CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Indiana State men's and women's track & field teams both placed fourth in the team race at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday behind strong performances from the Sycamore youth.
 
Indiana State ended with 107.5 points, falling to Southern Illinois (112), Illinois State (112) and Northern Iowa (143.5). ISU defeated Loyola (78), Drake (47.5), Bradley (34), Valparaiso (24) and Evansville (4.5). On the women's side, the Trees tallied 72.33 points and were defeated by Missouri State (74), Southern Illinois (125) and Illinois State (190.16). They did finish in front of Northern Iowa (71.5), Loyola (60), Drake (35), Evansville (15), Bradley (13) and Valparaiso (6).
 
"This was a tough meet for our teams," head coach Angela Martin said. "We knew it was going to be a tough battle for the top five spots, but I thought we had enough fight in us to finish in the top-three. I hold our team to a high standard and our goal each year is to be on top. We fell short of that this weekend."
 
Sophomore standout JaVaughn Moore had an impressive day on the track, capturing his first Valley title in the men's 60-meter dash after clocking the second-fastest time in school history of 6.71. Jhivon Wilson also brought home points in the event for the Sycamores, placing fourth behind a time of 6.82. Moore's effort in the 60-meter dash earned him the MVC Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete Award.
 
Moore then went on to earn All-MVC honors in the 200-meter dash, racing his way to a second-place finish with the seventh-fastest time in Sycamore history of 21.57. Once again, he wasn't alone in the scoring for ISU, as Jamal Safo placed fourth with a collegiate-best time of 22.03.
 
Also earning his first championship for the Blue & White was Matthew Lewis-Banks. The sophomore hurdler picked-up the 60-meter hurdles victory after crossing the line with a time of 7.96, the only hurdler to record a time under eight seconds.
 
Making sure that both hurdle titles went back to Terre Haute, Allana Ince capture the 60-meter hurdles championship on the women's side. Racing in her last MVC Indoor Championships, Ince went out with style, posting the second-fastest time in Sycamore history of 8.40 en route to the victory. She was joined in the finals by Tajaa Fair who took the fifth position at 8.82 and Jayla Williams at 8.93 in sixth-place. Ince's hurdle time also resulted in the senior earning the MVC Most Outstanding Female Track Athlete Award.
 
Imani Davis also managed to capture All-MVC honors on the track for the Trees, this time in the 800-meter run. Davis ran neck-and-neck with Hattie Plumb of Illinois State and ended up taking second-place with a time of 2:10.81. Rebecca Odusola earned two points for ISU in the event as well, placing seventh with a time of 2:21.20.
 
The Sycamore triple jumpers had a strong showing on Sunday, taking 13 points for the Blue & White. Leading the way in the runner-up position was Dearis Herron who jumped a personal-best mark of 14.96m (49-01.00) on his final attempt. Freshman Emmanuel Odubanjo then also used his final jump to record a personal-best mark of 14.54m (47-08.50) for fourth-place.
 
Earning All-Valley honors in the field for the Sycamore women was freshman Kelsey Bowlds. Bowlds fought for a third-place finish in the high jump, ending with a clearance of 1.70m (5-07.00).
 
Scoring elsewhere in the field for the women was Lauren England in the women's shot put. The freshman Terre Haute native recorded a significant career-best mark of 14.69m (48-02.50) to place fourth overall in the shot put.
 
On the track for the women, freshman Reynei Wallace fifth in the 60-meter dash to bring home four points with a time of 7.72. In the mile run, Alli Workman also provided a fifth-place finish, crossing the line with a time of 5:03.44.
 
Continuing the trend, Jocelyn Quiles battled for a fifth-place finish in the last distance event of the day, the women's 3K. Quiles posted a time of 9:58.57 in the race to earn the fifth position. Then, in the final event of the day, the women's 4X400-meter relay team of Iyanla Hunter, Imani Davis, Ayana Parchman and Reynei Wallace placed seventh with a time of 3:58.43.
 
Scoring on the men's side of the meet was freshman Mitch Conard. Conard got the day started for the Trees in the heptathlon and ended up placing fourth in the event with the eighth-highest point total in Sycamores history of 4837.
 
The mid-distance runners of Cale Kilian and Will Smith also brought home fourth-place finishes for Indiana State. Kilian raced with the lead pack in the men's mile run, ultimately placing fourth with a time of 4:21.94.
 
In the men's 800-meter run, Smith gave the frontrunners everything they could handle. Entering the meet not projected to even score in the men's 800-meter run, Smith, a freshman, ran with Valley-favorite Jack Anstey of Illinois State for the entire race before falling to fourth in a competition where first and fourth were separated by just .25. He clocked the ninth-best time in school history of 1:52.39.
 
Representing ISU in the men's 4X400-meter relay, Safo, Moore, Michael Marling and Ben Shepard won heat one of the relays and earned a sixth-place overall finish after racing to a time of 3:21.16.
 
The duo of Nathan Kiger and Nick Schutlz were the other scorers in the field for the Sycamore men. Kiger placed fourth in the high jump by clearing a personal-best bar of 2.04m (6-08.25) while Schultz took seventh at 2.01m (6-07.00).
 
