TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State men's track and field team claimed victory at the 2021 Gibson Invitational while the women took third on a Saturday afternoon full of strong performances.
 
The Sycamore men took home first as a team with 157 points, defeating Northern Iowa (128), Milwaukee (86), DePaul (59) and SIU Edwardsville (45) to round out the top-five. The women took third with 97 points, falling to Northern Iowa (97.5) and Bowling Green (130). They finished in front of Central Michigan (91.5) and DePaul (78) in the top-five.
 
"This was a solid win for the men's team and the women competed well against two tough MAC schools and a conference rival," head coach Angela Martin said. "We're in our midseason training so we moved some athletes around this weekend and ended-up having some very solid performances. Each week we look to make improvements and even with the ups-and-downs of this weekend I feel like we made progress. I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks of competition."
 
The first victor on the track for the ISU men came from freshman Quincy Armstrong. In the 400-meter hurdles, Armstrong earned his first collegiate victory, recording a time of 54.04 en route to the win. He still sits in sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
 
Fellow freshman Ethan Breen claimed the second Gibson Invite title on the track for the Sycamores, claiming victory in his first-ever 3000-meter steeplechase. Breen waited patiently with the chase pack before taking the lead with 800 meters to go in the race and he never looked back, clocking the seventh-best time in the MVC of 9:34.85.
 
In the final event of the day, the men's 4X400-meter relay team composed of Ben Shepard, Leroy Russell, Mitchell Cline and Tahj Johnson placed second by the narrowest of margins, ending with a time of 3:15.68, falling to Western Illinois by just .01 seconds. Their performance marks the second week in-a-row of clocking a time of 3:15.
 
Russell found himself in a battle during the men's 1500-meter run. The sophomore battled to a second-place finish with a time of 3:54.60, going neck-and-neck with eventual winner Michael Rebello who ended at 3:54.49. Russell's teammate, Cale Kilian, took fourth in the competition with a time of 3:55.81.
 
A pair of Trees represented the Blue & White in the men's 110-meter hurdle finals, led by Daryl Black who raced across the finish at 14.41. Pushing him from behind in fifth was Avery Taylor at 14.47. Black is now third in the Missouri Valley Conference and Taylor sits in fifth.
 
It was a personal-best performance from freshman Tahj Johnson in the men's 400-meter dash. In a strong field of competition, Johnson placed fourth with the third-fastest time in the conference this season of 48.61.
 
After squeaking into the men's 100-meter dash final during the preliminary round, Matthew Lewis-Banks made his presence known in finals with a personal-best time of 10.73 en route to a fourth-place finish which pushes him to sixth in the Valley.
 
A duo of Sycamores picked up top-five finishes in the men's 800-meter run that saw three athletes break the meet record. Will Smith led the charge for ISU, placing fourth with a time of 1:51.41 while Wyatt Wyman placed fifth at 1:51.62, a personal-best that moves him to fifth in the conference.
 
In the high jump, the Sycamore men continued their dominance on a gusty Saturday. Nick Schultz and Kevin Krutsch secure the top-two positions, with Schultz ending at 2.09m (6-10.25) and Krutsch clearing 2.06m (6-09.00). Schultz sits at second in the Valley following his performance while Krutsch improves to fourth. Nathan Kiger also claimed a top-five finish, placing fourth with a clearance of 2.06m as well, still sitting at fourth in the MVC.
 
The Indiana State long jumpers started the day off well, claiming a one-two finish in the event. Dearis Herron led the charge, taking the victory with a jump of 7.07m (23-02.50), increasing his fourth-place standing in the MVC. Finishing in second was Frankie Young III with a mark of 6.81m (22-04.25). His jump of 7.21m (23-08.00) from Ole Miss still leads the conference.
 
Pole vaulting his way to a new personal-best on Saturday was Gavin Holz for the Blue & White. The freshman tied for second during the afternoon session, recording a clearance of 4.60m (15-01.00) which is fifth in the Valley.
 
Freshman Wyatt Puff continued to lead the Trees in the shot put, picking up a fourth-place finish on Saturday beind a toss of 16.87m (55-04.25) on his final toss of the afternoon. He was followed directly by Brett Norton in fifth who ended with a throw of 16.70m (54-09.50).
 
