By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Indiana State will send 11 student-athletes to compete in 12 total events at the NCAA East Regional this week at North Florida, in the hopes of punching a ticket to the national meet at the University of Oregon in June.
To get to this point, student-athletes must have finished the season ranked within the top-48 of their individual events or as a member of a top-24 relay team on their respective regional qualifying list (East or West). The top-12 athletes in the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon in the East and West automatically receive entry to the national meet. From there, the top-12 finalists in each event at each regional meet advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the University of Oregon on June 8-11.
Thursday, May 26
3:30 p.m. – Devyn Mikell – Men's Long Jump (Flight 1)
4:30 p.m. – Connor Curley – Men's Pole Vault (Flight 1)
6:30 p.m. – David Timlin – Men's 1500-Meter Prelims (Heat 3)
Junior All-MVC jumper Devyn Mikell will kick things off for the Sycamores on Thursday afternoon – the lightest day for ISU in Jacksonville. Mikell – a 2015 regional qualifier in the long jump – benefited from the scratch-down lists, as he ranked outside the top-48 following the final week of the regular season. Following scratches, though, Mikell's season-best leap of 7.50m (24-07.25) ranked 46th in the East to punch his ticket to North Florida.
Mikell – the brother of former NFL Pro Bowler Quentin Mikell – has an overall career-best leap of 7.64m (25-00.75), which would have made it out of the East Region in 2015.
One hour later it will be senior Terre Haute native Connor Curley's turn in his signature pole vault. Curley, the first male pole vaulter in Indiana State history to win the outdoor MVC title – as well as the first ISU male vaulter to ever sweep the indoor-outdoor titles in the same season – enters as the East's 14th-best vaulter at 5.26m (17-03.00), the second-best height in school history outdoors.
Curley, a 2015 regional qualifier in the pole vault, has an overall career-best of 5.30m (17-04.50). In 2015, all 12 national qualifiers from the East Region cleared 5.25m (17-02.75).
Closing things out on Day One will be junior All-American mid-distance runner David Timlin in the men's 1500 prelims. Timlin also benefited greatly from an unusually large number of scratches in the 1500, jumping to 42nd on the East qualifying list at 3:45.28 after ranking 56th following the MVC Championships.
Timlin – the indoor and outdoor MVC Most Valuable Male Athlete in 2016 – will be no stranger to the field, as he was a national qualifier just last season in the 1500. The Chicago native was the fourth-place finisher in the East last season, and went on to set ISU's school record at the NCAA Championships, where he finished 14th overall for Second-Team All-America status at 3:42.22.
Friday, May 27
12:00 p.m. – Katelyn Rutz – Women's Discus (Flight 1)
5:30 p.m. – Marcus Neely – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Heat 2, Lane 9)
5:30 p.m. – Adarius Washington – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Heat 3, Lane 9)
8:50 p.m. – Taylor Austin – Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Heat 2)
Senior Katelyn Rutz will kick things off for the Sycamore women at the East Regionals at high noon on Friday in the discus. Rutz, who is also entered in the women's shot put on Sunday, enters competition ranked No. 44 in the discus at a PR of 49.20m (161-05) and is just two weeks off an All-MVC finish in the discus. This is Rutz's third-career regional appearance in the discus after having qualified in both 2014 and 2015.
The Sycamore men will jump back into the spotlight at 5:30 p.m. in the men's 110-meter hurdles prelims. Senior All-American Adarius Washington and junior Marcus Neely – both of Indianapolis – will both run in lane nine in heat three and two, respectively.
Washington is in the midst of a spectacular season for the Sycamores, entering as the East's top hurdler at 13.40 seconds – ran on a cold and windy day at the Drake Relays. At the time, his 13.40 time ranked tied for No. 1 in the NCAA, tied for No. 4 in the U.S. and tied for No. 9 in the world – as well as pushing him up to No. 3 all-time at Indiana State behind Olympian Greggmar Swift (13.35) and NCAA Champion Aubrey Herring (13.36), while leaping over NCAA Champion Chris Lancaster (13.45).
Now, Washington ranks No. 2 in the NCAA, tied for No. 7 in the U.S. and tied for No. 19 in the world. That time also flew past both the U.S. Olympic Trials (13.52) and 2016 Rio Olympic Games (13.47) qualifying standards. Washington has qualified for the national meet once before during the outdoor season (2014, 18th place, Honorable Mention All-America) and once during the indoor season in 2015 – where he was a First-Team All-American with a fifth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles.
