CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Indiana State men's track & field team jumped out to a fast start on Friday afternoon behind a Missouri Valley Conference championship-performance from Dearis Herron at the MVC Indoor Track & Field Championships.  
 
The ISU men find themselves in second with 27 points, trailing only Northern Iowa who leads with 39. The Trees are ahead of Drake (24), Illinois State (24), Bradley (15), Loyola (10), Valparaiso (9) and Southern Illinois (8). Indiana State's women currently sit in sixth place with 14 points, trailing Southern Illinois (40), Northern Iowa (24), Illinois State (18), Missouri State (16) and Bradley (15). They are in front of Loyola (12), Evansville (10), Drake (5) and Valparaiso (2).
 
Herron, a senior from Springfield, Ill., gave the Sycamore men a fast start in the field with a title in the men's long jump. Entering the final jump of the competition, Herron found himself in third with a jump of 7.25m (23-09.50) before erupting for the championship hop of 7.37m (24-02.25) on his final attempt. Friday marked Herron's first MVC title and third time earning All-MVC honors in the long jump. His teammate, Frankie Young III, also earned All-Valley honors behind a third-place jump of 7.25m (23-09.50).
 
Also earning All-MVC honors for the ISU men was the distance medley relay squad. The team, composed of Leroy Russell, Napoleon Hernandez, Wyatt Wyman and Cale Kilian, went toe-to-toe with Bradley, Loyola and Illinois State en route to a second-place finish and time of 10:02.24. Entering the 1600-meter leg of the relay the Trees sat in the third position, but Kilian put together a 4:11.40 split to blow by Illinois State and hold off the surging Ramblers. The senior will return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET to try and replicate his performance for the mile run finale.
 
In the first event of the men's session, Brett Norton earned the first points for the Blue & White of the day, using a toss of 17.97m (58-11.50) in the weight throw to claim sixth and secure three points for the Sycamores.
 
The lone preliminary round of the day saw two Sycamores advance to the 200-meter dash final round on Sunday at 2:10 p.m. ET. JaVaughn Moore, last year's runner-up in the event, ran the third-fastest preliminary time of 22.05 on his way to winning heat six. He will be joined by Jarel Shaw on Sunday who clocked the fifth-best prelim time and picked-up a heat three victory at 22.15.
 
On the women's side, the distance medley relay team of Sydney Partyka, Sierra Long, Jocelyn Quiles and Morgan Dyer fought their way to a third-place finish and All-MVC honors behind a time of 12:11.53. The Trees hovered around the third position for most of the race, even taking second for a time behind a strong 800-meter leg of 2:13.60 from Quiles before ultimately securing the third-place finish.
 
Indiana State's women also got scoring efforts from Kaitlyn Davis and Claire Pittman in the long jump. For the second-consecutive year, Davis placed fourth in the event with a season-best jump of 5.73m (18-09.75), falling just short of third due to a tiebreaker with Kameesha Smith of Illinois State. Claire Pittman also recorded a season-best jump of 5.54m (18-02.25) for a sixth-place finish and three points for ISU.
 
Reynei Wallace punched her ticket to the women's 200-meter dash final on Sunday afternoon. The sophomore opened the preliminary round by winning heat one of the competition, clocking a time of 25.33 which ended as the seventh-best time of the day.
 
Day two of the MVC Indoor Championships will resume tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. ET with the men's heptathlon. Women's competition will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET with the pentathlon and live coverage of the meets is slated to begin at 5:45 p.m. ET on ESPN3.
 
Men's Day One Team Scores
1. Northern Iowa - 39
2. Indiana State - 27
3. Drake - 24
3. Illinois State - 24
5. Bradley - 15
6. Loyola - 10
7. Valparaiso - 9
8. Southern Illinois - 8
 
Women's Day One Team Scores
1. Southern Illinois - 40
2. Northern Iowa - 24
3. Illinois State - 18
4. Missouri State - 16
5. Bradley - 15
6. Indiana State - 14
7. Loyola - 12
8. Evansville - 10
9. Drake - 5
10. Valparaiso - 2
 
Men's Day One Champions
Dearis Herron - Long Jump
 
Men's Day One All-MVC
Napoleon Hernandez - 2nd
Cale Kilian - DMR - 2nd
Leroy Russell - DMR - 2nd
Wyatt Wyman - DMR - 2nd
Frankie Young III - Long Jump - 3rd
 
Women's Day One All-MVC
Morgan Dyer - DMR - 3rd
Sierra Long - DMR - 3rd
Jocelyn Quiles - DMR - 3rd
Sydney Partyka - DMR - 3rd
 
Men's Day One Scorers
Brett Norton - Weight Throw - 6th
 
Women's Day One Scorers
Kaitlyn Davis - Long Jump - 4th
Claire Pittman - Long Jump - 6th
 
Men's Day One Finals Qualifiers
JaVaughn Moore - 200m Dash
Jarel Shaw - 200m Dash
 
Women's Day One Finals Qualifiers
Reynei Wallace - 200m Dash
 
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.