TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State men's and women's track and field teams are off to a strong start after claiming victory at EIU Early Bird.
 
Indiana State edged Illinois State in both the men's and women's competition, with the women earning a 188-155 victory and the men defeating the Redbirds 153-136. Both teams also defeated Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, and Loyola.
 
"I think this was a really solid meet for us," head coach Angela Martin said. "It's nice to get our feet wet again starting the season off, but we had several big wins across the board on the men's and women's side. We showed we have some depth and I think that this was a good start for our season."
 
The most impressive performance of the day came from junior hurdler Ayanna Morgan. Not only did Morgan win the 60-meter hurdles, she also now owns the EIU Early Bird meet record at 8.46, a record previously owned by Indiana State's Stacia Weatherford from 2012. Her time is also good enough for third all-time in ISU history and a personal record. She currently owns the best time in the Missouri Valley Conference and is tied for fourth in the NCAA.
 
"Last year she really learned a lot, and she went home to Barbados and had a great summer of training. Coach Bertoli has worked with her a little bit and kind of switched up a few things and we really tried to get her to be more aggressive on the first hurdle. By doing that she can use her speed. This was an awesome start for her," Martin said.
 
Morgan wasn't the only Sycamore to break a meet record. Senior Taylor Austin earned a win in the women's mile with an impressive time of 4:52.71, overtaking the previous meet record of 4:53.87. Austin's time fell less than a second short of her personal-best, but her time is third in the NCAA.
 
In the 400-meter dash, Imani Davis came out with a fast pace and never looked back, crossing the line at 57.56 and winning the event. Her time sits at third in the MVC.
 
Brittany Neeley took home a win in the women's 800-meter run in impressive fashion, running a time of 2:12.40 for the seventh-best time in school history and a personal best. With her performance, she currently holds the third-best time in the NCAA.
 
The 4X400-meter relay team comprised of Imani Davis, Brittany Neeley, Oschtisha Jackson and Ayanna Morgan also got a win for Indiana State, crossing the line at 3:52.44, seven seconds ahead of second-place Illinois State.
 
In the 3000-meter run, Jessi Conley came away victorious with a time of 10:16.31, good enough for best in the conference.
 
Making her Sycamore debut after transferring from Tennessee, DeAndra Greer lit the track on fire in the women's 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash, winning the 200 at 25.58 and finishing second in the 60-meter dash at 7.51. Her time in the 60-meter dash is a personal-record and good enough for sixth in school history.
 
In the field, Jasmine Noel came home with a win after dominating the women's weight throw with a mark of 17.71m (58-01.25), which is currently best in the Valley and 26th in the country. Cassaundra Roper finished right behind her at 17.34m (56-10.75).
 
Roper didn't let that deter her, as she won the shot put with a mark of 14.18m (46-06.25) which is number one in the MVC and 25th in the NCAA. Noel finished just behind her teammate at 13.66m (44-09.75).
 
On the men's side, Akis Medrano came out victorious in the men's mile run, racing across the finish line at 4:22.78. He owns the 40th-best time in the NCAA.
 
Freshman Cam Trout earned his first victory of the year in the 3000-meter run, clocking a time of 8:50.66, solidifying the third overall time in the MVC.
 
Hunter Schuman brought home the first win of the season in the field for the men, winning the weight throw with a mark of 17.50m (57-05.00) which is second in the MVC and 25th overall in the country.
 
Following Schuman, Vince Laconi completed the sweep of throwing events for the Sycamores, winning the shot put at 16.13m (52-11.00) and earning the top mark in the MVC.
 
The Sycamores will now get a few weeks off to go home for winter break, but will return ready to work on January 3.
 
"We have a pretty long Christmas break, but we will come back on January third and start working out and the best thing for us will be to figure out what our lineup is going to be and who's going to compete in what. We love competing at Rose-Hulman, they are great hosts to us and our kids like being at home. It's kind of like a home meet for us, and we will be looking forward to it," Martin said.
 
Indiana State will be back in action across town on Friday, January 12 for the Terre Haute Double Dual hosted by Rose-Hulman.
 
Men's Team Results:
1. Indiana State - 153
2. Illinois State - 136
3. Eastern Illinois - 61.5
4. Western Illinois - 49.5
5. Loyola (Ill.) - 23
 
Women's Team Results:
1. Indiana State - 188
2. Illinois State - 155
3. Eastern Illinois - 56
4. Western Illinois - 50
5. Loyola (Ill.) - 23
 
Other Notable Performances:
 
Men's 60-Meter Dash
3. Tristan Parmley - 6.91
 
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles
2. Stephen Griffith - 8.29
 
Women's 200-Meter Dash
2. Oschtisha Jackson - 25.80
 
Men's 400-Meter Dash
2. Liam McGrath - 50.91
 
Men's 600-Meter Run
2. Bryce Frazier - 1:25.97
 
Women's 800-Meter Run
2. Brooke Moore - 2:17.73
 
Men's Mile Run
2. Quentin Pierce - 4:24.65
3. Isaac Bentz - 4:26.83
 
Women's Mile Run
2. Alli Workman - 5:11.48
 
Men's 3000-Meter Run
2. Cale Kilian - 8:52.94
3. Ryan Hannaford - 9:07.21
 
Women's 3000-Meter Run
2. Megan Doty - 10:22.14
3. Colleen Madden - 10:24.49
 
Men's High Jump
2. Jaime Murtagh - 2.08m
 
Men's Pole Vault
2. Trey Kennedy - 4.88m
 
Women's Pole Vault
2. Emily Brady - 3.67m
3. Kim Jackson - 3.52m
 
Men's Long Jump
3. Scott Schreiber - 6.89m
 
Women's Long Jump
3. Caitlyn Redmon - 5.64m
 
Men's Triple Jump
3. Gino Brown - 14.19m
 
Women's Triple Jump
3. Jamie Newsome - 12.61m
 
Men's Shot Put
3. Sam Overton - 15.96m
 
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.