TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Erin Reese, Akis Medrano and Sam Overton all won titles for Indiana State, two Sycamores earned All-MVC honors and seven qualified for finals on day one of the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships.
 
Through one day of competition, the Sycamore men are in first over Southern Illinois by a score of 30-24, and the women are in third with 22 points, trailing Illinois State (28.50) and UNI (45.50).
 
"Day one was pretty hot in more ways than one," head coach Angela Martin said. "It was sunny, lots of heat, but oh man our throwers did a good job. We had three wins today, so it's a good way to start. Our approach this week was to kind of be even keel, just do what we've done all year, and if we do that, things will happen and they're doing a great job."
 
The most impressive performance of the day came from Erin Reese in the women's hammer throw. Entering the day, Reese was sitting in second on the ISU top-10 list and her second throw of the day overtook the school-record at 62.68m (205-08). She then proceeded to break her new school-record two more time en route to the MVC title, landing on a mark of 65.16m (213-09), which overtook the record from the beginning of the day by eight feet. That mark pushes her to third in the NCAA East Region and 11th in the nation. The championships aren't over for Reese, as she will compete in the women's shot put tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. ET and the discus throw on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
 
As the sun went down, the competition heated up in the men's javelin throw. Entering the fifth throw, Sam Overton found himself in third, but unleashed a monster throw of 58.76m (192-09) to move into first and secure himself a championship. Not ranked in the ISU top-10 entering the day, Overton now owns the third-best mark in Indiana State history. Friday's javelin marks Overton's first career MVC Championship.
 
Sundown also featured another first-time MVC Champion. Junior Akis Medrano ran a phenomenal race in the men's 10K, settling in with the leaders for most of the race. Coming down the straightaway on the second-to-last lap, Medrano took the lead and never looked back, winning the title with a time of 31:31.33. His teammate, freshman Cam Trout, took fifth overall in only his second 10K with a time of 31:52.83.
 
Following Reese's performance in the hammer throw, Hunter Schuman fought his way to the top of the men's hammer throw. For the first time in his career at Indiana State, Schuman earned All-MVC honors in the event with a lifetime-best throw of 57.92m (190-00), which gave him a third place finish. Schuman will look to keep-up the momentum on Saturday when he competes in the shot put at 5:30 p.m.
 
Vaulting her way to All-MVC honors was junior Kim Jackson in the women's pole vault. Jackson kept up with conference leader, Illinois State's Ariana Cranston, until the very end, but ended up taking second place with a mark of 12-01.25. Friday was the first time in her career that she earned All-MVC honors.
 
Emily Brady made sure that Jackson wasn't the only athlete to score in the pole vault, as she accrued three points with a sixth place finish and a mark of 3.54m (11-07.25).
 
Megan Doty also scored for the Sycamores, finishing eighth in the women's 10K, which was run in hot conditions. She finished with a time of 37:44.67.
 
In the very first event of the day for the women's heptathlon, Ayanna Morgan made her presence known. Already the Sycamore women's number two hurdler, Morgan came out hot in the 100-meter hurdles and ended up taking the event with a time of 13.78 which is a personal-best and the fourth-best time in school history. Later in the day Morgan claimed victory in the 200-meter dash as well, clocking a personal-best time of 24.74. Heading into day two she sits in fifth place with 2978 points and is less than 10 points away from fourth.
 
On the men's side of the multis, Michael Boger and Josh Perry have put themselves in scoring position in the decathlon. Perry will head into the last five events in sixth place with 3187 points and Boger is right behind him in seventh, amassing 2979 points.
 
Several Sycamores also qualified for finals on the track on Sunday afternoon. The women's 1500-meter run on Sunday will feature three ISU athletes after Brittany Neeley, Brooke Moore and Jessi Conley all raced their way into qualifying position. Neeley and Moore both took automatic qualifier positions after winning their heats with times of 4:22.31 and 4:47.67, respectively. Conley also earned an automatic qualifier spot, finishing second in her heat at 4:47.91. The 1500-meter final will take place on Sunday at 1:10 p.m.
 
Advancing to the finals in the men's 1500-meter run was junior Quentin Pierce, who earned a time qualifier spot by finishing fifth in his heat and ninth overall with a time of 4:00.82. The men's 1500-meter final will directly follow the women on Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
 
The women's 200-meter dash saw Oschtisha Jackson and DeAndra Greer put on their best performances at Indiana State in the event. Jackson will compete in the final on Sunday at 2:55 p.m. after placing second in her heat and sixth overall with the seventh-best time in school history of 24.00. Greer finished eighth overall with the 10th overall time in ISU history at 24.18.
 
Senior Tristan Parmley will represent the men in the 200-meter dash finals on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. To make finals, Parmley had to run a new wind-legal personal-best time of 20.94, which was second in his heat and sixth overall.
 
Competition on Saturday will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the remaining decathlon events. ESPN+ will go live at approximately 4:45 p.m. for the preliminary track events.
 
Men's Day One Team Scores (Through 3 Events):
1. Indiana State – 30
2. Southern Illinois – 24
3. Drake – 16
3. UNI – 16
5. Bradley – 13
6. Illinois State – 10
7. Valparaiso – 8
8. Evansville – 0
8. Loyola – 0
 
Women's Day One Team Scores (Through 4 Events):
1. UNI – 45.50
2. Illinois State – 28.50
3. Indiana State – 22
4. Missouri State – 20
4. Southern Illinois – 20
6. Loyola – 10
7. Valparaiso – 5
7. Bradley – 5
9. Drake – 0
9. Evansville – 0
 
Finals Qualifiers:
Jessi Conley – Women's 1500-meters
DeAndra Greer – Women's 200-Meter Dash
Oschtisha Jackson – Women's 200-Meter Dash
Brooke Moore – Women's 1500-Meters
Brittany Neeley – Women's 1500-Meters
Tristan Parmley – Men's 200-Meter Dash
Quentin Pierce – Men's 1500-Meters
 
Men's Day One MVC Champions:
Akis Medrano – 10K
Sam Overton – Javelin Throw
 
Women's Day One MVC Champions
Erin Reese – Hammer Throw
 
Men's Day One All-MVC:
Hunter Schuman – Hammer Throw, third
 
Women's Day One All-MVC:
Kim Jackson – Pole Vault, second
 
Men's Day One Scorers:
Cam Trout – 10K, fifth
 
Women's Day One Scorers:
Emily Brady – Pole Vault, sixth
Megan Doty – 10K, eighth
 
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.