CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Two Sycamore athletes earned Missouri Valley Conference championships on Saturday, while several others earned All-MVC honors at day one of the MVC Championships at the UNI Dome.
 
Heading into day two the ISU women find themselves in first place with 50 points leading Illinois State (48), Southern Illinois (38.5), Northern Iowa (30.5), Missouri State (23), Loyola (18), Bradley (16), Drake (6), Valparaiso (4) and Evansville (0). The men sit in fifth place after day one with 19 points in front of Loyola (16), Valparaiso (4), Drake (2) and Evansville (0). Bradley and UNI are currently tied for first with 31 points while Illinois State (28) is in second and Southern Illinois (25) is in third.
 
Redshirt senior Erin Reese continued her dominance in the weight throw on Saturday, claiming her second MVC title in as many tries with a toss of 21.51m (70-07.00) against tough competition in the Valley.
 
Fellow thrower Cassaundra Roper also battle with the best throwers in the conference and took fourth in the weight throw with a personal-best and fifth-best mark in school history of 20.28m (66-06.50).
 
Also taking home a title on day one of the championships was senior Ayanna Morgan. The Barbados native was dominant in the women's long jump as she recorded a jump of 6.01m (19-08.75) on her first attempt to claim victory. Her mark moves her to fourth in the Indiana State record book.
 
Three other ISU athletes managed to score in the women's long jump with Morgan, including Caitlyn Redmon who took fifth place with a mark of 5.79m (19-00.00), Tasjia Thomas who placed seventh at 5.68m (18-07.75) and Brittney Walker who took eighth at 5.58m (18-03.75).
 
The honors didn't stop there for the women, as the distance medley relay team composed of Jessi Conley, Imani Hall, Imani Davis and Alli Workman produced a comeback to earn All-MVC honors by placing third in the event, clocking a time of 12:03.79, less than a second away from second place.
 
At her final indoor championship, senior pole vaulter Kim Jackson managed to walk away with All-MVC honors. Jackson entered the competition just outside of the top-three in the conference, but she battled her way up to a tie for third at the end of the day with a vault of 3.71m (12-02.00).
 
Freshman Mia Mackenzie had a big day for the Trees in the pentathlon as she tallied 3429 points en route to a fifth place finish. Her score eighth in school history and she also raced to a time of 8.77 in the 60-meter hurdles of the pentathlon, which is 10th all-time at ISU.
 
On the men's side, Dearis Herron earned All-MVC honors for the second consecutive season at the indoor championships by finishing third in the long jump with a career-best jump of 7.29m (23-11.00) on his final jump of the evening.
 
Herron wasn't the only strong performance in the field for the men, as senior thrower Sam Overton recorded a big personal-record in the weight throw of 18.43m (60-05.75) to place fourth in a loaded field of competition. Overton's previous personal-best before Saturday was 17.91m (58-09.25).
 
The leader on the track for the Trees on day one of the Valley Championships was distance standout Akis Medrano. Medrano went head-to-head with some of the best distance runners in the nation in the 5000-meter run and ended up walking away with a fourth place finish and time of 14:34.38.
 
Through four events in the men's heptathlon, all three Sycamore athletes find themselves in scoring position. Richard Griffith currently sits in fifth at 2716, Noah Rogers is sixth with a score of 2606 and Josh Perry is seventh at 2571. Action in the heptathlon begins again tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. ET.
 
Day two of the MVC Indoor Championships resumes tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. ET with the heptathlon, while finals will begin at 2:25 p.m. ET.
 
Final Qualifiers - Prelim Time:
Men's 60-Meter Dash:
2. JaVaughn Moore - 6.80 (PR, seventh in school history)
6. Jordan Moothery - 6.88 (PR)
 
Women's 60-Meter Dash:
2. Ayanna Morgan - 7.51 (PR, seventh in school history)
 
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles:
2. Matthew Lewis-Banks - 7.98
3. Stephen Griffith - 8.06 (PR)
7. Daryl Black - 8.25
8. Avery Taylor - 8.30 (PR)
 
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles:
2. Ayanna Morgan - 8.49
7. Caitlyn Redmon - 8.90
 
Men's 200-Meter Dash:
8. JaVaughn Moore - 22.24 (PR)
 
Women's 400-Meter Dash:
4. Imani Davis - 57.07
 
Women's 800-Mile Run:
1. Rebecca Odusola - 2:13.11
3. Brooke Moore - 2:15.37
 
Men's Mile:
1. Ryan Cash - 4:16.21
4. Quentin Pierce - 4:16.59
 
Women's Mile:
2. Jocelyn Quiles - 5:04.25
4. Brooke Moore - 5:04.33
7. Jessi Conley - 5:01.68
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Bradley - 31
1. UNI - 31
3. Illinois State - 28
4. Southern Illinois - 25
5. Indiana State - 19
6. Loyola - 16
7. Valparaiso - 4
8. Drake - 2
9. Evansville - 0
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Indiana State - 50
2. Illinois State - 48
3. Southern Illinois - 38.50
4. UNI - 30.5
5. Missouri State - 23
6. Loyola - 18
7. Bradley - 16
8. Drake - 6
9. Valparaiso - 4
10. Evansville - 0
 
Day One MVC Champions:
Ayanna Morgan - Long Jump
Erin Reese - Weight Throw
 
Day One All-MVC
Dearis Herron - Long Jump, third place
Jessi Conley - DMR, third place
Imani Davis - DMR, third place
Imani Hall - DMR, third place
Kim Jackson - Pole Vault, third place
Alli Workman - DMR, third place
 
Day One Scorers
Hanna Atwood - Pole Vault, sixth place
Isaac Bentz - DMR, sixth place
Kaleb Budde - DMR, sixth place
Cale Kilian - DMR, sixth place
Mia Mackenzie - Pentathlon, fifth place
Akis Medrano - 5K, fourth place
Justin Niederhaus - DMR, sixth place
Sam Overton - Weight Throw, fourth place
Caitlyn Redmon - Long Jump, fifth place
Cassaundra Roper - Weight Throw, fourth place
Tasjia Thomas - Long Jump, seventh place
Brittney Walker - Long Jump, eighth place
 
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.