DES MOINES, Iowa - It was another strong day of competition for the Indiana State Track & Field teams at the Drake Relays and Jesse Owens Track Classic, headlined by a Drake Relays title from the men's shuttle hurdle relay team and another school record by Erin Reese at Ohio State.
 
"The Drake Relays has a long and storied history," Head Coach Angela Martin said. "We are proud to go and compete there each year. We didn't have everything go perfect this weekend, but we had a lot of great efforts. Our distance runners ran well on Thursday night and our women's 4X800-meter relay ran well, just missing the school record on Friday. DeAndra Greer made the finals and finished third in a great competition. The highlight of the meet would have to be our young men winning the shuttle hurdle relay. We talked about taking care of little details, competing smooth and making sure you find the finish line. They did that and came away with a Drake Relays title. Now we have a week and a half to finish preparing for the MVC Championships."
 
The tradition of excellence in the shuttle hurdle relays at the Drake Relays continued on Saturday afternoon for the Trees. The men's team comprised of Avery Taylor, Matthew Lewis-Banks, Tremaine Gonzalez and Daryl Black captured the Drake Relays title in the event behind a time of 1:00.86, making it back-to-back years that a Sycamore relay team has won a Drake Relays championship. Perhaps even more impressive, and good news for the future, is that the team consisted of one sophomore and three freshmen. Their victory was the first on the men's side of the shuttle hurdle relay since 2016 when Marcus Neely, Grant Stamm, Adarius Washington and Jacob Wright captured the crown.
 
On the women's side, Indiana State women entered the Drake Relays as the defending champions in the women's shuttle hurdle relay after their school record performance in 2018. This year, the blue and white put on another spectacular performance in the event, as the team composed of Ayanna Morgan, McKendra Hout, Caitlyn Redmon and Emily Robertson raced their way to a second place finish behind the fourth-fastest time in school history of 58.15.
 
Following the shuttle hurdle relays, the women's sprint medley relay team of Faith Lindsey, Shana Cooper, Imani Hall and Imani Davis took to the blue oval to try and continue the momentum. The women ultimately earned an eighth place finish with a time of 4:06.60 to earn a point in the Hy-Vee Cup.
 
The lone finalist for the Sycamores at Drake, DeAndra Greer, ran a tough race to capture third in the 100-meter dash finals. The senior held off Tatiana Aholou of Kentucky to claim third with a time of 11.89. Greer's time of 11.83 from the Ole Miss Classic is third in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Sycamore alumnus and legend Greggmar Swift also took part in the Drake Relays, competing in the invitational section of the men's 110-meter hurdles against the some of the world's top hurdlers. Swift hurdled his way to a seventh place finish and time of 13.80. The Barbados native owns the school record in the 110-meter hurdles with his time of 13.35 from 2014.
 
A star in the field, Erin Reese had another stellar weekend in the discus throw at the Jesse Owens Track Classic. The redshirt senior reset her own school record in the discus with a phenomenal mark of 56.45m (185-02) en route to claiming victory in the championship section of the event at Ohio State. Reese still boasts the second-best mark in the MVC, is fifth in the East Region and 15th in the NCAA.
 
Also in the field at the Jesse Owens Track Classic, Cassaundra Roper continued her impressive season in the shot put. The redshirt senior earned a fourth place finish among some of the nation's finest in the shot put, recording a toss of 16.24m (53-03.50) to finish fourth. Her throw of 16.44m (53-11.25) from the Crimson Tide Invite still leads the Valley, is 10th in the NCAA East Region and 22nd nationally.
 
Sophomore Nathan Kiger had a respectable day in the men's high jump, placing third in the event with a mark of 2.00m (6-06.75). His mark of 2.03m (6-08.00) is still third in the conference. Nick Schultz ended the day in sixth place with the same mark of 2.00m, which is fourth in the MVC.
 
Tasjia Thomas also earned a top-five finish for ISU at Ohio State on Saturday. Thomas went head-to-head with some excellent athletes and placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.63m (38-02.00). Her jump of 11.76m (38-07.00) from the Crimson Tide Invite is fourth in the Valley.
 
Luke Kerstiens led the way for the Trees on the track at Ohio State, placing fifth in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a career-best time of 9:21.69, which is now the fifth-fastest time in the conference.
 
"This was a great opportunity for the athletes that competed at Ohio State this weekend," Associate Head Coach for Track and Field Jeff Martin said. "We started the weekend off with Erin throwing well in the hammer and ended it with Luke running a personal-best in the steeplechase. The weather was windy and cold, but the athletes competed hard. As always there were some great things that happened and things to improve upon in the next two weeks. I'm proud of how the athletes competed."
 
All that remains now for the teams before the MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships is one last tune-up meet at Indiana next Friday, May 3.
 
Other Notable Drake Performances
Men's DMR:
9. Cash, Budde, Kilian, Pierce - 10:01.01
 
Women's DMR:
13. Conley, Martin, Odusola, Workman - 12:03.50
 
Men's SMR:
10. Shaw, Biokoro, Taylor, Bentz - 3:32.11
 
Other Notable Ohio State Performances
Men's 100-Meter Dash:
15. Jordan Moothery - 10.95
 
Women's High Jump:
9. Amiyah James - 1.60m (5-03.00)
 
Women's Long Jump:
8. Kaitlyn Davis - 5.60m (18-04.50)
 
Men's Pole Vault:
14. Richard Griffith - 4.51m (14-09.50)
 
Women's Discus Throw (Open):
12. Cassaundra Roper - 42.56m (139-07)
 
Women's Shot Put (Open):
12. Erin Reese - 13.62m (44-08.25)
 
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.