at the mile and the 4K, and worked out way up to 15th ahead of some really good schools. We have a lot of things to work on, but that says something about this team.”
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.
Women's Results (Gold 5K, 2nd of 19 schools)
3. Taylor Austin – 17:20.8 (PB) *
13. Brooke Moore – 17:58.5 (PB) *
29. Brittany Neeley – 18:16.0 (ISU PB, two seconds off overall) *
32. Mary Hanson – 18:19.2 (PB) *
37. Taylor Rogers – 18:21.5 (PB) *
41. Megan Doty – 18:25.8 (PB) *
46. Jessi Conley – 18:32.4 (SB) *
72. Aleksey Green – 18:51.5 (PB)
81. Danielle Muse – 18:59.7 (SB)
Women's Team Results (Gold 5K)
1. Butler – 108
2. Indiana State – 114
3. Saint Louis – 125
4. IUPUI – 126
5. Western Michigan – 170
6. Notre Dame (B-squad) – 172
7. Northern Iowa – 180
8. Eastern Illinois – 197
9. UNC-Greensboro – 237
10. North Central (Ill.) – 276
11. UW-Milwaukee – 299
12. UW-Oshkosh – 301
13. Calvin – 303
14. Illinois-Chicago – 305
15. Murray State – 319
16. Northern Kentucky – 401
17. UW-Green Bay – 475
18. UW-Stevens Point – 511
19. Valparaiso - 553
Men's Results (Blue 8K, 15th of 20 schools)
10. John Mascari – 23:59.4 (SB) *
47. David Timlin – 24:39.1 (PB) *
81. Levi Taylor – 24:57.6 (SB) *
133. Daniel Swem – 25:34.0 (PB) *
145. Logan Hambrock – 25:54.0 (SB) *
149. Akis Medrano – 25:59.6 (PB) *
157. Quentin Pierce – 26:18.8 (PB) *
159. Ryan Kritzer – 26:38.3 (PB)
163. Corey Alfredson – 26:54.4 (PB)
Men's Team Results (Blue 8K)
1. UTEP – 89
2. No. 27 NC State – 97
3. No. 26 Colorado State – 126
4. No. 23 Southern Utah – 134
5. Purdue – 169
6. Eastern Michigan – 190
7. Texas A&M – 218
8. Navy – 225
9. No. 17 New Mexico – 230
10. Notre Dame – 239
11. Penn – 243
12. Florida – 278
13. IUPUI – 335
14. Bradley – 379
15. Indiana State – 391
16. Missouri – 405
17. UC Santa Barbara – 433
18. Illinois State – 434
19. No. 18 Arizona State – 473
20. Iowa – 481
Women's Results (Open 5K)
61. Natalie Nolting – 19:28.4 (SB)
65. Danielle Smar – 19:35.9 (PB)
68. Sydney Dickerson – 19:39.8
70. Abigail Grider – 19:42.5 (PB)
81. Melanie Combs – 20:14.9 (PB)
100. Emily Hamon – 21:45.0 (SB)
