TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State Men's and Women's Track & Field teams battled hard on a beautiful day two of the Pacesetter Sports Invitational behind several victories and strong performances.
 
The Trees were bested by Illinois State on the men's side, 200-189, but they defeated Marian (99.5), Oakland (64.5), Detroit Mercy (53), Xavier (24), Dayton (18), Rose Hulman (14) and Libscomb (4). Illinois State also defeated the Sycamore women by a score of 232.5-221, but the women overtook Dayton (78), Xavier (49), Marian (34), Detroit Mercy (33), Oakland (20), IUPUI (17.5) and Illinois Wesleyan (3).
 
"I think we had some bright spots today," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "It's tough with senior day and alumni day, you always want to come out with a win. We held a few people out of events just to protect them and make sure that we have the best shot we can to win conference and qualify for the prelim round, so we're trying to be smart. I think that hurt our team score a little bit, but we fought well and Illinois State is a very good team and we finished pretty close to them without a few of our athletes. We made some progress working towards the end of the season today."
 
Erin Reese is now the best discus thrower to ever make her way through the Gibson Track and Field Complex, as she claimed victory in the women's discus throw with a meet and facility record toss of 55.88m (183-04). Earlier in the season the redshirt senior unleashed a toss of 55.91m (183-05) which sits at second in the Missouri Valley Conference, sixth in the NCAA East Region and 15th in the nation.
 
Following Reese's performance in the discus, Cassaundra Roper continued her dominance in the women's shot put. This week the redshirt senior threw to a mark of 16.04m (52-07.50) to claim the title, and her throw of 16.44m (53-11.25) from last weekend is atop the conference, eighth in the East and 16th nationally.
 
It was a big day in the field for the women's long jumpers, as Tasjia Thomas, Kaitlyn Davis and Caitlyn Redmon went two-three-four in the event. Thomas recorded a jump of 5.67m (18-07.25), Davis finished at 5.65m (18-06.50) and Redmon ended at 5.59m (18-04.25). Redmon owns the third-best jump in the conference of 5.90m (19-04.25) from the Ole Miss Classic, and Thomas and Davis now own the seventh and eighth-best times in the Valley.
 
Thomas then went on to earn finish third in the women's triple jump later in the afternoon, earning a mark of 11.30m (37-01.00). Her mark of 11.76m (38-07.00) is fourth in the conference.
 
The women's 4x100-meter relay team composed of Bri Buggs, Faith Lindsey, Shana Cooper and DeAndra Greer raced well and ultimately claimed victory in the event with a time of 46.67. Their time of 46.28 from the Gibson Invitational two weeks ago is third in the MVC.
 
As the sun began to shine on the track, Imani Davis heated up and ran an impressive race in the 400-meter dash which resulted in a victory for the junior behind a time of 56.34. She enters the Valley standings with the fifth-fastest time.
 
DeAndra Greer put on an impressive performance in the women's 100-meter dash, sprinting to a time of 11.63, which would be the Valley-leading time if not for +7.0m/s wind. Even without today's mark counting towards MVC standings, Greer still has the second-fastest time in the conference of 11.83 from the Ole Miss Classic.
 
To wrap-up a strong day of sprinting for the women, Faith Lindsey walked away the Pacesetter Sports Invite champion in the 200-meter dash with a lifetime-best time of 24.37, which is also third in the conference. Greer placed close behind her in second with the sixth-best time in the conference of 24.51
 
After the 100-meter dash, Rebecca Odusola won the women's 800-meter run in convincing fashion. Leading from start to finish, Odusola raced to a time of 2:14.70 to win the race by two second over teammate Jessi Conley, who finished at 2:16.74. To secure the all ISU top-three finish, Jocelyn Quiles placed third behind a time of 2:17.11. Odusola's time of 2:11.08 is still third in the Valley, and Conley and Quiles own the eighth and ninth-fastest times in the Valley from Gibson Invitational.
 
It was a close race between MVC rivals in the 100-meter hurdles at the Pacesetter Invite. Ayanna Morgan and Demetria Anderson of Illinois State raced side-by-side for most of the race, but Morgan ended up in second with a time of 13.82. Her time of 13.67 is now second in the Missouri Valley and 38th in the East Region.
 
The women's 4x400-meter relay team composed of Imani Hall, Imani Davis, Ahmanah Woods and Rebecca Odusola took second place in the event under the sun on Saturday, clocking a time of 3:53.18. The 4x400-meter relay team from the Black & Gold Invite is first in the Valley at 3:46.22.
 
Capturing the first victory of the day for the blue and white, Joshua Perry completed the decathlon in first place with 5369 points, partly thanks to his victory in the 1500-meter run where he crossed the line with a time of 5:04.00. His score is now second in the conference.
 