"We had some amazing performances from several of our athletes, but we have holes right now that we need to fill to be a full and competitive team. Each meet we have learned something this season. Now it is time to go back to the drawing board to prepare for the outdoor season," Martin said.
 
Both track & field teams will now take four weeks off to prepare for outdoor season where they will open at the Adidas Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., on Mar. 27.
 
MVC Specialty Awards:
 
Most Valuable Athlete (most points scored):
Women: Ty'Juana Eason, Southern Illinois 
Men: Willie Rodgers, Southern Illinois 
 
Most Outstanding Track Athlete (highest-ranking individual performance on NCAA list):
Women: Allana Ince, Indiana State
Men: JaVaughn Moore, Indiana State
 
Most Outstanding Field Athlete (highest-ranking individual performance on NCAA list):
Women: Alexis Roberson, Southern Illinois
Men: Eric Burns, Loyola
 
Freshman of the Year (most points scored):
Women: Malia Watkins, Missouri State
Men: Isaac Basten, Drake
 
Elite 17:
Women: Rachel Hickey, Illinois State
Men: Jake Hoffert, Bradley 
 
Coach of the Year:
Women: Jeff Bovee, Illinois State
Men: Dave Paulsen, Northern Iowa
 
Men's Team Scores
1. Northern Iowa - 143.5
2. Illinois State - 112
3. Southern Illinois - 112
4. Indiana State - 107.5
5. Loyola - 78
6. Drake - 47.5
7. Bradley - 34
8. Valparaiso - 24
9. Evansville - 4.5
 
Women's Team Scores
1. Illinois State - 190.16
2. Southern Illinois - 125
3. Missouri State - 74
4. Indiana State - 72.33
5. Northern Iowa - 71.5
6. Loyola - 60
7. Drake - 35
8. Evansville - 15
9. Bradley - 13
10. Valparaiso - 6
 
Day Two Champions
Allana Ince - 60m Hurdles
Matthew Lewis-Banks - 60m Hurdles
JaVaughn Moore - 60m Dash
 
Day Two All-MVC
Imani Davis - 800m Run, 2nd
Dearis Herron - Triple Jump, 2nd
JaVaughn Moore - 200m Dash, 2nd
Kelsey Bowlds - High Jump, 3rd
 
Day Two Scorers
Mitch Conard - Heptathlon, 4th
Lauren England - Shot Put, 4th
Nathan Kiger - High Jump, 4th
Cale Kilian - Mile, 4th
Emmanuel Odubanjo - Triple Jump, 4th
Jamal Safo - 200m Dash, 4th
Jhivon Wilson - 60m Dash, 4th
Alli Workman - Mile, 4th
Tajaa Fair - 60m Hurdles, 5th
Michael Marling - 4X400m Relay, 5th
JaVaughn Moore - 4X400m Relay, 5th
Jocelyn Quiles - 3000m Run, 5th
Jamal Safo - 4X400m Relay, 5th
Ben Shepard - 4X400m Relay, 5th
Reynei Wallace - 60m Dash, 5th
Jayla Williams - 60m Hurdles, 6th
Imani Davis - 4X400m Relay, 7th
Iyanla Hunter - 4X400m Relay, 7th
Rebecca Odusola - 800m Run, 7th
Ayana Parchman - 4X400m Relay, 7th
Nick Schultz - High Jump, 7th
Reynei Wallace - 4X400m Relay, 7th
 
Day One Men's Team Scores
1. Northern Iowa - 40.5
2. Illinois State - 40
3. Indiana State - 31.5
4. Bradley - 23
5. Drake - 21.5
6. Loyola - 21
7. Southern Illinois - 16
8. Valparaiso - 1
9. Evansville - 0.5
 
Day One Women's Team Scores
1. Illinois State - 81.16
2. Southern Illinois - 48
3. Northern Iowa - 30.5
4. Indiana State - 20.33
5. Loyola - 17
6. Drake - 12
7. Missouri State - 10
8. Evansville - 8
9. Bradley - 6
10. Valparaiso - 1
 
Day One All-MVC
Imani Davis - DMR, 2nd
Ayana Parchman - DMR, 2nd
Jocelyn Quiles - DMR, 2nd
Alli Workman - DMR, 2nd
Antoine Howard - Pole Vault, 3rd
 
Day One Scorers:
Kaitlyn Davis - Long Jump, 4th
Bryan Keubeng - Long Jump, 4th
Jackson Krieg - DMR, 5th
Justin Niederhaus - DMR, 5th
Brett Norton - Weight Throw - 5th
Taylor Pierce - Pole Vault, 5th
Leroy Russell - DMR, 5th
Jamal Safo - Long Jump, 5th
Ben Shepard - DMR, 5th
Callan Whitehouse - Pole Vault, 5th
Dearis Herron - Long Jump, 6th
Faith Frye - Long Jump, 7th
Nick Young - Weight Throw - 7th
Hanna Atwood - Pole Vault, 8th
Alexis Grider - Pentathlon - 8th
Claire Pittman - Long Jump, 8th
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country and Track & Field teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.