TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State Track & Field teams were dominant in the field on Saturday, picking up three championships while four track athletes qualified for finals on day one of the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
                                                                                       
Throwing sensation Erin Reese defended her Valley hammer throw title on Friday afternoon in a loaded field of competition. Reese entered the day with the second-best mark in the conference, but it wouldn't stay that way for long as she earned the championship with a career-best and school record toss of 65.31m (214-03). With that mark, she is now fifth in the NCAA East Region and 23rd in the NCAA. Reese's teammate Cassaundra Roper earned a pair of points in the event as well, recording a seventh place finish with a throw of 55.05m (180-07).
 
Reese wasn't the only Sycamore to defend her Valley title on Friday afternoon, as fellow senior Sam Overton made it back-to-back championships in the men's javelin throw. On his second of the competition throw Overton unleashed the second-farthest throw in school history of 60.52m (198-07) to claim the win over second place by 20 feet. Overton also was the first Sycamore to score, opening the weekend with a sixth place finish in the men's hammer throw. He earned sixth behind a toss of 54.77m (179-08) to hold off Sam Weisz of Illinois State by four inches.
 
Terre Haute became upset city during the men's pole vault competition. Indiana State entered the pole vault with the fourth, fifth, and sixth-best marks in the Valley, but much like Reese in the hammer, it wouldn't remain that way. Riley Smith put on his best performance in a Sycamore uniform, upsetting Illinois State's Luke Nelson to win the title with the eighth-best vault in school history of 5.07m (16-07.50), which pushes him to 35th in the East Region. 
 
Freshman Callan Whitehouse made sure that Smith wouldn't be the only Sycamore to pick-up points in the pole vault, as the freshman vaulted his way to a third place finish in the event behind a mark of 4.97m (16-03.50) to give him All-MVC honors. He still sits at 46th in the East from his performance of 5.00m (16-04.75) at the Pacesetter Invite.
 
Also scoring points for the blue and white in the pole vault was junior Antoine Howard. Howard fought for a fifth place finish and recorded a final mark of 4.87m (15-11.87), earning four points for ISU.
 
Heading into day two of the decathlon, all three Sycamores find themselves in scoring position. Richard Griffith is leading the charge with 3469 points through five events. Noah Rogers and Joshua Perry sit in sixth and seventh with scores of 3222 and 3163, respectively.
 
In the women's heptathlon, Alexis Grider is also in scoring position heading into Saturday's competition. The freshman sits in seventh place with a score of 2456.
 
Four Trees also punched their tickets to the 1500-meter run finals on Sunday afternoon. On the men's side, Cale Kilian will represent the blue and white at 1:10 p.m. after earning a time qualifier spot out of heat two on Friday where he placed third, clocking a time of 4:00.45.
 
A trio of ISU women will race in the women's section of the finals on Sunday at 1:20 p.m., led by sophomore Jocelyn Quiles who clocked the top time during prelims of 4:37.95 en route to winning heat one. Brooke Moore earned an automatic qualifier in heat two after racing to a fourth place finish, crossing the line at 4:40.35, while Jessi Conley earned a time qualifier out of the same heat with a time of 4:42.30.
 
Another noteworthy performance came from McKendra Hout in the women's javelin finals. Hout battled as hard as she could, placing ninth in the event with the seventh-best mark in school history of 38.66m (126-10).
 
Day two of the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will resume tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. with the women's heptathlon. Events in the field are set to begin at 3 p.m. with the men's shot put and women's high jump, while action on the track will get started at 5 p.m. with the 100-meter hurdles preliminary round.
 
Men's Day One Team Scores (4 Events Scored):
1. Illinois State - 45
2. Indiana State - 44
3. Northern Iowa - 26
4. Southern Illinois - 22.5
5. Bradley - 13
6. Drake - 5
7. Valparaiso - .5
8. Evansville - 0
8. Loyola - 0
 
Women's Day One Team Scores
1. Northern Iowa - 28
2. Loyola - 25
3. Illinois State - 19
4. Indiana State - 12
5. Bradley - 10
5. Southern Illinois - 10
7. Drake - 8
8. Missouri State - 5
9. Evansville - 0
9. Valparaiso - 0
 
Men's Day One Champions
Sam Overton - Javelin Throw
Riley Smith - Pole Vault
 
Women's Day One Champions
Erin Reese - Hammer Throw
 
Men's Day One All-MVC
Akis Medrano - 10K, second place
Callan Whitehouse - Pole Vault, second place
 
Men's Day One Scorers
Antoine Howard - Pole Vault, fifth place
Sam Overton - Hammer Throw, sixth place
 
Women's Day One Scorers
Cassaundra Roper - Hammer Throw, seventh place
 
Men's Day One Finals Qualifers
Cale Kilian - 1500m Run
 
Women's Day One Finals Qualifiers
Jessi Conley - 1500m Run
Brooke Moore - 1500m Run
Jocelyn Quiles - 1500m Run
 
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.