TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - While some battled the cold and snow on Saturday, the Indiana State Track & Field teams clashed with Illinois State for the Coughlan-Malloy Cup; a battle that resulted in the Redbirds taking the Cup for the second consecutive season.
 
The Illinois State men defeated the blue and white by a score of 88-73, while the Sycamore women were defeated 85-77. Overall, the Redbirds defeated the Trees 173-150. This is the first time in the history of the Coughlan-Malloy Cup that Illinois State has won the meet in back-to-back seasons.
 
"This was a tough meet, it's always hard to come off of a break," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "You don't know how everyone has trained and you're trying to get them ready to compete right away. Illinois State is a really good team who has good depth and they're strong in areas that we aren't right now. Our women tried to hold their own and were ahead early in the meet, but we couldn't finish it off so we've got work to do. We had bright spots like our female throwers, our hurdlers, our long and triple jumpers, mid-milers and Akis. We've got bright spots and that's what we're going to focus on and we will keep gearing towards the conference meet. We learn from this meet and go back to work."
 
Redshirt senior Erin Reese started the day off with a phenomenal performance in the weight throw, winning the event for the second consecutive meet with a toss of 20.40m (66-11.25). Her mark of 21.81m (71-06.75) is still first in the Missouri Valley Conference and second in the nation.
 
Cassaundra Roper dominated the shot put for the Sycamore women, winning the event with the fourth-best toss in school history of 15.66m (51-04.50). She owns the best mark in the MVC and is 12th in the nation. Roper also took second in the weight throw behind Reese earlier in the day with a new personal-best throw of 19.29m (63-03.50), which is ninth in school history. Her mark is third in the Valley and 24th in the country.
 
Also picking up a victory in the field was Barbados native Ayanna Morgan. Morgan nearly captured a personal-record, but fell just short with a jump of 5.89m (19-04.00). Her mark is now second in the conference and 24th in the NCAA.
 
Barbados was well represented in the 60-meter hurdles final, as Allana Ince took the title with a final time of 8.62, just .01 off of her lifetime-best. Morgan took second right behind her at 8.78. Morgan still owns the top time in the Valley with her time of 8.52 during her last outing and Ince now sits in second.
 
The women's 400-meter dash was close until the very end with Imani Davis battling Illinois State's Ashleigh Davis for the win. In the end, Indiana State's Davis came out on top, racing across the finish line at 56.96. Her time on Saturday pushed her to the top of the conference.
 
Following the exciting finish in the 400-meter dash, Brooke Moore put on a gutsy performance in the 800-meter run to win the event from behind. Trailing Hattie Plumb early on, Moore kicked it into another gear during the final 400-meters and ultimately finished with the seventh-fastest time in Indiana State history of 2:10.63. She owns the top time in the Valley after her performance on Saturday afternoon.
 
On the track for the men Ryan Cash and Quentin Pierce got things going early, packing a one-two punch in the mile run. Cash ultimately edged out Pierce for the win, crossing the line at 4:14.26, while Pierce finished at 4:15.55. They own the second and third overall times in the MVC, respectively.
 
Freshman sensation Matthew Lewis-Banks claimed his second consecutive victory in the men's 60-meter hurdles with an impressive and career-best time of 8.12. Stephen Griffith took second, also with a new personal-best, clocking in at 8.16. The duo sits at first and second in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
In perhaps one of the biggest wins of the day, Jordan Moothery captured the 60-meter dash title on the men's side with a new career-best time of 6.98, which is also second in the Valley. His teammate, Jarel Shaw, took third place behind a time of 7.08.
 
After a stellar cross country season Akis Medrano continued his distance dominance at the Coughlan-Malloy Cup, clocking a time of 8:35.27 in the 3000-meter run en route to a victory over Illinois State's Kyle Mattes. He now has the fifth-best time in the MVC.
 
The women weren't the only ones to experience success in the field. Sophomore Dearis Herron claimed another victory on Saturday in the long jump, winning the event with a mark of 7.13m (23-04.75). His mark of 7.23 (23-08.75) from the Indiana State Early Bird is still the top mark in the conference and 25th in the nation.
 
Later in the day Herron managed to complete the sweep in the jumps, winning the triple jump with a mark of 14.01m (45-11.75). His mark of 14.18m (46-06.25) from the Indiana State Early Bird is still second in the MVC.
 
Other Notable Performances
Men's 60m Hurdles
3. Daryl Black - 8.27
 
Men's 200m Dash
2. Matthew Lewis-Banks - 22.48
4. Ejiroghene Biokoro - 22.67
 
Men's 400m Dash
3. Antonio Davis - 51.31
4. Rhett Blake - 51.51
 
Men's 600m Run
3. Juan Tirado - 1:25.56
 
Men's 800m Run
3. Isaac Bentz - 1:56.21
4. Cale Kilian - 1:56.26
 
Men's 3000m Run
4. Noah Hufnagel - 8:49.10
 
Men's 4X400m Relay
2. Blake, Davis, Biokoro, Griffith - 3:24.14
 
Men's High Jump
2. Nick Schultz - 2.04m (6-08.25)
3. Nathan Kiger - 1.99m (6-06.25)
 
Men's Long Jump
3. Corey DuPriest - 6.69m (21-11.50)
4. Frankie Young III - 6.67m (21-10.75)
 
Men's Pole Vault
4. Callan Whitehouse - 4.76m (15-07.25)
5. Antoine Howard - 4.61m (15-01.50)
 
Men's Shot Put
2. Joe Barnes - 15.57m (51-01.00)
3. Vince Laconi - 15.11m (49-07.00)
 
Men's Weight Throw
3. Kannon Sams - 16.00m (52-06.00)
4. Grant Harris - 15.45m (50-08.25)
 
Women's 60m Dash
2. Bri Buggs - 7.74
3. Shana Cooper - 7.92
5. Esther Chukwunwike - 8.02
 
Women's 60m Hurdles
5. McKendra Hout - 8.99
 
Women's 200m Dash
2. Bri Buggs - 25.47
5. Shana Cooper - 26.48
 
Women's 400m Dash
4. Imani Hall - 59.61
5. Ariah Leary - 1:05.20
 
Women's 600m Run
2. Rebecca Odusola - 1:37.30
4. Devon Zeck - 1:43.28
 
Women's 800m Run
3. Jessi Conley - 2:19.70
 
Women's Mile Run
2. Jocelyn Quiles - 5:07.67
3. Alli Workman - 5:11.98
4. Tara Cassidy - 5:15.84
 
Women's 3000m Run
2. Michaela Ward - 10:13.46
5. Megan Doty - 10:18.44
 
Women's 4X400m Relay
2. Davis, Morgan, Odusola, Hall - 3:52.79
 
Women's High Jump
4. Kara Cooke - 1.61m (5-03.25)
 
Women's Long Jump
3. Brittney Walker - 5.61m (18-05.00)
4. Caitlyn Redmon - 5.56m (18-03.00)
 
Women's Triple Jump
3. Brittney Walker - 11.16m (36-07.50)
4. Tasjia Thomas - 10.68m (35-00.50)
 
Women's Pole Vault
3. Hanna Atwood - 3.36m (11-00.25)
3. Kim Jackson - 3.36m (11-00.25)
 
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.