By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men's track and field finished fourth and the women sixth at the conclusion of the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, held right here in Terre Haute this past weekend.
It perhaps wasn't the result the beleaguered Sycamores wanted in the team standings as Wichita State ran away with both the men's and women's team titles, but ISU still had several tremendous performances on Day Three to cap off a fairly strong conference championship.
Chief among them was junior All-American David Timlin, who reminded Valley coaches and fans of his incredible ability to come through for the Sycamores at conference. Timlin repeated as the Valley's Most Valuable Male Athlete of the Meet after leading the field with 23 meet points, following an indoor campaign that included a win in both the mile and 3K and a member as the anchor leg of ISU's runner-up DMR team.
Timlin started his day with his second-career victory in the 1500 after finishing as the runner-up in 2015. As he often does, Timlin sat back in the pack until his final lap, exploding through the final 200 meters to snatch victory away from conference-leader Michael Ward of Bradley, clocking in at 3:48.67 for the win.
That was but one facet of many on Timlin's amazing Day Three, as he was also a title contender in the 800 as the returning champion. He couldn't defend his title this year, though, as he finished second at 1:51.31.
In both of his signature outdoor events, Timlin has never finished worse than second and has won three outdoor conference titles.
He could have stopped there and still had a great meet, but ISU head coach John McNichols and Timlin decided to go ahead and run the 5K at the tail end of the meet to try and push the Sycamores up the team standings. The move payed off, as Timlin astoundingly finished fourth at a new PR of 14:29.74 – the 10th-fastest time in school history after two races not much earlier in the day.
Timlin bided his time well in the 5K, falling almost all the way to 20th overall before attacking the lead pack that failed to get far enough away from him and chasing them down the last 200 to take fourth.
Amazing as his performances were, Timlin was but one of four Sycamore MVC champions on Sunday. Senior All-American and NCAA No. 1-ranked hurdler Adarius Washington took care of business in the 110-meter hurdles, winning easily at 13.51 seconds – which would have been a new career-best but two weeks ago.
Indiana State claimed 22 total points from the 110 hurdles on Sunday, as junior and fellow Indianapolis native Marcus Neely ran a new wind-aided PR of 13.70 seconds to give him his second-straight runner-up finish outdoors and sole possession of fifth all-time at Indiana State. Sophomore Jacob Wright also had a strong day, finishing fifth at 14.34 seconds.
Washington's win has a bit more significance though, as he helped make Valley history on Sunday. Entering competition, no Valley school had won five or more 110-meter hurdles titles in a row since Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) won nine in a row in the 1930s and 1940s. With Washington's win today, ISU has won the last five dating back to 2012.
Making more history was senior pole vaulter and Terre Haute native Connor Curley, who became Indiana State's first-ever outdoor pole vault champion. Curley led what turned out a pretty impressive vault competition, winning with a near-PR height of 5.25m (17-02.75). Freshman Riley Smith was able to set a new best, scoring in sixth place at 4.82m (15-09.75).
The Sycamores were also the owners of one of the biggest upsets of the championship in the women's discus. Entering competition ranked fourth and 10th, Indiana State came away with the title and the third-place All-MVC slot.
Sophomore Jasmine Noel – who entered ranked No. 10 in the Valley – won on a massive two-meter PR toss of 48.60m (159-05) to become the ninth women's discus champion in ISU history. Her throw also moved her up to eighth all-time after not even ranking on the top-10 list prior. She also has a chance to potentially qualify for the NCAA East Regional as the 50th-best discus thrower.
Senior Katelyn Rutz captured her first-career All-MVC honor in any event as the third-place finisher in the discus at 47.92m (157-03) after ranking fourth entering competition.
Sophomore Jamie Newsome earned All-MVC honors herself following a gutsy performance in the women's triple jump. Newsome finished as the runner-up at a season-best 12.32m (40-05.00) after struggling a bit this outdoor season, thus ending her season on a positive note going forward.
Also ending their season on a positive note was the relatively young men's 4x400-meter relay team of CJ Anyaebunam, Tyrell Dowdell, Rhett Blake and Terry McGee. The quarter finished third overall for All-MVC honors at a strong season-best time of 3:12.81 – which included two stunning opening legs by Anyaebunam and Dowdell in the 47-second range.
Dowdell was also able to score for the Sycamores in the 400-meter dash, finishing fifth at 47.36 just one day after running the fifth-fastest time in school history at 47.28.
