OXFORD, Miss. - Despite heavy wind gusts and the looming threat of rain, the Indiana State Track & Field teams managed to capture six titles and break one school record at the Ole Miss Classic on Saturday.
 
"On the women's side of the meet we started the day off with a win in the hammer and finished it off with a win in the 4x400," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "We had several great performances in spite of the crazy wind. It was great to see Erin [Reese] break Julie Koebke's school record in the discus that had stood for 25 years."
 
In perhaps one of the best days of her Sycamore career, Erin Reese made sure to throw her way to the hammer throw victory on Saturday morning. Reese recorded a toss of 62.66m (205-07) on her final throw of the competition and she continues to lead the Missouri Valley Conference, is ninth in the NCAA East Region and is 16th nationally.
 
The redshirt senior's day didn't end after the hammer throw. Later in the afternoon, Reese put on a phenomenal performance in the women's discus throw where she broke the school record with a mark of 55.91m (183-05) en route to a second place finish. That mark puts her at second in the Valley, third in the East and 16th in the NCAA.
 
Reese wasn't the only Sycamore to find success in the field, as fellow redshirt senior Cassaundra Roper placed third in the women's shot put with a throw of 15.06m (49-05.00) which keeps her at second in the conference. She is also 24th in the East Region and 44th in the country.
 
Elsewhere in the field for the women, Tasjia Thomas also picked up a top-three finish. The junior finished the triple jump with a mark of 11.92m (39-01.25) en route to a third place finish. Her mark boosts her to second in the MVC and 50th in the East.
 
Events on the track were just as good to the women as they were in the field. Brooke Moore got the winning started by taking the Ole Miss Classic title in the women's 1500-meter run where she crossed the line with a time of 4:31.91. Moore's time of 4:27.26 from the Black & Gold Invite still leads the conference, is 31st in the NCAA East Region and 40th nationally.
 
Following Moore on the track, Ayanna Morgan made an impact for the blue and white on Saturday as well, this time in the 100-meter hurdles. The Barbados native fought off Kieshonna Brooks of Ole Miss to claim the win in the event with a personal-best and third-fastest time in school history of 13.67 (tied with Patrycja Dziekonska for third). After her performance in Oxford, the senior padded her Valley lead, pushed herself to 21st in the East and 35th in the NCAA.
 
The winning for the Sycamore women didn't end with Morgan, as Imani Davis made sure to take a victory back to Terre Haute as well. Davis pulled away from the pack in the 800-meter run to take first place with a time of 2:17.22. Even with the heavy wind, her time still pus her at fourth in the MVC.
 
Davis also played a key role in helping the Trees pick up their final win of the day in the women's 4x400-meter relay. The junior was joined by Imani Hall, Bri Buggs and Rebecca Odusola, and gave the team a lead after her leadoff 400. However, Odusola pulled-off a magnificent come-from-behind victory on the final leg of the race to defeat Illinois with a time of 3:52.50. The women's 4x400-meter relay time of 3:46.22 from the Black & Gold Invitational still leads the conference.
 
Two other Sycamore women placed in the top-four of their respective events at Ole Miss as well. Jocelyn Quiles ran her first 3000-meter steeplechase of the outdoor season on Saturday and finished as the runner-up with a time of 10:58.59, which is fifth in school history, first in the Missouri Valley and 42nd in the nation.
 
DeAndra Greer battled some tough competition in the women's 100-meter dash where she placed fourth overall behind a time of 11.83, just .08 from third place. Greer's time pushes her to the top of the Valley.
 
"On the men's side we had several athletes finish in the top-three against top-notch competition. Our throwers competed well and several of our freshmen competed well in the 110-meter hurdles and 100-meter dash. As we work on our maturity we should continue to improve," Martin said.
 
The lone event winner on the men's side of competition came from Luke Kerstiens in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Kerstiens crossed the finish line in first with a time of 9:51.86, which sits in second in the conference. His teammate, Cale Kilian, placed second behind a time of 9:57.48.
 
Despite only one event victory, the Sycamore men had a strong day of competition at the Ole Miss Classic. One such performance came from Matthew Lewis-Banks in the 110-meter hurdles. The freshman hurdler continued his upward trajectory, placing third in the event with a career-best time of 14.12. He leads the Missouri Valley Conference, is 15th in the East Region and is 25th nationally.
 
Lewis-Banks wasn't the only hurdler to run the best race of their life on Saturday. Fellow freshman Tremaine Gonzalez also made a significant improvement from last week to place sixth in the event with a lifetime-best time of 14.58 which is second in the Valley.
 
It was also a productive day in the sprints for the blue and white. First, the men's 4x100-meter relay team of Jarel Shaw, JaVaughn Moore, Blayne Harrington and Jordan Moothery captured a third place finish, clocking the Valley-leading time of 40.99, good for 38th in the East.
 
Then later in the afternoon, Moore raced to a personal-best time of 10.52 in the 100-meter dash en route to a sixth place finish, which is just .03 away from 10th in the ISU record book. His sits atop the MVC and is now 37th in the NCAA East Region. He was followed closely by Jarel Shaw in seventh who also recorded a career-best time of 10.56 which is second in the Valley and 46th in the East.
 
Indiana State picked up a pair of top-three finishes in other distance events on Saturday afternoon, beginning with distance standout Akis Medrano in the 1500-meter run. The senior finished third while recording a time of 3:54.76. His time of 3:52.04 is still third in the Missouri Valley and 48th in the East Region.
 
Once again, youth played made a difference for the blue and white on the track for the men. Freshman Noah Hufnagel put together an impressive race in the 3K to place second behind a time of 8:37.59.
 
The leader in the field for the men was senior Sam Overton. Overton threw his way to a fifth place finish in the men's hammer throw with a mark of 54.73m (179-07) which boosts him to third in the conference.
 
Both Sycamore Track & Field teams will be back in action next Saturday, April 5, when they host the Gibson Invitational at the Gibson Track & Field Complex.
 
Other Notable Performances:
Men's 200-Meter Dash:
5. Jarel Shaw - 21.53
 
Women's 200-Meter Dash:
9. Bri Buggs - 24.65
10. Jezel Martin - 24.75
 
Men's 400-Meter Dash:
7. Antonio Davis - 49.96
 
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles:
10. Avery Taylor - 14.95
 
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles:
5. Kaleb Budde - 54.62
8. Matthew Lewis-Banks - 55.75
10. Tremaine Gonzalez - 57.60
 
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles:
8. Emily Robertson - 1:04.73
 
Women's 1500-Meter Run:
8. Alli Workman - 4:42.33
10. Michaela Ward - 4:45.44
 
Women's 3000-Meter Steeplechase:
5. Riley Welch - 11:58.70
 
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay:
3. Davis, Lewis-Banks, Taylor, Budde - 3:20.77
 
Women's High Jump:
9. Kara Cooke - 1.60m (5-03.00)
 
Women's Long Jump:
9. Caitlyn Redmon - 5.90m (19-04.25)
 
Men's Pole Vault:
T9. Riley Smith - 4.85m (15-11.00)
T9. Callan Whitehouse - 4.85m (15-11.00)
 
Women's Javelin Throw:
10. McKendra Hout - 29.57m (97-00)
 
Men's Discus Throw:
7. Kannon Sams - 44.11m (144-09)
8. Grant Harris - 43.83m (143-09)
 
Women's Hammer Throw:
7. Cassaundra Roper - 55.96m (183-07)
 
Men's Shot Put:
7. Vince Laconi - 15.54m (51-00.00)
10. Sam Overton - 14.39m (47-02.50)
 
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.