Continuing his strong freshman campaign, Matthew Lewis-Banks added another win to his resume after clocking a wind-aided time of 14.25 on Saturday afternoon. His time of 14.12 from the Ole Miss Classic is second in the Valley and 33rd in the East. Fellow freshman Tremaine Gonzalez took third in the event after hurdling to a time of 14.68, and he owns the fifth-best time in the conference of 14.58 from the Gibson Invitational.
 
Freshman Justin Niederhaus had a battle on his hands in the men's 1500-meter run with Thomas Mueller of Detroit. Separated by just a nose when crossing the finish line, Niederhaus found himself in second place with a personal-best time of 4:01.96, just .14 away from first.
 
Ryan Cash also earned himself a second place finish on Saturday, as he held tough during the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.36, less than a second behind Connor Meehan of Xavier.
 
Leading the way for the blue and white in the 100-meter dash was Jarel Shaw. The sophomore sprinter raced to a second place finish and wind-aided personal-best time of 10.55, just .01 away from second place. Shaw owns the second-best time in the Missouri Valley Conference at 10.56.
 
Finishing out the hurdle events, Kaleb Budde claimed third in the 400-meter hurdles at the Pacesetter Invite. The sophomore hurdled to a time of 55.45 and his time of 54.25 from the Gibson Invite is third in the conference.
 
In the field for the men, Nathan Kiger jumped his way to a victory in the men's high jump, recording a winning mark of 2.03m (6-08.00). The high jumper's mark of 2.03m (6-08.00) is currently third in the MVC.
 
Much like the women's long jump, it was a phenomenal day for the Sycamore men in the pole vault. Callan Whitehouse led the way with a new career-best vault of 5.00m (16-04.75) and he is now alone in third in the Missouri Valley and 39th in the East Region.
 
The freshman was followed in the vault by Antoine Howard and Riley Smith in third and fourth. Both jumped to marks of 4.85m (15-11.00), which is a new personal-best for Howard. They now sits at fifth in the MVC.
 
Vince Laconi and Sam Overton had a strong day in the shot put. Both recorded season-best marks en route to second and fourth place finishes, respectively. Laconi ended the day with the eighth-best mark in the Valley of 16.15m (53-00.00) and Overton recorded a mark of 15.97m (52-04.75).
 
Other Notable Performances
Men's 100-Meter Dash:
5. Jordan Moothery - 10.82
8. James Mitchell - 10.93
 
Women's 100-Meter Dash:
6. Shana Cooper - 12.20
 
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles:
5. Daryl Black - 14.79
6. Bryce Byrdsong - 15.00
8. Avery Taylor - 15.39
 
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles:
4. Caitlyn Redmon - 14.27
7. Emily Robertson - 14.84
8. McKendra Hout - 14.90
 
Men's 400-Meter Dash:
5. Ejiroghene Biokoro - 50.48
6. Antonio Davis - 50.58
 
Women's 400-Meter Dash:
4. Imani Hall - 58.36
 
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles:
5. Tremaine Gonzalez - 59.46
7. Bryce Byrdsong - 1:00.13
 
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles:
4. Emily Robertson - 1:05.02
 
Men's 800-Meter Run:
5. Isaac Bentz - 1:57.29
 
Men's 1500-Meter Run:
4. Noah Hufnagel - 4:08.13
8. Ben Vertelney - 4:15.74
 
Women's 1500-Meter Run:
4. Alli Workman - 4:44.11
7. Tara Cassidy - 5:02.30
8. Cami Hansen - 5:02.77
 
Men's 3000-Meter Steeplechase:
3. Cale Kilian - 9:43.20
 
Women's 3000-Meter Steeplechase:
6. Riley Welch - 12:06.98
7. Moriah McCormick - 12:22.41
 
Women's Heptathlon:
2. Alexis Grider - 4044
 
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay:
3. Antonio Davis, Matthew Lewis-Banks, Kaleb Budde, Ejiroghene Biokoro - 3:21.27
 
Men's High Jump:
5. Avery Taylor - 1.95m (6-04.75)
 
Women's High Jump:
4. Amiyah James - 1.63m (5-04.25)
6. Marisa Marshall - 1.60m (5-03.00)
 
Women's Pole Vault:
4. Emily Brady - 3.58m (11-09.00)
7. Taylor Pierce - 3.28m (10-09.00)
8. Hanna Atwood - 3.28m (10-09.00)
 
Men's Discus Throw:
7. Grant Harris - 46.76m (153-05)
8. Kannon Sams - 46.19m (151-06)
 
Women's Discus Throw:
5. Sabrina Martinez - 38.62m (126-08)
 
Men's Shot Put:
6. Colton Yeakley - 14.44m (47-04.50)
 
Women's Shot Put:
6. Erin Reese - 14.63m (48-00.00)
 
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.