SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Senior distance star Akis Medrano led the way for the Sycamore Track & Field team against top-level competition at day one of the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
 
"We had some nice events on the track today, capped off with a win by Akis in the 5K," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "Our field events didn't go quite the way we wanted them to. We need to continue to motivate ourselves and focus on the tasks in front of us. We are resting up and will be ready to go back after it tomorrow."
 
The top performance of the day came from Medrano who ran one of the best races of his life in the men's 5K. The Boswell, Ind. native earned the Meyo Invitational 5K championship by clocking a lifetime-best and second-best time in Indiana State history of 14:19.88 after surging to hold off Notre Dame's Kevin Salvano. Medrano now owns the top time in the Missouri Valley Conference and enters the national rankings at 23rd.
 
"Akis is riding the momentum from his outstanding cross country season into a fun indoor track season," Associate Head Coach for Cross Country Kyle Walsh said. "We knew going into this race it would take an indoor 5K personal-best to win against the stiff competition and he executed flawlessly. His confidence is sky high as he's taking on heavy training loads and still racing faster than ever before. He has high aspirations for his indoor season as well as building towards his final outdoor season representing the Sycamores."
 
Elsewhere on the track, freshman Bri Buggs sprinted her way to a top-15 finish, crossing the finish line in 13th out of 44 competitors in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.01. Not only is that a new personal-best for Buggs, but it is also the seventh-fastest time in the Valley. Earlier in the day, the freshman also qualified for the 60-meter dash semi-finals on Saturday at 10:05 a.m. after placing 12th with a time of 7.73 in prelims.
 
In the men's 200-meter dash, Ejiroghene Biokoro raced to a 15th place finish out of 45 athletes, recording a time of 22.19 and teammate Jarel Shaw finished behind him in 24th with a time of 22.37.
 
Two other Sycamore women moved-on from preliminary rounds on Saturday, with Ayanna Morgan and Allana Ince earning spots in the 60-meter hurdles semi-finals on Saturday at 9:45 a.m. The dynamic duo from Barbados both earned top-10 finishes as Morgan placed sixth at 8.60, while Ince took ninth with a final time of 8.66.
 
On the men's side, three hurdlers advanced to the semi-final round at 9:55 a.m. on Saturday. Once again, Matthew Lewis-Banks paced the ISU men, finishing fourth at 8.08. Fellow freshman Daryl Black crossed the line in 11th with a time of 8.27 and sophomore Stephen Griffith took 20th with a time of 8.39.
 
The throws also yielded a pair of top-10 finishes for the blue and white. Cassaundra Roper continued to make sure her presence was known in the field, placing sixth in the women's weight throw with a toss of 18.32m (60-01.25), while Sam Overton threw his way to a ninth place finish for the men with a mark of 17.41m (57-01.50).
 
Caitlyn Redmon picked up the lone other top-10 performance in the field for the Trees, placing ninth in the women's long jump with a final mark of 5.50m (18-00.50).
 
Indiana State will be back in action tomorrow at the Meyo Invitational starting with the track events at 9:45 a.m., with field events to follow at 10:30 a.m. Action at Indiana Wesleyan will begin at 11 a.m.
 
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.