TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Day two of the 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships was just as productive as the first for the Sycamores as Taylor Austin, Jaime Murtagh, Cassaundra Roper and Scott Schreiber all picked up MVC titles. 14 Sycamores also advanced to finals on Sunday.
 
Entering the third and final day, the men will be in the lead with 73 points, holding a lead over UNI by just three points. The women enter day three in third place with 54 points and trail UNI (71.5) and Illinois State (98.5).
 
"I think our seniors are doing a heck of a job, they walked in graduation this morning and then to have two of them come out here and win their events, that's a big deal," head coach Angela Martin said. "Our goal last night and today was to do our job, so the people we expected to get into the finals did, and then we got a couple bonus people in there, so we'll see what happens. Now we've made the finals and we will try to take that next step and keep that easy-going approach and doing what we're supposed to be doing."
 
Starting the day off for the Indiana State was Jaime Murtagh who earned the first championship of the day. The Irish high jumper finished with a mark of 2.12m (6-11.50), holding off Francis Ehigbai of Illinois State. His mark of 2.18m (7-01.75) from the Gibson Invite is still 13th in the NCAA East Region and 19th nationally. Freshman Avery Taylor and sophomore Tyler Owen scored for the men in the high jump, taking fifth and sixth overall with marks of 2.06m (2-09.00) and 2.02m (6-07.50), respectively.
 
Shortly after Murtagh won his title, Cassaundra Roper let loose a powerful throw to claim the MVC Outdoor championship in the shot put. On the very first throw of the shot put, Roper let loose for a career-best and fourth-best throw in school history of 15.78m (51-09.25), which is now 24th in the East and 52nd in the nation. Roper's victory was her first MVC title since the 2017 indoor championships where she won the same event. Her teammate Erin Reese, who won the hammer throw yesterday, placed fifth overall with a throw of 14.41m (47-03.50).
 
With a potential three-peat up for grabs, Taylor Austin rose the occasion. The Honorable-Mention All-American led from start to finish in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, putting on a dominant performance to win her third-consecutive outdoor championship in the event with a time of 10:20.01, which was 13 seconds better than second place. Austin is fifth nationally and first in the East Region in the event with her mark of 9:54.01 from the Stanford Invitational.
 
Senior Scott Schreiber had ice in his veins during the last field event of the day. With only one jump left during the competition, Schreiber found himself in second place, but didn't let that phase him as he exploded for his best jump of the season of 7.40m (24-03.50) to overtake Eric Burns of Loyola for the title.
 
The freshman duo of Myles Aldridge and Dearis Herron also managed to pick up some points in the men's long jump. Aldridge ended up taking fifth overall with a season-best mark of 7.05m (23-01.75) and Dearis Herron finished right behind him in sixth, also with a season-best mark of 7.02m (23-00.50).
 
Elsewhere in the field Caitlyn Redmon had herself a day, scoring in two events. First, Redmon took on the women's long jump where she competed with the best that the MVC has to offer, finishing in fifth with a mark of 5.80m (19-00.50). She then turned around and competed in the women's high jump where she earned a season-best mark of 1.63m (5-04.25) en route to an eighth place finish.
 
On the track, Ryan Cash was the lone scorer for ISU. Cash ran in the 3000-meter steeplechase, floating between the fourth and sixth position for most of the race. During the last 100-meters, Cash sprinted past Joshua Yeager and ended-up passing him right at the finish line for fourth place at 9:11.99, which is a season-best.
 
In the men's decathlon, Michael Boger and Josh Perry both scored points for the ISU men. Perry picked up a sixth place finish with a season-best total of 5878, while Boger took the eighth position with 5361 total points. Boger picked up a win in the decathlon pole vault as well with a height of 4.43m (14-06.25).
 
Early on during the day, Ayanna Morgan managed to pick up three points for the Sycamore women in the heptathlon. Morgan finished with a total of 4802 points, a new career-best and the total improves her already fifth-best total in school history. Her highest finish in the heptathlon on Saturday was second in the women's long jump at 5.57m (18-03.25).
 
