TAMPA, Fla. - Rain from Subtropical Storm Alberto pounded Tampa on Saturday, but Erin Reese, Jaime Murtagh and Hunter Schuman still managed to put on strong performances despite the weather.
                                
"I am disappointed to leave the preliminaries without a finals qualifier," head coach Angela Martin said. "Our athletes today competed hard with Jaime's high jump being a highlight. He competed amazingly tough in the pouring rain, but like the rest of our trip it just wasn't quite enough. I am already looking forward to next year and starting to put in work with our returners, as well as our incoming freshmen."
 
Beginning at about 1:30 p.m., the rain from the storm system began to downpour at USF Track and Field Stadium, right as Jaime Murtagh and the high jumpers were slated to warmup and compete. As the rain calmed, the competition heated up and Jaime Murtagh cleared the first two bars of 2.01m (6-07.00) and 2.06m (6-09.00) with ease. Then the rain began to fall again and a brief delay was called before Murtagh cleared 2.11m (6-11.00) on his third try. Murtagh was unable to clear 2.16m (7-01.00) and finished right behind the cutoff for the championships in a tie for 13th place.
 
The Irish high jumper has had quite a distinguished career at Indiana State. He earned his first All-MVC honor at the 2016 MVC Indoor Championships, where he finished with a mark of 2.11m (6-11.00), and that mark would only continue to grow throughout his career. Matching that mark during the 2016 outdoor season, he earned a chance to compete at the 2016 NCAA East Preliminary Round in the high jump where he took 21st overall. His junior season featured his second All-MVC honor, this time at the MVC Outdoor Championships where he took second at 2.09m (6-10.25) and his mark of 2.12m (6-11.25) from earlier that year carried him to his second consecutive East Regional. At the 2017 regional, Murtagh placed 36th overall. The senior saved his best for last as he was able to complete the MVC sweep in the high jump. At the 2018 indoor championships, he recorded the seventh-best jump in school history of 2.14m (7-00.25) en route to a first place finish. He then put on an encore performance at the outdoor championships, winning the title at 2.12m (6-11.50). Murtagh will leave with the fourth-best outdoor jump in ISU history of 2.18m (7-01.75) from the 2018 Gibson Invite, behind only Sycamore greats Major Clay, Steve Parker and Steve Smith.
 
It was an early morning for Erin Reese in the hammer throw after the event was pushed up to 8:45 a.m. because of the chances of rain in the area. On her first throw, Reese had a good throw of 60.07m (197-01) to enter her in the top-12 right away at eighth. Entering the last throw of the competition she found herself in 12th place, but was bumped down to 13th by Gabrielle Figueroa of Kent State on her last throw. The junior ended up placing 14th overall with her mark of 60.07m (197-01) from the first round, which was just two spots shy of qualifying for nationals in Oregon.
 
While the result may not have been the desired outcome, the Dayton-transfer had a phenomenal first year at Indiana State. During the indoor season she made an immediate impact for ISU, winning the MVC championship in the weight throw with the second-best throw in school history of 21.06m (69-01.25), defeating conference rival Sarah Pate of UNI in the process. Reese also recorded the eighth-best mark in the indoor shot put in Sycamore indoor history of 14.81m (48-07.25) at the Music City Challenge. The throwing standout used the momentum she gained during the indoor season to help put together and incredible outdoor season, culminating with a championship at the MVC Outdoor Championships where she had a huge personal-best and school record throw of 65.16m (213-09) in the hammer throw to claim the crown. Reese also entered the outdoor top-10 in the discus throw with the fourth-best mark of 53.98m (177-01) and the shot put, where she sits in 10th at 14.78m (48-06.00).
 
Rain made its way back to USF right as Hunter Schuman began throwing in the shot put during the last event of the weekend for the Sycamores. In his first appearance in the NCAA Prelim Round, Schuman performed respectably with a final mark of 15.97m (52-04.75) for 11th in flight one and 46th overall, even with the rain coming down.
 
Saturday evening marks the conclusion of Schuman's Sycamore career and he greatly contributed to the throws program during his two years at Indiana State. The Missouri Valley Conference consistently produces some of the best throwers in the country and at his first MVC Indoor Championship in 2017 Schuman scored in the weight throw, claiming sixth with a mark of 18.01m (59-01.25). This season he upped his game, taking All-MVC honors at the conference indoor championships with a third place finish in the weight throw and the eighth overall mark in school history at 19.76m (64-10.00). He managed to maintain a high level of competitiveness during the outdoor season as he also took All-MVC honors at the 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw with a personal-best throw of 57.92m (190-00) and a third place finish. Schuman earned his way into the East Regional in the shot put after posting a lifetime-best mark of 17.30m (56-09.25) from the Billy Hayes Invite.
 
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