TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The sun never made an appearance on a cold, windy Friday of the Pacesetter Sports Invite, but the Sycamores, led by the hammer throwers, remained tough despite the unfavorable weather conditions.
 
At the conclusion of day one of the meet, the Indiana State men find themselves in second with 24 points, trailing only Illinois State (39) and leading Dayton (15), Rose Hulman (13), Detroit Mercy (10), Xavier (6) and Marian (1). The women also find themselves in second behind Illinois State, 35-28, and lead Dayton (24), Xavier (14), Marian (13) and Detroit Mercy (3).
 
The first win for the Trees of the Pacesetter Sports Invite came in the field from hammer thrower Sam Overton. In his last home regular season meet, Overton threw to a mark of 54.50m (178-10) to claim the victory, edging out Sam Weisz of Illinois State. His mark of 55.86m (183-03) from the Gibson Invite is still fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Following his performance in the men's hammer throw, Overton continued his impressive day in the field by placing first in the men's javelin throw with a toss of 54.88m (180-01), which increases his already Valley-leading mark. Kannon Sams also earned a top-finish for the men, finishing in fifth at 43.74m (143-06).
 
It was a Sycamore sweep in the hammer throws, as Erin Reese made sure to take the women's hammer throw title during the last event of the day with a toss of 59.29m (194-06). She still sits in second in the conference with her mark of 63.56m (208-06), which is also 11th in the NCAA East Region and 20th in the nation. Her teammate, Cassaundra Roper took third in the event with a mark of 55.89m (183-04) and she still fifth in the MVC due to her toss of 57.94m (190-01) from the Crimson Tide Invitational.
 
After one day of the men's decathlon, Noah Rogers leads the field with 3256 points through five events despite the less-than-favorable conditions on the track and in the field. Rogers was victorious in three of the five events, winning the 100-meter dash at 11.45, the long jump with a mark of 6.72m (22-00.75) and the high jump at 1.91m (6-03.25).
 
Fellow decathlete Josh Perry sits in second right behind Rogers with 3020 points and he walked away with a victory himself in the 400-meter dash, racing across the finish line with a time of 53.96.
 
McKendra Hout led the blue and white in the women's javelin throw, earning a third place finish with a strong tailwind and a mark of 32.66m (107-02). Her mark of 36.11m (118-06) from the Gibson Invitational is sixth in the Valley.
 
Leading the way for the Sycamore women in the 5K on Friday evening was senior Megan Doty. Racing in her last regular season race at the Gibson Track & Field Complex, Doty crossed the finish line in fourth place with a final time of 18:41.19.
 
In the women's heptathlon, freshman Alexis Grider sits in second place after day one with 2334 points, including personal-bests performances in the 100-meter hurdles where she recorded a wind-aided time of 15.28 and the 200-meter dash where she finished at 27.52.
 
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.