TAMPA, Fla. - It was a hot and humid day in Tampa, but that didn't stop Brittany Neeley from posting the second-best time in school history in the 800-meter run as the Sycamores competed hard at USF on Thursday.
 
"Today was a solid day," head coach Angela Martin said. "Both Tristan and Akis competed well, but just couldn't quite get to the next round. Cassaundra had a great throw on her third attempt and represented ISU well, just missing the trip to finals by an inch. The highlight of the day was Brittany Neeley's race which qualifies her for the quarterfinal tomorrow. I am very excited to see what tomorrow brings."
 
Senior distance standout Brittany Neeley found herself in a fast heat of the 800-meter run, but she didn't let that phase her as she was able to keep pace with the leaders and earn a berth into the quarterfinals on Friday. Neeley's heat went out with a blazing pace, as the winner of the heat finished at 2:03.33 and Neeley took fifth in her heat and ninth overall with the second-best time in school history at 2:05.30. She now only trails Alethia Marrero in the ISU record book.
 
Neeley's time gives her a time qualifier position in tomorrow's quarterfinal which will take place at 2:15 p.m. with a chance to go to Oregon for nationals on the line.
 
While Neeley had a big performance on the track, redshirt junior Cassaundra Roper made sure to represent the Sycamores well in the field. Competing in the shot put, Roper entered the day with a personal-best mark of 15.78m (51-09.25), but she would leave the day with the fourth-best throw in Indiana State history at 16.05m (52-08.00) which fell just short of qualifying for Oregon at 15th place. Roper did claim third in her flight, however.
 
Roper was in top form this outdoor season, highlighted by her MVC championship in the shot put at the outdoor championships earlier this may. She won the title with the mark of 15.78m (51-09.25), which was tied for fourth prior to today's throw, as she now owns sole possession of fourth place trailing only Sycamore greats Mary Theisen, Christy Barrett and Felisha Johnson.
 
In the first event of the day Akis Medrano went up against some of the nation's best athletes and the humidity in heat one of the 1500-meter run. Running in lane one, Medrano found himself boxed in along the rail, but managed to stay with the pack for most of the race. In the end, he wasn't able to break free and earned an 11th place finish in his heat at 3:50.16. However, once all heats were finished it was obvious he was in a fast heat, as he finished 21st overall and the last automatic qualifier for quarterfinals finished 39th overall with a time of 3:53.24.
 
The junior's impressive season comes to a close, but not without a lack of positives to take away and build on next season. At the 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships he claimed the MVC title in the men's 10,000-meter run with a time of 31:31.33 and earned All-MVC honors in the 5000-meter run, crossing the line at 14:58.71 which was four second ahead of fourth place to take third overall. He also led the team in the 800, 1500, 5000, and 10,000-meter runs and broke into the ISU top-10 in the men's 1500-meters in fourth at 3:45.24 and men's 5000-meters in third at 14:19.30.
 
Running shortly after Medrano, Parmley earned a top-10 finish in his heat of the 100-meter dash. His heat featured a few of the top sprinters from power five schools such as Alabama, Auburn, North Carolina State and Ohio State. Parmley was able to hang tight with them, finishing seventh in his heat and 37th overall, clocking a time of 10.52 and finishing .01 away from sixth.
 
The 2018 outdoor season was very successful for Parmley in the 100-meter dash as he claimed his first-ever MVC Championship by winning the 100-meter dash, finishing at 10.34 and he qualified for the East Regionals for the second consecutive season. While his time didn't qualify for the quarterfinals on Friday, his season is not yet over as he will compete in the first round of the 200-meter dash at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.
 
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.