On the women's side, the Sycamore women's hurdlers had their best performances of the season at the Gibson Invitational. Freshman Zoe Sullivan secured a third-place finish with a personal-best time of 14.19, just .02 outside of 10th in ISU history. Riley Tuerff rounded-out the top-five, finishing fifth at 14.57. Sullivan is now third in the MVC.
 
Claiming a third-place finish in the first women's distance event of the day was Jocelyn Quiles. Quiles took third with a time of 4:32.57, a season-best that keeps her at fifth in the Valley.
 
The women's 4X100-meter relay squad of Jayla Williams, Reynei Wallace, Iyanla Hunter and Daija Springer crossed the line with a bronze finish in the first event of the day on the track, clocking a time of 46.89 which is good for fourth in the league.
 
Success in the relays continued into the final event of the day with another third-place finish for the women in the 4X400-meter relay. The team composed of Wallace, Rebecca Odusola, Sierra Long and Iyanla Hunter ran a time of 3:51.14, a season-best and fourth in the MVC.
 
It was a fast day in a women's 800-meter run that saw the top two athletes break the facility record. In the strong field, Odusola ran a season-best time of 2:13.53 for seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
In the field for the Sycamore women, Janea Bell led the way with a silver finish in the women's high jump. The Indianapolis native recorded a clearance of 1.65m (5-05.00) which remains fifth in the conference.
 
On the back stretch of the Gibson Track & Field Complex, Selene Weaver took home bronze in the pole vault following a clearance of 3.60m (11-09.75). Her vault of 3.86m (12-08.00) from the Ole Miss Classic is still tied for first in the MVC.
 
Kaitlyn Davis managed to bring home another top-three finish for the Sycamores in the women's long jump. Taking third, Davis finished with a leap of 5.59m (18-04.25), but her mark of 5.73m (18-09.75) from Ole Miss is still fifth in the conference.
 
Men's Team Scores
1. Indiana State - 157
2. Northern Iowa - 128
3. Milwaukee - 86
4. DePaul - 59
5. SIU Edwardsville - 45
6. Loyola Chicago - 35
7. Purdue Fort Wayne - 34
8. Eastern Illinois - 27
9. Bradley - 23
10. IUPUI - 20
10. Illinois-Chicago - 20
10. Western Illinois - 20
13. Valparaiso - 19
14. Notre Dame - 10
15. Dayton - 6
 
Women's Team Scores
1. Bowling Green - 130
2. Northern Iowa - 97.5
3. Indiana State - 97
4. Central Michigan - 91.5
5. DePaul - 78
6. Dayton - 71
7. Bradley - 35
8. Milwaukee - 31
9. Loyola Chicago - 24
10. SIU Edwardsville - 20
11. IUPUI - 16
12. Eastern Illinois - 15
13. Purdue Fort Wayne - 14
14. Western Illinois - 10
15. Illinois-Chicago - 8
16. Valparaiso - 2
 
Other Notable Performances
Men's 400m Dash
10. Ben Shepard - 49.72
 
Men's 1500m Run
7. Jackson Krieg - 3:58.52
 
Women's 3000m Steeplechase
8. Maggie Falater - 12:12.67
 
Women's 100m Hurdles
8. Jayla Wiliams - 15.37
 
Women's 400m Hurdles
6. Sierra Long - 1:04.45
8. Ayana Parchman - 1:06.22
 
Women's High Jump
5. Kelsey Bowlds - 1.60m (5-03.00)
 
Men's Long Jump
5. Jamal Safo - 6.60m (21-08.00)
 
Women's Long Jump
7. Dominique Wood - 5.37m (17-07.50)
 
Women's Triple Jump
6. Brittney Walker - 11.18m (36-08.25)
 
Women's Pole Vault
8. Taylor Pierce - 3.45m (11-03.75)
 
Men's Discus Throw
5. Noah Bolt - 48.37m (158-08)
8. Wyatt Puff - 47.75m (156-08)
9. Brett Norton - 47.68m (156-05)
 
Women's Discus Throw
5. Hannah Redlin - 46.72m (153-03)
 
Women's Shot Put
5. Jayla Bynum - 14.43m (47-04.25)
6. Lauren England - 14.34m (47-00.75_
 
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.