Other Sycamore scorers on the final day included: senior Chidera Obaish in the 100-meter dash (fifth, 11.86); senior Jamar Brown in the discus (fifth, 51.82m/170-00, PR); freshman Ahmanah Woods in the 400 (sixth, 55.87); sophomore Gino Brown in the triple jump (sixth, 14.53m/47-08.00, outdoor PR); sophomore and steeplechase champion Taylor Austin in the 5K (seventh, 17:08.82, PR, 5th all-time); sophomore Scott Schreiber in the 100-meter dash (seventh, 10.59, wind-aided PR); and senior Arqeil Shaw in the 400-meter hurdles (eighth, 53.73).
All told, Indiana State ended up with five total MVC Champions, 18 All-MVC honorees and one specialty award win from David Timlin.
Now, the waiting game for the NCAA West Regional qualifying lists begins. Indiana State has several student-athletes that are in contention, but will know for certain after both the conference results from this weekend have been reported around the country and following scratches. Final qualifying lists will be released early this week.
The NCAA East Regional meet will be held once again at North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., from May 26-28.
Final Men's Team Scores:
1. Wichita State – 206
2. Southern Illinois – 102
3. Northern Iowa – 125
4. Indiana State – 118
5. Illinois State – 86
6. Drake – 63
7. Bradley – 52
8. Loyola - 35
Final Women's Team Scores:
1. Wichita State – 155.50
2. Northern Iowa – 133
3. Southern Illinois – 117
4. Illinois State – 107.50
5. Missouri State – 100.50
6. Indiana State – 70
7. Drake – 59.50
8. Bradley – 52
9. Loyola – 23
Specialty Awards:
MVC Male Most Valuable Athlete: David Timlin, Indiana State
MVC Female Most Valuable Athlete: Paige Knodle, UNI
MVC Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete: Brandon Carnes, UNI
MVC Most Outstanding Female Track Athlete: Paige Knodle, UNI
MVC Most Outstanding Male Field Athlete: Kyle Landon, Southern Illinois
MVC Most Outstanding Female Field Athlete: DeAnna Price, Southern Illinois
Men's Elite 18: Josh Maier, Southern Illinois
Women's Elite 18: Emma Huston, Drake
Day Three MVC Champions:
Connor Curley – Pole Vault
Jasmine Noel – Discus
David Timlin – 1500 Meters
Adarius Washington – 110-Meter Hurdles
Day Three All-MVC:
Connor Curley – Pole Vault, First Place
Jasmine Noel – Discus, First Place
David Timlin – 1500 Meters, First Place
Adarius Washington – 110-Meter Hurdles, First Place
Marcus Neely – 110-Meter Hurdles, Second Place
Jamie Newsome – Triple Jump, Second Place
David Timlin – 800 Meters, Second Place
Katelyn Rutz – Discus, Third Place
CJ Anyaebunam, Tyrell Dowdell, Rhett Blake, Terry McGee – 4x400m Relay, Third Place
Other Day Three Scorers:
David Timlin – 5,000 Meters, Fourth Place
Tyrell Dowdell – 400-Meter Dash, Fifth Place
Chidera Obaish – 100-Meter Dash, Fifth Place
Riley Smith – Pole Vault, Sixth Place
Ahmanah Woods – 400-Meter Dash, Sixth Place
Taylor Austin – 5,000 Meters, Seventh Place
Scott Schreiber – 100-Meter Dash, Seventh Place
Arqeil Shaw – 400-Meter Hurdles, Eighth Place
Day Two MVC Champions:
Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
Day Two All-MVC:
Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, First Place
Scott Schreiber – Long Jump, Second Place
Jamar Brown – Shot Put, Third Place
Devyn Mikell – Long Jump, Third Place
Other Day Two Scorers:
Jaime Murtagh – High Jump, Fourth Place
Cassaundra Roper – Shot Put, Fourth Place
DeSean Prentice – High Jump, Fifth Place
Katelyn Rutz – Shot Put, Fifth Place
LeVisa Evans – High Jump, Sixth Place
Logan Hambrock – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, Sixth Place
Taylor Rogers – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, Eighth Place
Day One Scorers:
Kimyanna Rudolph – Pole Vault, Fifth Place
Connor Curley – Javelin, Sixth Place
Jasmine Noel – Hammer, Sixth Place
Katelyn Rutz – Hammer, Eighth Place
Ryan Chestnut – Hammer, Eighth 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.
