CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The Indiana State Women's Track & Field team battled to a second place finish and the men took third overall at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at Northern Iowa.
 
The Sycamore women fell to Illinois State by a score of 165-135, but they defeated Southern Illinois (85), Northern Iowa (73.5), Missouri State (57), Loyola (56.5), Bradley (39), Drake (7), Valparaiso (6) and Evansville (0). The men finished third with 95.5 points and were defeated by Northern Iowa (144.5) and Illinois State (159). Finishing behind ISU was Bradley (86), Southern Illinois (79), Drake (52), Loyola (38), Valparaiso (8) and Evansville (0).
 
"Today was a little bittersweet, but both teams fought really hard and we just ran out of spots and places to score points," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "We had some big points from tremendous athletes and on paper Illinois State was supposed to beat the women by over 60 points and we got it down to 30. We just didn't have enough bodies to finish it off, but they did a great job. The guys had some high point scorers in each event and we just need to find a couple guys to add some depth and we had some areas where we didn't score many points, so we've got to hit the recruiting trail."
 
Senior Ayanna Morgan earned the highest honor of the championships as she was named the Most Valuable Female Athlete of the meet, meaning she scored the most points out of all competing athletes. She was also named the Most Outstanding Female Track Athlete of the meet. The Barbados native earned her second title of the meet on Sunday with a dominant performance in the 60-meter hurdles where she clocked the fastest time in school history of 8.28 en route to victory.
 
Morgan followed that performance with another All-MVC run in the women's 60-meter dash finals where she clocked a time of 7.52 for third place. In the final event of the day, she was also a member of the third place 4X400-meter relay team alongside Imani Davis, Imani Hall and Rebecca Odusola. Entering the last leg of the relay in fifth, Morgan used what energy she had left to propel the team to third with a time of 3:49.32.
 
In the shot put, Cassaundra Roper unleashed the best throw of her career to win the crown. The redshirt senior was in an early battle with four Redbird throwers, but her first throw of finals of 16.35m (53-07.75) would clinch the victory and improve her fourth-best mark in school history.
 
Erin Reese and Kristine Lindow also pulled points in the shot put for the as Reese placed seventh at 14.66m (48-01.25) and Lindow placed eighth with a mark 14.19m (46-06.75).  
 
Reese walked away the Most Outstanding Field Athlete for her performance in the weight throw on Saturday.
 
Pulling triple duty on the track on Sunday, Brooke Moore rose to the occasion and played a crucial role in the success of the women's team. The distance star started her day with a championship in the mile run, clocking a time of 4:58.40. She then earned All-MVC by placing second in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line at 2:10.32. Her last performance of the evening came in the 3K where she raced to a time of 10:05.16, good for eighth.
 
The Trees swept the podium in the women's mile behind as Jocelyn Quiles and Jessi Conley finished second and third for All-MVC honors. Quiles raced close behind Moore for the entire race and clocked a time of 4:59.19, while Jessi Conley battled and overtook Niamh Markham of Bradley on the backstretch to secure third with a time of 4:59.85.
 
"Brooke Moore, Ayanna Morgan and Imani Davis all ran four-plus races this weekend and put their bodies through torture for their team and had amazing finishes," Martin said.
 
Jumping her way into the top-three in the triple jump was junior Tasjia Thomas for the blue and white. Thomas produced a strong performance to claim All-MVC honors and third place with the seventh-best jump in school history of 12.00m (39-04.50). Freshman Brittney Walker grasped a point for ISU in the triple jump as well, taking eighth with a mark of 11.07m (36-04.00).
 
Impressive performances weren't limited to the women's side of the meet, as the men picked up five All-MVC performances on the final day of competition in Cedar Falls.
 
Freshman sprinter JaVaughn Moore was honored as the MVC Male Freshman of the Year as he had his best performance in a Sycamore uniform on Sunday, racing to a second place finish and All-MVC honors in the 60-meter dash with the fifth-fastest time in school history of 6.78. Moore fell to first place by just .006. He also earned a strong seventh place finish in the 200-meter dash, sprinting across the line at 22.33.
 
Fellow sprinter Jordan Moothery made sure that Moore wasn't alone on the podium during the 60-meter dash, as the senior recorded a time of 6.87 to grasp third place and All-MVC honors from Illinois State's Dion Hooker.
 
Youth continued to play a key role for the men in the 60-meter hurdles with freshman Matthew-Lewis Banks earning a spot on the podium after finishing second and posting a time of 7.97. Also scoring for the blue and white in the hurdles were Stephen Griffith in fourth with a time of 8.13, Avery Taylor in seventh at 8.26 and fellow freshman Daryl Black crossed the line in eighth at 8.31.
 