Neely isn't far behind Washington, also ranking in national qualifying contention in 10th place in the East at a wind-aided 13.70 seconds. Just this season, Neely has improved more than a half-second in the hurdles from his 2015 best of 14.24. Neely, now a three-time MVC runner-up in the hurdles to Washington, ranks fifth all-time at Indiana State after not even ranking on the top-10 last season.
Closing out the day will be sophomore and MVC Champion Taylor Austin in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Austin will run in Heat 2 and will look to improve even more on her new school-record time of 10:17.70 – ran just two weeks ago to win the MVC title by three seconds. Austin – alongside many other Sycamore women's distance runners – have helped rewrite the record book this season indoors and outdoors, but a national berth would cap off an already extraordinary season for the second-year Griffith, Ind., native.
Saturday, May 28
3:30 p.m. – Cassaundra Roper – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1)
3:30 p.m. – Katelyn Rutz – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1)
3:30 p.m. – Whitney Walker – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1)
5:30 p.m. – Jaime Murtagh – Men's High Jump (Flight 1)
6:00 p.m. – Jamar Brown – Men's Shot Put (Flight 1)
6:45 p.m. – David Timlin – Men's 1500-Meter Finals
7:20 p.m. – Marcus Neely – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Finals
7:20 p.m. – Adarius Washington – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Finals
Depending on how prelims shake out on Thursday and Friday, Day Three has the potential to be the busiest for the Sycamores. Beginning the day will be impressive trio of Sycamore female shot putters at 3:30 p.m. All three – seniors Katelyn Rutz and Whitney Walker, as well as freshman Cassaundra Roper – will compete in Flight One. All three were near each other on the qualifying list: Walker 37th at 15.20m (49-10.50), Roper 44th at 15.04m (49-04.25) and Rutz with the final slot in 48th at 14.97m (49-01.50).
Sophomore Jaime Murtagh will be up next in his signature high jump at 5:30 p.m. – kicking off a busy evening for the Sycamore men. Murtagh, the indoor MVC runner-up in the high jump, enters ranked 40th in the East at 2.11m (6-11.00). This is Murtagh's first trip to an NCAA Regional, and he enters with a decent shot to make his first-career trip out to Eugene as well; it only took 2.09m (6-10.25) to make it out of the East Region in 2015.
ISU's final competitor before the potential finals track events that evening will be senior and former football tight end Jamar Brown. In his first and only season with the Sycamore track team, Brown earned two All-MVC honors in the shot put – including a runner-up finish indoors. He enters as the 36th-best shot putter in the East at his MVC third-place throw of 17.45m (57-03.00) – the fourth-best throw nationally among football players this outdoor season.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 26
3:30 p.m. – Devyn Mikell – Men's Long Jump (Flight 1)
4:30 p.m. – Connor Curley – Men's Pole Vault (Flight 1)
6:30 p.m. – David Timlin – Men's 1500-Meter Prelims (Heat 3)
Friday, May 27
12:00 p.m. – Katelyn Rutz – Women's Discus (Flight 1)
5:30 p.m. – Marcus Neely – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Heat 2, Lane 9)
5:30 p.m. – Adarius Washington – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Heat 3, Lane 9)
8:50 p.m. – Taylor Austin – Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Heat 2)
Saturday, May 28
3:30 p.m. – Cassaundra Roper – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1)
3:30 p.m. – Katelyn Rutz – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1)
3:30 p.m. – Whitney Walker – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1)
5:30 p.m. – Jaime Murtagh – Men's High Jump (Flight 1)
6:00 p.m. – Jamar Brown – Men's Shot Put (Flight 1)
6:45 p.m. – David Timlin – Men's 1500-Meter Finals
7:20 p.m. – Marcus Neely – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Finals
7:20 p.m. – Adarius Washington – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Finals
Men's Entries (7):
1. Adarius Washington – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.40
10. Marcus Neely – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.70
14. Connor Curley – Pole Vault – 5.26m (17-03.00)
36. Jamar Brown – Shot Put – 17.45m (57-03.00)
40. Jaime Murtagh – High Jump – 2.11m (6-11.00)
42. David Timlin – 1500 Meters – 3:45.28
46. Devyn Mikell – Long Jump – 7.50m (24-07.25)
Women's Entries (5):
20. Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – 10:17.70
37. Whitney Walker – Shot Put – 15.20m (49-10.50)
44. Cassaundra Roper – Shot Put – 15.04m (49-04.25)
44. Katelyn Rutz – Discus – 49.20m (161-05)
48. Katelyn Rutz – Shot Put – 14.97m (49-01.50)
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.