Sunday will be a big day for the Sycamores, as 14 more athletes qualified for finals in their respective events. The women's hurdlers, perhaps the strongest group as a whole, qualified four for the finals tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Patrycja Dziekonska led the way at 13.80, Ayanna Morgan finished at 13.88, Allana Ince posted the sixth-best time in school history at 13.91 and Caitlyn Redmon finished at 14.05, which is eighth in school history.
 
The men's 110-meter hurdles will still feature an ISU athlete, despite Daley Carter's absence. The freshman, Avery Taylor (who also scored in the high jump), ran a lifetime-best in the hurdles of 14.56 to put him in fourth overall. The 110-meter hurdles final will take place at 1:40 p.m.
 
Oschtisha Jackson will be the lone representative in the 400-meter dash finals on Sunday at 1:55 p.m. Jackson ran the third-fastest time of the day in the event, clocking a time of 55.73.
 
Running in the women's 100-meter dash will be DeAndra Greer and Shana Cooper at 2:10 p.m. on Sunday. Greer made her way into the ISU top-10 in the event with an impressive prelim time of 11.74, which is eighth in school history. Cooper will join her after running a time of 11.83. On the men's side, Tristan Parmley and Jarel Shaw will represent the Sycamores. Parmley ran the second-best time in prelims at 10.69 and Shaw clocked-in at eighth place with a time of 10.78.
 
Two freshmen will be the ISU representatives in the 400-meter hurdles. On the women's side, Emily Robertson will race at 2:35 p.m. after racing to the eighth overall prelim time of 1:04.16. The Barbados-native, Stephen Griffith, will race right after Robertson after qualifying with the fifth-best time of 54.12.
 
The duo of Imani Davis and Brittany Neeley will be the Sycamore women in the 800-meter run finals at 2:20 p.m. Davis clocked the fourth-best time of the day at 2:11.54 for a time qualifier spot, while Brittany Neeley won her heat with a time of 2:13.27 for the automatic qualifier.
 
 
Men's Day Two Team Scores:
1. Indiana State – 73
2. UNI – 70
3. Southern Illinois – 56
4. Illinois State – 44
5. Bradley – 23
6. Drake – 22
7. Loyola – 16
8. Valparaiso – 8
9. Evansville - 0
 
Women's Day Two Team Scores:
1. Illinois State – 98.50
2. UNI – 71.50
3. Indiana State – 54
4. Missouri State – 51
5. Southern Illinois – 44
6. Loyola – 18
7. Bradley – 9
8. Valparaiso – 5
9. Drake – 0
9. Evansville – 0
 
Men's Day Two Champions:
Jaime Murtagh – High Jump
Scott Schreiber – Long Jump
 
Women's Day Two Champions:
Taylor Austin – 3000-Meter Steeplechase
Cassaundra Roper – Shot Put
 
Men's Day Two Scorers:
Myles Aldridge – Long Jump, fifth
Michael Boger – Decathlon, sixth
Ryan Cash – 3000-Meter Steeplechase, fourth
Dearis Herron – Long Jump, sixth
Tyler Owen – High Jump, sixth
Josh Perry – Decathlon, sixth
Avery Taylor – High Jump, fifth
 
Women's Day Two Scorers:
Ayanna Morgan – Heptathlon, sixth
Caitlyn Redmon – Long Jump, fifth; High Jump, eighth
Erin Reese – Shot Put, fifth
 
Finals Qualifiers:
Shana Cooper – 100-Meter Dash
Imani Davis – 800-Meter Run
Patrycja Dziekonska – 100-Meter Hurdles
DeAndra Greer – 100-Meter Dash
Stephen Griffith – 400-Meter Hurdles
Allana Ince – 100-Meter Hurdles
Oschtisha Jackson – 400-Meter Dash
Ayanna Morgan – 100-Meter Hurdles
Brittany Neeley – 800-Meter Run
Tristan Parmley – 100-Meter Dash
Caitlyn Redmon – 100-Meter Hurdles
Emily Robertson – 400-Meter Hurdles
Jarel Shaw – 100-Meter Dash
Avery Taylor – 110-Meter Hurdles
 
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.