TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - In their first outing of the 2018-19 indoor season, the Indiana State Track & Field teams put on dominant performances at the Early Bird meet on Saturday.
 
The Sycamore men were victorious with 147.50 points, defeating Butler (55) and Chicago State (30), while the women accumulated 285 points and overpowered IUPUI (67), Butler (53.5) and Chicago State (28).
 
"It was great to be at our own track and have a home meet," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "We talked all week about this being an exciting meet and getting our feet wet. We worked hard all fall, our distance runners just came off of cross country season, so everybody is at different points of fitness, but everyone came out and did a really great job. You can see looking at results that we're young and have some areas where we have really good depth. Hopefully we go away for winter break and we can maintain our fitness. Our first meet in January is a dual meet against Illinois State, so each meet in our season, the competition gets a little bit tougher. You have to be ready for it."
 
The day started off with a phenomenal performance in the weight throw by senior Erin Reese. On her first throw, Reese shattered her personal-best with a throw of 21.27m (69-09.25), but then she proceeded to top that throw on her second attempt, recording a mark of 21.81m (71-06.75) for the second-best toss in school history. Her teammate, Cassaundra Roper placed behind her with a mark of 18.22m (59-09.50).
 
Reese wasn't the only Sycamore to earn a victory in the field. Senior Ayanna Morgan led the way for ISU in the long jump, winning the event with a distance of 5.71m (18-08.75). She was followed by Brittney Walker in second place who finished at 5.47m (17-11.50), Tasjia Thomas in third who recorded a jump of 5.44m (17-10.25) and Caitlyn Redmon in fourth at 5.42m (17-09.50).
 
After a strong showing in the long jump, Thomas also picked up a victory in the women's triple jump. The Kansas City native placed first with a distance of 11.53m (37-10.00), finishing right in front of teammate Mulan Bazile who earned a mark of 10.83m (35-06.50).
 
Cassaundra Roper's day didn't end after the weight throw, as she went on to claim victory in the women's shot put with a toss of 15.55m (51-00.25). Reese finished as the runner-up, finishing at 14.57m (47-09.75).
 
On the track for the women, the sprinters had a strong day of competition. Shana Cooper picked-up her first win of the season in the 60-meter hurdles after clocking a final time of 7.80. Freshman Esther Chukwunwike placed second with a time of 7.93.
 
When it was time for the 200-meter dash, freshman Bri Buggs stepped up in a big way and brought home the W for the blue and white, clocking a strong time of 25.55, just edging past Cooper who posted a time of 25.98.
 
The 60-meter hurdles on the women's side left spectators seeing blue, as ISU placed all their hurdlers in the top-five. Ayanna Morgan and Allana Ince battled for the crown, but ultimately Morgan ended up taking the win at 8.57 with Ince right on her heels at 8.61. Newcomer McKendra Hout ended up taking the third position, racing to a time of 9.08 with Caitlyn Redmon and Mia Mackenzie right behind her with times of 9.11 and. 9.24, respectively.
 
Indiana State took the top two spots in the women's 600-meter run as well, as Imani Davis overtook teammate Rebecca Odusola with a time of 1:34.07. Odusola finished crossed the line at 1:34.44.
 
In the mile run, sophomore Jocelyn Quiles surged in the final 200-meters to overtake Katelyn Murphy of IUPUI, and she clocked a final time of 5:01.76 to grab the victory.
 
The final event on the track for the women was the 4X400-meter relay, and once again the Sycamores didn't disappoint. Leading the charge was the team composed of Imani Davis, Imani Hall, Ashley Baker and Alexis Grider. Grider closed with an impressive 400 to lead the team to victory at 4:02.16. The relay team comprised of Morgan, Buggs, Odusola and Ariah Leary finished right on their tail with a time of 4:02.51.
 
Much like on the women's side, youth played a key role in the success for the Sycamore men on Saturday.
 
"We talked a lot about warmups this week and prepping for your races and they [freshmen] were really anxious and nervous and a lot of them wanted to warmup earlier than they needed to. We tried to do a good job of keeping them calm and it showed up really well. I'm excited about this freshman class, and we had a couple kids not competing either so we will see what happens as this season continues," Martin said.
 
Freshman Matthew Lewis-Banks shined for the Trees, winning his first collegiate race in the 60-meter hurdles with a time 8.19 after running 8.14 in the preliminary round. Barbados native Stephen Griffith kept the pressure on Lewis-Banks, placing second at 8.24. Two more freshman rounded out the top-four, with Tremaine Gonzalez and Bryce Byrdsong finishing third and fourth at 8.51 and 8.62, respectively.
 
Lewis-Banks also led the men in the 200-meter dash, ending in a virtual tie for first place with a time of 22.77, but ultimately fell short by less than a millisecond.
 
Another freshman-phenom for the men was Braden Corzan. Corzan raced to a title in the men's 600-meter run in his first collegiate race, holding off Marian's Mychal Vinson for a time of 1:22.03.
 
The ISU distance runners on the men's side thrived today, taking first through fifth place in the 3000-meter run. Ryan Cash ended up crossing the finish line in front with a time of 8:35.85. Cam Trout finished behind him at 8:37.44 and he was followed by Cale Kilian, Isaac Bentz and Nick Yeend who earned times of 8:39.08, 8:42.79 and 8:44.89, respectively.
 
In the final event of the meet, the 4X400-meter relay team made-up of Rhett Blake, Stephen Griffith, Antonio Davis and Braden Corzan made sure to end the meet on a high not, grasping the victory with a time of 3:21.92.
 
Inside the oval, the field events yielded positive results similar to those on the track. Dearis Herron had strong day in the long jump for the men, jumping to a new personal-best mark of 7.23m (23-08.75) and a victory. Corey DuPriest placed second overall with a jump of 6.89m (22-07.25).
 
Heading to the middle of the infield, sophomore Nick Schultz managed to pull off a win in the high jump despite the absence of Assistant Coach John Gartland. Schultz ended with a jump of 1.98m (6-06.00) and was followed by Nathan Kiger who finished at 1.93m (6-04.00).
 
Two Trees tied for the pole vault crown on Saturday. Riley Smith and freshman Callan Whitehouse both recorded a height of 4.75m (15-07.00) en route to the victory.
 
Kannon Sams and Vince Laconi were the leaders in the throws department for the men, as Sams won the weight throw with a toss of 16.37m (52-08.50) and Vince Laconi took the shot put at 16.60m (54-05.50).
 
"It was cool to see all the blue in the stands, we don't have a whole lot of seating, but the seating we have was full and there were people all around the edges of the track. When Indiana State was in the lead in certain events it got loud and it was exciting. We thank everyone for the support and Go Sycamores," Martin said.
 
The blue and white now have a month off until they come face-to-face with Missouri Valley Conference favorite Illinois State in the Coughlan-Malloy Cup on Saturday, Jan. 12.
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Indiana State - 147.50
2. Butler - 55
3. Chicago State - 30
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Indiana State - 285
2. IUPUI - 67
3. Butler - 53.50
4. Chicago State - 28
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.