OXFORD, Miss. – Indiana State track and field opened its 2022 outdoor season in style Friday and Saturday, taking home 20 top-five finishes at the Ole Miss Classic.
 
Facing off against competition from the likes of the SEC and Big Ten, the Sycamores held their own against some of the nation's top athletes. Ryann Porter continued her dominant 2021-22 season with a win in the triple jump, while Kevin Krutsch (high jump), Cale Kilian (1500m), Landis Brandon (pole vault), Zoe Sullivan (100m hurdles), Wyatt Wyman (800m), Frankie Young III (long jump) and both the men's and women's 4x400m relay team all earned top-three finishes.
 
Event Winners

• Ryann Porter - women's triple jump (12.49m/40-11.75)

 
Top-Three Finishes

• Cale Kilian – men's 1500m (2nd, 3:52.00)
• Kevin Krutsch – men's high jump (2nd, 2.01m/6-07.00)
• Landis Brandon – women's pole vault (2nd, 3.65m/11-11.75)
• Zoe Sullivan – women's 100m hurdles (3rd, 14.37)
• Mitchell Cline, Cameron Stevens, Ben Shepard, Tahj Johnson – men's 4x400m relay (3rd, 3:17.38)
• Sierra Long, Reynei Wallace, Iyanla Hunter, Zoe Sullivan – women's 4x400m relay (3rd, 3:53.17)
• Wyatt Wyman – men's 800m (3rd, 1:50.35)
• Frankie Young III – men's long jump (3rd, 7.18m/23-06.75)

 
Sprints/Hurdles
Jarel Shaw paced the Sycamore men's sprinters with top-10 finishes in both the 100m and 200m. Shaw placed seventh in both events, running a 10.78 in the 100 and a personal-best time of 21.61 in the 200. Tahj Johnson (21.65, eighth) and Cameron Stevens (21.77, 10th) also set new personal records in the 200 for Indiana State. Mitchell Cline narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish in the 400m with a time of 49.41.
 
On the women's side, Daija Springer earned a top-10 finish in the 100m as the only Sycamore in the event, narrowly missing a personal record with a time of 12.36. Reynei Wallace (24.42) finished fourth in the 200m, while Iyanla Hunter placed ninth in the event (24.99).
 
The Sycamores had nine top-10 finishes in hurdles events, with Quincy Armstrong recording top-10 results in both the 110m (15.00, eighth) and 400m (55.93, 10th) hurdles. Zoe Sullivan had the top finish among Indiana State's hurdlers in her first action since last outdoor season, placing third in the 100m hurdles (14.37). Ryann Porter (sixth, 14.69) and Riley Tuerff (ninth, 14.91) also earned top-10 results in the 100m hurdles, while Luigi Rivas (fifth, 14.79) and Daryl Black (seventh, 14.97) led the way for the Sycamores in the 110m hurdles. Sierra Long added a top-10 finish for the Sycamores in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:04.44.
 
Indiana State also had a pair of top-three finishes in the relays, earning third place in both the men's and women's 4x400m. Long, Wallace, Hunter and Sullivan ran the women's 4x400 in 3:53.17, while Mitchell Cline, Stevens, Ben Shepard and Johnson ran the men's 4x400 in 3:17.38.
 
Mid/Distance
Cale Kilian had the top result among the Sycamore distance runners, leading a strong contingent in the 1500m with a second-place finish at 3:52.00. Indiana State had three of the top five and four in the top 10 in the event, with Ethan Breen (fourth, 3:54.54), Jackson Krieg (fifth, 3:54.93) and Jocqael Thorpe (10th, 3:58.91) all producing strong outings for the Trees.
 
Wyatt Wyman and Napoleon Hernandez both earned top-10 finishes in the 800m, with Wyman placing third at 1:50.35 and Hernandez finishing ninth in 1:53.39.
 
Maggie Falater led the Sycamore women in the 1500m, finishing 29th with a time of 5:01.89.
 
Jumps/Pole Vault
Indiana State's tradition of being strong in the jumps events continued into the outdoor opener, as the Sycamores' best result of the weekend came from that group.
 
Porter, the reigning MVC Indoor and Outdoor Triple Jump Champion, continued her strong 2021-22 season with another win in the event at 12.49m (40-11.75). Brittney Walker also earned a top-five finish in the event, placing fourth with a personal-best jump of 11.77m (38-05.50). On the men's side, Shomari Rogers-Walton and Dearis Herron both earned top-five triple jump finishes. Rogers-Walton finished fourth with a jump of 14.25m (46-09.00), while Herron finished fifth with a top jump of 13.91m (45-07.75).
 
The Sycamores continued to perform at a high level in the men's high jump, with three of the top five finishers in the event coming from Indiana State. Kevin Krutsch (second), Lawrence Mitchell (fourth) and Nathan Kiger (fifth) all cleared 2.01m (6-07.00) in the event. On the women's side, Marisa Marshall cleared 1.60m (5-03.00) to earn a top-10 finish.
 
Frankie Young III added another top-three finish for the Sycamores in the men's long jump, as his top mark of 7.18m (23-06.75) earned him third place. Dearis Herron (sixth, 6.91m/22-08.00) and Bryan Keubeng (ninth, 6.68m/21-11.00) also earned top-10 finishes in the event for the Trees on the men's side, while Walker (seventh, 5.46m/17-11.00) and Dominique Wood (10th, 5.36m/17-07.00) earned top-10 results in the women's long jump.
 
Landis Brandon led the Trees in the women's pole vault, as she cleared 3.65m (11-11.75) to place second. Brooklyn Giertz finished fourth after clearing 3.50m (11-05.75), while Maddie Welsh placed eighth with a clearance of 3.35m (10-11.75). Selene Weaver earned a spot in the invitational pole vault field as one of the top nine seeds in the event, clearing 3.58m (11-09.00). William Staggs was the lone Sycamore in the men's pole vault, finishing ninth after clearing 4.65m (15-03.00).  
 
Throws
Noah Bolt opened the meet with a PR of 55.47m (182-00) in the hammer throw to earn a top-10 finish in the event, kicking off what became a strong 2022 outdoor debut for the Sycamores. In his Sycamore debut, Thomas Hickerson placed sixth in the javelin to kick off the second day of the meet, as his opening throw of 54.69m (179-05) led the Sycamores in the event.
 
The men's discus was Indiana State's top even among the throws, as the Sycamores had three of the top eight in the field. Wyatt Puff paced the Trees with a fifth-place finish at 51.83m (170-00), while Noah Bolt was right behind him in sixth at 50.20m (164-08). Elias Foor also earned a top-10 finish in the event, placing eighth with a top mark of 49.36m (161-11).
 
Brett Norton also added a top-10 in the shot put in the Sycamores with a top mark of 16.73m (54-10.75) to place seventh in the event.
 
Jayla Bynum had the top result among Indiana State's women's throwers with a 13th-place finish in the shot put (14.21m/46-07.50). Cloe Clark placed 16th in the javelin (33.37m/109-05), while Hannah Redlin was 17th in the discus (43.08m/141-04).
 
Up Next
The Sycamores will be a split squad next week, with most of the team slated to compete in the Big Blue Classic at Eastern Illinois. A contingent of Indiana State distance runners will compete in the WashU Distance Carnival at Washington University in St. Louis. Both meets are slated to take place Friday.
 
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