TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Sycamores fought hard inside the Rose-Hulman Student Recreation Center on Friday night, but ultimately fell to Illinois State during the 14th installment of the Coughlan-Malloy Cup.
 
Both teams battled, but in the end it was the Redbirds who came out with a narrow 154-148 win over the Sycamores. The men fell by a score of 79-72, while the women squeaked by Illinois State, 76-75.
 
"This is tough for us to lose the cup, we've had it for 11 years and it's been a good history," head coach Angela Martin said. "Our women did a good job, they won by one point and Illinois State is a very good team. Illinois State is a great team on both sides. The men were hoping we could keep it a little closer. Seven points is pretty close, but it's a tough loss to handle. The good thing is we have a couple weeks to go and we have some good training to put in. Conference will be, hopefully, another story. We've got some athletes that can really step up their game and we had a few people out to injury and illness, but that's going around right now. I'm a little disappointed, but there's definitely room to grow and we have high goals for the rest of the season."
 
Taylor Austin dominated the women's mile run for ISU, setting the new meet record at 4:51.08, overtaking the previous meet record set by Illinois State's Kelly McShea by over four seconds. Austin's time was also a new personal-best, and moved her up to third on the ISU all-time list. She still holds the top time in the MVC and fifth overall time in the nation.
 
"Taylor has really taken advantage of her senior season. She had a great cross country season and had a good Christmas break. She came back hungry as I've ever seen her before, and she's way ahead of where she's been at this time any year prior. We're really excited to see this kind of fitness heading into the season. Ultimately, she thinks she can run some school records in the 3K and the 5K and compete for conference titles like she's done the past few years," distance coach Kyle Walsh said.
 
In the women's 800-meter run, Brittany Neeley kept her hot streak alive as she once again claimed victory with an impressive time of 2:13.65. She managed to fend off Hattie Plumb of Illinois State on the final straightaway, defeating her by just .07.
 
Cassaundra Roper put on a show in the field for the Sycamores, winning both the shot put and weight throw. In the shot put, Roper was able to pull away with a mark of 14.02m (46-00.00), and in the weight throw she posted a new personal-best distance of 18.77m (61-07.00), which moves her into ninth all-time in school history.
 
It should also be noted that Jasmine Noel finished right behind Roper in the women's weight throw at 18.11m (59-05.00), and Dayton transfer Erin Reese finished behind her in the women's shot put at 13.76m (45-01.75).
 
The high jump yielded good results for the women as well, as Caitlyn Redmon was able to come away with a win after jumping to a mark of 1.68m (5-06.00), a new personal-best. Jamie Newsome was also able to pull off a victory for the women. In the triple jump, she posted a mark of 11.56m (37-11.25).
 
On the men's side, Ryan Cash led the way for ISU, crossing the line at 4:16.73 which destroyed his previous personal-best time by nearly six seconds.
 
Leading early on and never looking back, Quentin Pierce took home the win in the men's 3K with a time of 8:31.29, just short of his personal-record.
 
The Sycamore men kept control in the field, led by Hunter Schuman who won the shot put and Sam Overton in the weight throw. In the shot put, Schuman posted a mark of 16.76m (55-00.00), which fell just short of his personal-record.
 
Overton posted a new personal-best in the weight throw, hitting a mark of 17.77mm (58-03.75). The Sycamores have yet to lose a throwing event this season between both the men and women.
 
Scott Schreiber and freshman Myles Aldridge went one-two in the long jump for the men. Schreiber finished at 7.07m (23-02.50), while Aldridge posted a mark of 6.99m (22-11.25) in his first ever collegiate meet.
 
The Sycamores will be back in action on Friday, January 19 for the Gladstein Invitational at Indiana University.
 
Combined Team Scores:
1. Illinois State - 154
2. Indiana State - 148
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Illinois State - 79
2. Indiana State - 72
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Indiana State - 76
2. Illinois State - 75
 
Other Notable Performances:
 
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles:
2. Ayanna Morgan - 8.58
3. Allana Ince - 8.77, PR
 
Women's 400-Meter Dash:
2. Oschtisha Jackson - 57.38
 
Women's 800-Meter Run:
3. Taylor Austin - 2:15.37
4. Brooke Moore - 2:15.48
 
Women's Mile Run:
3. Alli Workman - 5:04.59
 
Women's 3K:
2. Megan Doty - 10:13.05
 
Women's Long Jump:
2. Caitlyn Redmon - 5.72m (18-09.25)
3. Jamie Newsome - 5.49m (18-00.25
 
Women's Triple Jump:
3. Tasjia Thomas - 11.45m (37-06.75)
 
Women's Pole Vault:
2. Kim Jackson - 3.68m (12-00.75)
3. Emily Brady - 3.53m (11-07.00)
 
Men's 60-Meter Dash:
2. Scott Schreiber - 6.88
3. Tristan Parmley - 6.89
 
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles:
2. Daley Carter - 7.87
 
Men's 200-Meter Dash:
2. Tristan Parmley - 22.28
 
Men's 400-Meter Dash:
3. Liam McGrath - 50.85
 
Men's Mile Run:
3. Akis Medrano - 4:19.16
 
Men's 3K:
3. Cam Trout - 8:46.83, PR
 
Men's Triple Jump:
2. Gino Brown - 14.20m (46-07.25)
3. Dearis Herron - 13.89m (45-07.00)
 
Men's Shot Put:
2. Vince Laconi - 16.36m (53-08.25)
 
Men's Weight Throw:
2. Hunter Schuman - 17.62m (57-09.75)
 
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.