The distance duo of Quentin Pierce and Ryan Cash ran hard in the men's mile run finals, with Quentin Pierce taking All-MVC honors with a time of 4:14.13 and a third place finish. Cash took the group out hard with Pierce and ended up placing fifth with a final time of 4:14.73.
 
Making his MVC debut, Richard Griffith came up with a huge performance for the Sycamores in the pentathlon. The redshirt junior won four out of the seven events, including all three events on Sunday to place third with 5050 points, the fifth-best point total in Sycamore history, en route to All-MVC honors. Josh Perry also upped his game and placed fifth to score for ISU with a score of 4462, the ninth-best total in school history. Noah Rogers placed eighth in the heptathlon in his first ever time doing the event with 4254 points.
 
Sophomores Dearis Herron and Nick Schultz led the Sycamore men in the field on day two of the championships. Herron took fourth place in a deep triple jump field with a jump of 14.61m (47-11.25) on his last attempt.
 
In the high jump, Schultz recorded a new personal-best height of 2.06m (6-09.00) to take fifth place overall and make sure the Trees earned a top-five finish in the event.

All three male pole vaulters scored for Indiana State on Sunday as well. Antoine Howard led the delegation, recording a vault of 4.75m (15-07.00) for fifth place, while Callan Whitehouse also recorded the same mark with a seventh place finish. Riley Smith rounded out the scorers in eighth at 4.60m (15-01.00).
 
The conclusion of the MVC Championships brought an end to the indoor season for both teams, but Erin Reese currently sits in 12th nationally in the weight throw with a majority of the conference championships completed. The top-16 athletes in each event go to the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala., from March 8-9.
 
MVC Specialty Awards
Most Valuable Athlete (most points scored):
Women: Ayanna Morgan, Indiana State
Men: Ben Montgomery, Illinois State
 
Most Outstanding Track Athlete (highest-ranking individual performance on NCAA list):
Women: Ayanna Morgan, Indiana State
Men: Connor Ham, UNI
 
Most Outstanding Field Athlete (highest-ranking individual performance on NCAA list):
Women: Erin Reese, Indiana State
Men: Adam Kessler, Southern Illinois
 
Freshman of the Year (most points scored):
Women: Sarah Olojo, Loyola
Men: JaVaughn Moore, Indiana State
 
Elite 17:
Women: McKenzie Altmayer, Bradley
Men: William Anderson, Bradley
 
Coach of the Year:
Women: Jeff Bovee, Illinois State
Men: Jeff Bovee, Illinois State
 
Final Men's Team Scores:
1. Illinois State - 159
2. UNI - 144.5
3. Indiana State - 95.5
4. Bradley - 86
5. Southern Illinois - 79
6. Drake - 52
7. Loyola - 38
8. Valparaiso - 8
9. Evansville - 0
 
Final Women's Team Scores
1. Illinois State - 165
2. Indiana State - 135
3. Southern Illinois - 85
4. UNI - 73.5
5. Missouri State - 57
6. Loyola - 56.5
7. Bradley - 39
8. Drake - 7
9. Valparaiso - 6
10. Evansville - 0
 
Day Two MVC Champions
Brooke Moore - Mile
Ayanna Morgan - 60-Meter Hurdles
Cassaundra Roper - Shot Put
 
Day Two All-MVC
Jessi Conley - Mile, third place
Richard Griffith - Heptathlon, third place
Matthew Lewis-Banks - 60-Meter Hurdles, second place
Brooke Moore - 800-Meter Run, second place
JaVaughn Moore - 60-Meter Dash, second place
Jordan Moothery - 60-Meter Dash, third place
Ayanna Morgan - 60-Meter Dash, third place
Quentin Pierce - Mile, third place
Jocelyn Quiles - Mile, second place
Tasjia Thomas - Triple Jump, third place
 
Day Two Scorers
Daryl Black - 60-Meter Hurdles, eighth place
Ryan Cash - Mile, fifth place
Kara Cooke - High Jump, sixth place
Imani Davis - 400-Meter Dash, fourth place
Stephen Griffith - 60-Meter Hurdles, fourth place
Dearis Herron - Triple Jump, fourth place
Antoine Howard - Pole Vault, fifth place
Kristine Lindow - Shot Put, eighth place
Akis Medrano - 3K, fifth place
Brooke Moore - 3K, eighth place
JaVaughn Moore - 60-Meter Dash, seventh place
Rebecca Odusola - 800-Meter Run, fifth place
Josh Perry - Heptathlon, fifth place
Caitlyn Redmon - 60-Meter Hurdles, fifth place
Erin Reese - Shot Put, seventh place
Noah Rogers - Heptathlon, eighth place
Nick Schultz - High Jump, fifth place
Riley Smith - Pole Vault, eighth place
Avery Taylor - 60-Meter Hurdles, seventh place
Brittney Walker - Triple Jump, eighth place
Callan Whitehouse - Pole Vault, seventh place
 
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.