By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
*Due to technical errors, final and corrected Division I team scoring from the EIU Big Blue Classic is currently unavailable. All individual places mentioned are the place in which each Sycamore finished head-to-head with other Division I schools in each event.*
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Despite a consistently incapacitating howl of wind at O'Brien Field on Saturday, the Indiana State track and field teams were able to get some solid work done to close out their stay at Eastern Illinois for their second meet of the outdoor season.
Senior All-American hurdler Adarius Washington remained perfect in his signature 110-meter hurdles, winning the event despite running either with or against dangerous and unpredictable winds. The Indianapolis native only mustered a 14.16 in the prelims due to the wind (which was still the top qualifying time), but then exploded to a more familiar time with a wind-aided (+2.0) 13.74 seconds to win in finals.
Grant Stamm also made the final, where he finished third among Division I competition at a wind-aided 15.29 seconds.
Indiana State also had two finalists in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Sophomore Micaela McLean was the sixth-best DI finisher at an intensely wind-aided (+4.2) time of 14.52 seconds. It was still a career day for the Canadian native despite the wind-illegal performance in finals, as she ran a new PR at a wind-aided (+2.8) 14.76 seconds in prelims regardless.
Freshman Ayanna Morgan also made the final, finishing right behind McLean as the seventh-best DI finisher at 14.81 seconds (+4.2 wind).
The Sycamore women also kept up their good work in the throwing events with two more top-three finishes. Senior Whitney Walker was the runner-up in the javelin at 40.36m (132-05), an impressive season-best considering the absurd wind cutting across the javelin runway.
Fellow senior Katelyn Rutz was the runner-up in the discus, tossing a season-best 47.74m (156-07) – which currently has her ranked No. 34 in the NCAA East Region.
ISU also had some top finishers in the high jump as well. Sophomore and MVC Indoor runner-up Jamie Murtagh was tied for second among DI competition in the men's high jump, clearing 1.95m (6-04.75). In the women's edition, LeVisa Evans (1.68m/5-06.00) and Ioanna Koltsidou (1.60m/5-03.00) finished third and fourth among DI schools, respectively.
Also having a solid day in the jumps was sophomore Jamie Newsome, who finished as the third-best DI athlete in the triple jump at 11.41m (37-05.25).
Several Sycamores also placed high in the distance events. Blake Kramer was the third-best DI finisher in the men's 1500 meter race, clocking in at 4:04.12. In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Logan Hambrock (9:58.89) and Daniel Swem (10:14.02) finished as the fourth and fifth-best Division I athletes to compete in the frigid and dangerous steeplechase at O'Brien Field on Saturday.
On the women's side, All-MVC honoree and sophomore Brittany Neeley finished as the fifth-best DI athlete in the women's 800 at a respectable 2:21.43 despite the intense winds.
Indiana State returns home next week to host the second-ever iteration of the Gibson Invite on April 7-9 at ISU's one-year-old Gibson Track & Field Complex. Stay tuned to GoSycamores.com during the week for a comprehensive schedule and information on how to follow along with the action.
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.
